“Chopped Chopper” Chips Wood

“Chopped Chopper” Chips Wood FORAGE HARVESTERS Dan Jost bought an old forage chopper cheap and then turned it into a wood chipper All he had to do was chop off a few parts such as the straight-cut header and make a simple hopper     “I got it for only $25 at an auction ” says Jost “I was going to salvage it out and had removed enough to see the feeder chains and knives There was a nearby brush pile and I decided to see if those knives could handle it It worked fine though they were dull After I sharpened them it worked even better ”     The IH SC16 chopper was built for straight-cut green chopping or carrying a 1-row corn head or hay pickup Jost really liked the forward/neutral/reverse transmission The only problem was it was mounted to the side of the chopper     “The feeder chains really grab the stems and pull them in ” says Jost “I decided to make a bar for the front that could change the transmission if needed ”     Jost made use of a pipe that ran across and underneath the cutting chamber He cut a slightly longer piece of pipe slipped it through 2 washers and mounted it inside the first pipe by welding the washers to the pipe ends     “I took a third piece of pipe heated it to make two 90-degree angles and welded the ends of it to the ends of the second pipe to make my hoop bar ” says Jost “A short length of pipe attached to the hoop bar and the arm of the transmission makes changing direction easy All I do is push on the hoop bar once to slide it into neutral and twice to put it in reverse ”     Jost says the chipper has come in handy not only to clean up brush but also making wood chips for landscaping the yard He directs the chips into a wagon for later use He added an adjustable spout to direct chips     “A couple of friends have borrowed it one to chop up sweet corn stalks and the other to chop up brush for a walking path ” says Jost “I have an old elm that needs to come down I plan to blow the chips from its branches into the woods to encourage morel mushrooms ”     Jost says the chopper/chipper can handle 3 to 4-in dia stems He says it can handle about as much as can be fed in at one time     “Sometimes I have to back the material out and hit it again ” says Jost “For what it cost it works great and my 50 hp Kubota powers it just fine ”     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Dan Jost 17992 Co Rd 49 Richmond Minn 56368 ph 320 980-6176

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