Home-Built Stump Grinder

Home-Built Stump Grinder WOODLOT EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous “After looking on the internet at commercial stump grinder designs I was inspired to build my own walk-behind model My total cost was less than $300 ” says Ron Mickle Thorp Wis The stump grinder rides on 10-in pneumatic tires and has handles made from 3/4-in dia pipe It’s powered by a 13 hp Briggs & Stratton engine that Mickle already had The engine mounts on an angle iron frame and is used to double belt-drive the grinder’s teeth “I tried to build it as simple as possible and used mostly parts I already had ” says Mickle “The entire unit weighs about 150 lbs and is only 21 in wide so it’ll easily fit into tight spots ” He bought the grinder teeth from WesSpur Tree Equipment Inc Bellingham Wash ph 360 734-5242 and bolted them onto a round 3/8-in thick 14-in dia steel plate He bought a sprocket hub and welded it to the plate and he bolted the grinder teeth to the plate The plate was then installed on a shaft with a couple of pillow block bearings He used the stump grinder for the first time last summer “It works better than I expected and grinds the stumps to dust ” says Mickle “I used it on 80 acres of mostly wooded land to help establish walking and ATV trails for both hunting and wildlife watching I also used it to clear 200 trees to make room for my driveway and barn If I did it again I’d use bigger wheels to make it easier to push and I’d add a deflector to the muffler area so I can avoid overheating the lower area of my body ” He paid about $100 for the teeth $150 for the clutch $10 for the belts and $10 for a pulley “I used 1/8-in plate to form a hood for the grinding wheel and bolted part of the mud guard off an old truck behind it to keep wood chips from flying back at me ” notes Mickle Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Ron Mickle N16609 Dickerson Ave Thorp Wis 54771 ph 715 669-3459; pineacres16609@gmail com

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