Woods Stump Grinder

[daBear]

I suspect the loss of those keeper bolts is common. My TSG50 was in almost new condition but it was used when I bought it. While going over it before I started using it, I found two of these bolts missing. Now, you have made me wonder if I used a lock nut on the bolt and I am going to have to check it out this afternoon. I continue to be impressed with the performance if this stump grinder. I have mostly hardwood that I am working on and it does better than the Vermeer 252 I rented a while back. Well worth the money.

 

[foggy1111]

Replaced my bolts and put on the nylock nuts. You can get one size bigger bolt diameter than that furnished in the holes....and the nylock nuts should eliminate the problem of coming loose.

I took out another 50 stumps this afternoon....for a total of 400 this year with the Woods. Teeth still cut like new. :thumbsup: To me there is NO comparison to the Vermeer or Rayco 25 HP self propelled machines that I used to rent. I agree this is a good grinder for the money. I'd buy mine again. :thumbsup:

I have another 100 to 200....or so, to do this year....but I got some other stuff to do for the next few weeks. I took my grinder off this afternoon to give it a rest.

 

[Reg]

Replaced my bolts and put on the nylock nuts. You can get one size bigger bolt diameter than that furnished in the holes....and the nylock nuts should eliminate the problem of coming loose.

I took out another 50 stumps this afternoon....for a total of 400 this year with the Woods. Teeth still cut like new. :thumbsup: To me there is NO comparison to the Vermeer or Rayco 25 HP self propelled machines that I used to rent. I agree this is a good grinder for the money. I'd buy mine again. :thumbsup:

I have another 100 to 200....or so, to do this year....but I got some other stuff to do for the next few weeks. I took my grinder off this afternoon to give it a rest.

Mine is some 80 or so miles away, I want to get back to it as soon as we get a 4 day dry break (swampy area).

Any chance you could list out the lengths of the replacement bolts for me, so I can replace them on my next trip there ?
I'm assuming that by "one size bigger" you mean 7/16 diameter ?

 

[foggy1111]

Mine is some 80 or so miles away, I want to get back to it as soon as we get a 4 day dry break (swampy area).

Any chance you could list out the lengths of the replacement bolts for me, so I can replace them on my next trip there ?
I'm assuming that by "one size bigger" you mean 7/16 diameter ?

Reg, Yep....I'm pretty sure that's the diameter I put in. I'm not near my machine now either, but I believe the bolt length was 1.5" long. I used nylock nuts like KennyD suggested and a flat washer under the bolt head. I think the nylock nuts alone would suffice....but I do NOT want those pins working loose again. :thumbsup: I believe I replaced 5 or 6 bolts and nuts. (I went whole-hog and put in grade 8 bolts....replacing the grade 5's)

One other thing I have wanted to mention on setting up the grinder: I put my three point linkage in the slot where it does NOT "float". (ie. I can rotate my draft link pins 90* to eliminate the 2" float feature and make things more rigid.) I also keep my sway bars snugged up tight. This reduces the 3 point hitch from jumping around as much with a big cut. :thumbsup:

Recently, I have considered adding some cast iron hanging weights to the grinder frame to keep it more solidly attached to the ground. It would be neat if another 200 lbs or so was easy to add. I believe keeping the "frame" rigid and "stuck" to the ground would be a good thing.

 

[Reg]

Thanks, I'll grab a handful of 1 1/2 and 1 3/4 too, both 3/8 and 7/16.
I'm CHEEP, my hardware store knows I'll return what I don't use.
I'm thinking FINE thread should be more shake resistant than COARSE, but I guess that would be mutually redundant with the nylocks.

I know what you mean with the jumping around thing, but I doubt that a couple of hundred pounds would hold it down THAT MUCH (-:

Whenever I think about added ballast in places away from home I think of water tanks, light and easy to carry when empty, refillable almost anywhere and you don't have to lug it home when you're done.
I've only done it with 55 gallon drums on things like disk harrows, but a marine flexible bladder tank might be workable.

Well, 50 gallon drums hold 400 lbs., so there is a lot of VOLUME to handle if you go with disposable liquid.

 

[Reg]

This is ~ WEIRD ~
I went back to my TSG-50 and Kukje tractor with a little bag of nuts and bolts all ready to replace any that were missing and/or tighten things up.
I did NOT find the bolts in question, so I'm wondering if there was a design change somewhere along the way that eliminated them in favor of a better way of holding the pivot pins in.

I worked about a 13 hour day on Wednesday - HOT - plus 2 hours driving each way.

Looking back on it; Yes, the base needs more stability.
I am scratching around for ideas on how to best do this.
It would SEEM to be a good idea to add width, e.g. about a 6ft length of square tube or channel under the existing base - HOWEVER, that would still rock if set down on something like a surface root(likely) or whatever other high spot.
Feet at each end of an extended base would probably solve that, but would reduce clearance when moving around.
I can barely get the existing base high enough in very rough ground right now, making that base wider and lower would almost certainly cause it to drag and dig.
I am thinking about flip over feet, much like back hoe stabilizers, I might even be able to use those.
Of course this would mean getting off/on the tractor more often - there are good and bad about that (-:

Grinding on banks SUX - - BIG TIME !!!
Generally figuring the original slope and trying to grind to match that is difficult and it doesn't seem to get any easier with experience (-:
I have TRIED to match the slope by aligning the tractor across it, but that has limits and it can get scary as the grinder swings up/down the slope and hits a vibration spot.

The other big bad nasty thing about slopes is the surface roots on the down side, they protrude a LOT and can be a bear to get down to desired grade.
The whole thing about surface roots and doing things right changes things considerably.
Sure, an 18 inch stump can be ground down way below grade fairly quickly, but if the area is to be used for anything very much you can spend a lot of time and effort grinding out surface roots to an acceptable distance and depth.

 

[foggy1111]

My pine trees dont have much for surface roots....so no experience to share in that way. What kinda trees you working with Reg? Can you pull those roots with a chain or possibly one of the "tong-style" grippers?

I agree that sloping lands are rough to set up for grinding. Finding the most level approach to a stump is helpfull. I've had some bank settings that turned into allot of frustration too. Seems that when angled you cannot make a nice sweep without burying the cutter or doing no work at all. Lotta change in elevation.

I considered adding a triangular "foot" to the right side (from the seat) of the ginder. I figured a foot would not interfere with tractor manuverablity. Never got it done....and may just leave it as is....cause it seems to work pretty fair.

 

[daBear]

I had top and tilt hydraulics on my L2800 before I bought the Woods TSG50. It is somewhat useful for odd angle situaitons and I have been able to grind stumps on banks and down in shallow ditches by tilting the whole thing. Not perfect, but TNT helps.

 

[foggy1111]

I cut all my clover this morning, then after lunch, I put the Woods grinder on the tractor.

Yesterday we had dropped and hauled away about 25 trees that could fall on my pole shed (thanks grapple)....and there were some other remaining stumps in the area near my building that needed to go. We had to "pull" about half the trees to keep them from falling on my building.

So....with the grinder mounted, in about three hours of operating time I took out about 50 to 60 stumps. Next time I cut trees down....I am going to cut 'em a bit lower. That extra six to 10 inches of wood takes allot longer to grind.

I have not kept close track - but thus far I have ground over 500 pine stumps on the same set of teeth.....and the teeth still cut like new. I bought about 10 replacement teeth and they are still in the package.

OH......my wife did an 'offical" time for taking out a 12 inch pine stump. It took me 1.5 minutes to take a sheared 6" high stump to 8" below ground level. Hmmmm......that may be a new world record in the 30 HP class?

The only issues I have had are the keeper bolts on the big pins shaking loose.....and my rubber flap is now all chewed up. The hardest part for me is constantly looking over my shoulder and positioning the grinder from the tractor seat is a little dicey......a half-day is about my operating limit.

This Woods grinder has exceeded my expectations for a tractor-mounted grinder. Lotsa bang for the buck. :thumbsup:

 

[Piston]

I'm glad you guys brought this thread up again...

I've been thinking about the idea of one of these models. I will have a lot of stumps to either grind or dig up and have to walk the land again to get the 'feel' for what I would rather do!

If you guys keep posting pictures and talking about it, you may just convince me that I need one of these in a year or two!


Why is it that, I don't even know this equipment exists, let alone think I need it, and then I go to TBN and start glancing through threads, and find a new piece of equipment that I just have to have, and all of a sudden I can't do the job without??? :laughing::laughing::laughing: