Walk-Behind Stump Grinder

Walk-Behind Stump Grinder MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous “After seeing a home-built stump grinder in FARM SHOW I was inspired to build my own walk-behind model My total cost was less than $600 ” says Tim Gasser Prairie du Sac Wis The stump grinder rides on wheelbarrow tires and uses the handles off an old rototiller It’s powered by a 13 hp engine that Gasser bought at Harbor Freight The engine mounts on a 2 1/4-in thick by 12-in wide piece of elm wood and is used to double belt-drive the grinder’s teeth “I tried to build it as simple as possible and used off-the-shelf parts so it can be easily fixed ” says Gasser “The wood frame is light and rigid and absorbs a lot of vibration The entire unit weighs about 200 lbs and is only 24 in wide so it’ll easily fit into tight spots ” He bought the stump cutter teeth at Baileys www baileysonline com then bought a 6-in gear drilled holes in it and bolted the cutter teeth to it He welded the gear to a hub that he installed on a shaft with a couple of pillow block bearings “If I did it over again I’d use a bigger gear because it would give the belt pulley more clearance It would also let me use a bigger belt pulley on the cutterhead which would gear it down a bit more And it would improve the belt’s traction on the pulley ” says Gasser “At first I used a single V-belt but it didn’t last more than a few hours so I switched to double V-belts They’ll last more than a year before they have to be replaced I sharpen the cutting teeth every 4 hours or so ” He uses his car and 4 by 8 trailer to pull the grinder around “The car gets more than 30 mpg so it saves a lot of fuel compared to hauling it in my truck ” says Gasser The home-built stump grinder has already paid for itself many times over says Gasser “It works best on stumps less than 2 ft in diameter although I’ve used it on stumps up to 3 ft However those big stumps aren’t much fun to tackle with a grinder this small I get pretty sore if I operate the grinder for a whole day so if anyone wants to build a stump grinder like mine I’d recommend using the biggest motor possible Also it would be nice to have adjustable height handles ” Gasser says the grinder is built so it’ll rest on its handles when he tips it all the way back “which makes changing cutters a lot easier” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Tim Gasser 59010 Denzer Rd Prairie du Sac Wis 53578 ph 608 354-4191; timgasser1@yahoo com

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