38 Special Grinder

brendonv

brendonv

Tree Hugger
Joined
Mar 6, 2005
Messages
7,152
Location
Oxford, Connecticut
Looking for opinions from owners of Dave's 38 Special Grinder...

Anyone have real time video, with sound of it in action?

I gave away over $1,000 worth of stumps last week, and it got me thinking.
 
What did you do instead of those stumps? Could you make money off the stumps by subcontracting it out?

A good independent employee seem like good stumper, if you can trust them and have the extra vehicle for it. Are you going to miss out on tree work, things that will use and pay for your bucket truck, if you are doing stumps.

My personal bias it that stumping is boring and low-tech, and I'd rather do tree work than stump work. Maybe I'd like it more if I got more money for it for the time/ equipment/ opportunitiy cost I put in. How many horses will you have driving the grinder? Mine is a 25 horse backyard machine. If I had a high power stumper and access in my market for a machine like that, I'd be able to make more money per hour (of course I'd have a lot more money in the machine).
 
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The 38 Special is direct drive 38hp, so whatever the loss would be from belt to wheel. I like the idea of it because you do not need another whole machine. Just engine oil changes, air filter.

Today I'm doing nothing, it's raining, could have been out grinding and put 1k in the bank. Actually thinking, last week I gave him another $800 job.

It kinda sucks running around and getting him paid too. Phone calls finding out when he's coming. But he is cheap.
 
I'd definitely like the idea of an accessory, not another whole machine.

Did you do other work, administrative work, or just sit around. Was the rest day a worthwhile thing? Are your customers flexible enough overall to wait until you have a down day, or are they expecting all the work to be done the same day or string of days?

How big is your service area? Are you having to run around a lot to do all your stumps? You have the ramps for putting the mini in your one-ton, so you are a compact unit. Will this interfere with your other uses for your truck?
 
I am sure people can make good money for operating a machine.

Just seemed like you are pretty busy, as is. Maybe you'll have more time with the bucket truck speeding things up, and have more time to make money stumping.

What do you mean that your guy is pretty cheap? Sub contractor? Did you make some money just by managing the subcontract?
 
I talked with Dave about it for a while when I got the BMG. He said his goal was to blow the Carlton 4012 away with the power and functionality. He is convinced he did just that. I have a good retired friend who wants to do my stump work for something to do and a little cash in hand. I have been debating it as the next step but I too am looking for the same rear mount you are.
 
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Your a good interrogator! :D I like it!

Today I will look at four jobs, and change knives in the chipper. Maybe wipe it down with a cloth soaked in simple green. :)

Service area around 10 miles, been trying to stay more local lately though.

My truck is a do everything rig. Chips, log, firewood, mini hauler, cheerleading mat hauler.

I need the truck, first and foremost, I guess I am testing the water with this thread.

He works pretty cheap, sometimes I make money, sometimes not.
 
A small service area can make it easier and cheaper to make money.

How long would it have taken you, beginning to end, to do that $1000 of stumping revenue? or $800.

Around me, there is a guy that I've thought about contracting out all my stumping, or at least anything bigger. I've been thinking of getting rid of my stumper all together, and buying a Wraptor, which I will use on many a job. I know you already have a Wraptor. Is there something else that you could use that money for which would make a good return on your investment, while contracting out stumps?
$11,500 plus shipping. chunk of change.

Are you low stumping for your subcontractor, and have you figured this into the situation. Low stumping sucks! PCT had the carved throne. You could consider a carving bar set-up and keep the stumps, charging for a sculpture/ calling card. I just started mushrooms on stumps. A guy that worked for me had a treeman dad that would whip out a $100 bear in 20 minutes.
 
I sub out my stumps while watching for a smoking deal on a stumper. My sub works quite cheap also and I make money 95% of the times. Of course I do little stumps with the alpine and catch referrals for it when others can't get to the stumps. .38 special sounds nice but no way I could justify it at this point
 
I have a guy that does all my stumps. It's his only biz and he owns 4 different sized machines to get into anywhere and do any size. I call him, give him addresses and there done with in the week. He gave me a per inch rate so I can easily quote any stump and add in something for me. His rate has never changed. I never lose money with him.

I guess If you get to the point where you could send out a guy once a week with your stumper while you do chipper maintenance, admin etc. It could be worth it.

In the past when I used stump grinders as an employee for other companies, I was amazed at the amount of maintenance they needed. Teeth sharpening. Plus they where small machines so very hard to use, physically.

Having said all that, In the future if a great deal comes up I "might" pick one up. The ROI is slow. I don't do a lot of stumps. I try to cut my stump pretty low so most people don't seem to care even if I offer the stump removal. I have list of other things I need first.
 
How much grinding have you done, Brendan?

Its the worst part of the physical job, IMO, but that's just me. I find myself talking people out of stumping.

We'll cut it ALAP for $xx extra, then you can just mulch/ soil over it if you want.

I already have the saw out and ready. I can make a bit of extra money for the sharpening of a chain that is already out.
 
SouthSoundTree said:
How much grinding have you done, Brendan?

Its the worst part of the physical job, IMO, but that's just me. I find myself talking people out of stumping.

We'll cut it ALAP for $xx extra, then you can just mulch/ soil over it if you want.

I already have the saw out and ready. I can make a bit of extra money for the sharpening of a chain that is already out.
Click to expand...

Well said, I'm on that train.
 
It can really increase profit on the the jobs where you are doing the removals, if you don't have to make a second trip to do it. $150 for an extra 20 minutes of work on site that your already on? Why not?
 
Its true.

With the 38 special, you already have the big part of the machine there with the mini, if you can still fit the stumper in your existing truck without cutting into your available cargo space too much to necessitate a second trip.

Market and type of work dependent. Personally, I'm not heavy on removals, and there are a lot of people that just don't want the tree falling on the house, and don't mind the stump.

If a person does a lot of removals, it might fit the business plan well.

My set-up wouldn't make me $150/ 20 minutes between loading at home and securing, unloading at jobsite, working, reloading and securing, and unloading at home. I wish. That's good money if you can do it that fast without an extra vehicle.

Brendon, where will you transport your stumper? I've seen your 1ton pics with the mini sideways, but not with enough room for the grinder, IIRC.
 
I hear ya, I was just throwing out a theoretical situation. I was just trying to make a point that it can really be worth while, and yes it depends on the market and the type of work you focus on.
 
And if you are the one who has to grind, or if you have someone else to do it. Illinois has good soil, mostly. Here we have a lot of glacial outwash which means a lot of rocks to either dig for around the stump, or fling and/ or dull the grinder teeth. Appreciate Loam.
 
I would say go for it. I have a 7015 grinder. But I have been averaging 330-390 per hour with that machine. I would expect a 38 special would be able to pull 250 per hour easily. The wear on the mini might increase, something to keep in mind.
 
Wear on the mini is minimal imo. I've had a 38 special since they were called a universal grinder. Mine hasn't broke down yet. I don't use a funky mirror set-up and imo that's the worst part of having it as a mini-attachment is you pretty much have to grind by feel. It rips stumps up. I still hate stumpgrinding though.

I should add it's the only stumper I've ever used.
 
Stumping is boring. But if you are in an area where everyone is trying to keep up with the jones. Then it's a good business. Last summer I would grind after regular work hours. I don't like having to clean up the chips. So I sell that service at a premium.

Run an ad. Presell a few grand then make the investment. Ifyou don't get many bites then make your sub cut you a deal.
 
IMO the question isn't how much money can be made doing stumps, but rather if you wish to make a living grinding stumps. I don't like anything about tree work except the cutting. I don't want to grind stumps, drag or chip brush, load logs, rake the yard, go to the dump, manage employees or deal with customers. So I worked toward developing a business model where I only do what I like and I make good money doing it. There's not as much money in dragging brush, hauling wood, raking yards or grinding stumps. I don't want all the money off the job, just the easy money. I let the other guys have the hard money, and they love me for it.

So decide how you want to make a living and work toward that. A stump grinder will only make you money when it's running and I can't see you running it more than a couple hours per week (if that). Also, all your other equipment will be idle while you're grinding stumps. How many different hats do you wish to wear?
 
As many as I have to, in order to make a living.

We used to sub out our stumps, untill it got to the point where we were giving too much money away.
So we bought a grinder.

I'll readily agree that it is not the most interesting work, but it brings in the dollars ( or in this case, the kroner!)

The grinder hasn't been near as succesful, economically, as the chipper, but it has paid for itself and is starting to bring in a nice revenue.

A set-up like yours would be nice, but this is a sub-arctic country, not a sub-tropical one, so trees don't grow as fast here.
Ther is absolutely no way one could make a living here, doing what you do.

Which makes me quite envious, of course:)
 
I've never owned a chipper, and three times I had to talk myself out of buying one because it didn't fit with my long term plans. I only bought the dump trailer because it fell into my lap at a cheap price and I can get my money out of it at almost any time.
 
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