Trencher and poorboys stump grinder

sandman2234 · May 7, 2006

In one of the pictures on the first page, there is a rope attached to the trencher. I mentioned it, and said not to ask why.
The reason for the rope was to hold a tarp on my roof, where it started leaking, and I had to secure it with something. I came home late to discover water in my kitchen floor, which is on the first story.
A tractor holds a tarp as well as anything, and at midnight on a workday night, two story with a 7.5 and 9.0 pitch roof, you use what you have handy.
Trust me, steep wet roofs are not any fun to climb around on in the dark. The roof lasted since 1965, so I can't complain, but I sure didn't like the price of a new one.
David from jax

drmiller100 · May 8, 2006

those teeth are REALLY aggressive.

a guy could weld some 1/4 inch flat bar around the circumference of the wheel to cover some of the "holes" between the teeth. Also, if you welded the flat bar to the front side of the teeth, you could make it less agressive, and strengthen the teeth at the same time so they bent less.

If it were mine, I would have a short mudflap welded to teh front of it so that no matter what happened, it wouldn't fling a rock up and hit me in the noggin.

Farmwithjunk · May 8, 2006

I have no explaination. This thread has been going for what? 6 months? And I just got around to reading it.

WOW!

My little mind is racing! Many thoughts on that critter. One, I bet OSHA would love to see that on a job!

What about a device that pulls behind the wheel to keep the ditch clear of dirt? Sort of an adjustable "hoe" that would keep loose dirt near enough to the wheel so that it can throw that dirt out.

I'd guess the secret to the success of that gearbox would be keeping extreme horsepower AWAY from it.

On the subject of the gearbox. I wonder what a gear REDUCTION of say 2/1 would do to it's performance.

Approx. how heavy is the cutter wheel? (flywheel effect?)

The suggestion of a "mud flap" on the front of the digger sounds reasonable. and SAFE.

50 years from now, someone will post a picture of the trencher and ask "WHAT IS IT?".

I'd say you DON'T want to set that down while running with the tractor in nuetral. That would get a bit too thrilling!

Finally, I'm impressed! You done good. I'm not sure there's a mass market for it, but it looks well made.

sandman2234 · May 9, 2006

First thing, never show anything homemade to OSHA. They don't appreciate home cooking.
The guard when properly set up on the tractor rides evenly with the ground, unless you don't want full depth trenches. I understand the rubber guard, but in this case, the steel works fine.
There are several ways to get the powdered dirt out of the trench, but no more than I use this thing for digging, I have never made it a priority. Someone trenching alot would appreciate it more than me.
There are several ways to fix the high horsepower usuage. I cured mine by buying a tractor with 5 times as much horsepower. Havent' done anything with it, except hold the tarp on the roof, but I have it in case I need it.
The wheel really isn't that heavy with the big holes in it, but the teeth add quite a bit of weight, probably doubleling the weight of the spinning mass.
It really doesn't move the tractor much when spinning while in nuetral. That is how you grind stumps with it. I always hold the brake anyway. The hard part is keeping the whole thing from boucing when you start cutting and it tries to "climb cut" A gentle feed works a lot better.
2:1 might work fine, but would require more teeth, which would eat up horsepower.
Kind of use what you got, and figure the diameter of the wheel and number of teeth (plus width of teeth) against how much horsepower you have and go from there.
David from jax

sandman2234 · Jul 31, 2006

MrJimi, and others interested in this post.
Leaf springs were brought to my attention, to use as cutter teeth. Might work, but I would be extremely leary of them, due to the tendency of spring steel to shatter when beat with a similar hard object (such as a hammer).
Think of hitting something solid and the teeth beating against it. Something is liable to shatter.
Another problem is working the springs to get them to the correct size and shape, without distroying the temper of them, which is what makes them good for this application. Plus welding them also distroys the temper of the steel, so you would have another problem around the weld area. About the only way your going to cut a spring to the correct size is with a torch or similar cutter, or abrasive blades. Both generate a lot of heat, capable of destroying the spring steel's strength. A wet saw might work, but I don't have one in my collection of junk.
Probably the best way is to cut the teeth to the configuration you want, and send them to Braddock Metallurical and let them harden them. If you can find someone that uses them regularly, it isn't that expensive. Buying the right type of metal for them to heat treat might be more expensive than using the hot rolled flatbar I used.
The way I looked at it, I can make the teeth out of something common and save the money and just remake them if they wear out. As it turns out, bending them is more of a problem than wearing them out.
That is why I have thought about making a new set, out of 3/4 or 1" flat bar.
David from jax

JimR · Jul 31, 2006

You could cut a spring with a Plasma cutter without ruining the temper of it.

keving · Jul 31, 2006

I guess that works better that the "manual" way. This forum is great! Thanks for sharing.

Renze · Oct 26, 2006

about problems drilling or welding hard faced metal, a local weld shop sells extremely abrasive resistant welding rods. When you repair a plough with it, it will last longer than the plough itself.
You can weld some ridges on the front part of the trencher teeth, and maybe some cross welds over the surface of the first inch.

sandman2234 · Oct 27, 2006

I did weld "Stellite hard surfacing rods" across the first couple inches of my teeth. Probably helped, as they haven't rusted or worn away from sitting in the back yard.
David from jax