Chuck and duck/ old school drum chipper adjustments
- Thread starter Tree09
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That didn't so much scare me as shock me. What bothers me is getting caught on brush and pulled in. Might not happen as easily as I imagine. I've only seen chippers work on the side of the road or something. I've never been close enough to study the operation.
A chipper roaring away chewing up whatever is thrown into it tends to make you pay attention & operate in a safe manner. There are some safety mechanisms on most & "rules of the road" for safe use.
If you are concerned with being hurt worry more about hand saws & flat tipped screwdrivers.
About 3 people/year do die when chipping...in 2018 one was from being run over by the chipper, one was form a tree falling on him, and one form a rope getting gedd into the chipper.
I would venture that the highest number of serious accidents involve someone working on the machine somehow while it is running (ultimate stupidity)
If you are concerned with being hurt worry more about hand saws & flat tipped screwdrivers.
About 3 people/year do die when chipping...in 2018 one was from being run over by the chipper, one was form a tree falling on him, and one form a rope getting gedd into the chipper.
I would venture that the highest number of serious accidents involve someone working on the machine somehow while it is running (ultimate stupidity)
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Merle Nelson
TreeHouser
New knives will kick wood back on the sooner side if you use one of those knife dressing tools on it. That is because all of them that I have used put a back bevel on the flat side of knife too.
Engine stalling is prevented on a c&d by how much brush/wood it gets each mouth full. Cut to appropriate length. (I've never seen a c&d be able to take an over length piece and not die - I'll watch that video later today.)
If you haven't experienced it yet, be careful with throwing max sized pieces in your beautifully sharp c&d that is disconnected from a truck. Tongue wants to flip up in the air.
If you are in a place you can spray chips on the ground and want chipper essentially straight behind truck it pays to have a plastic pipe 45° or 90° elbow that can fit over end of chipper chute. Of course you can probably weld up something that gives you that capability.
Engine stalling is prevented on a c&d by how much brush/wood it gets each mouth full. Cut to appropriate length. (I've never seen a c&d be able to take an over length piece and not die - I'll watch that video later today.)
If you haven't experienced it yet, be careful with throwing max sized pieces in your beautifully sharp c&d that is disconnected from a truck. Tongue wants to flip up in the air.
If you are in a place you can spray chips on the ground and want chipper essentially straight behind truck it pays to have a plastic pipe 45° or 90° elbow that can fit over end of chipper chute. Of course you can probably weld up something that gives you that capability.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #58
I never get to just chip on the ground, which sucks. When i use my knife sharpener, i make sure to hold it flat on the flat part, so that doesnt happen, just like scissors. I also cut stuff so it will feed without stalling, but as the bandit video and Sean pointed out, there's a way to set them up so they can chip long sizable limbs by setting it up right. I guess the secret sauce is by adjusting the knives in and the anvil up, it takes a smaller more controlled bite, which can allow this to work better. I'm gonna get mine back to stock settings, see how it works, then shim the anvil and back off the knives, keeping the same gap.
SeanKroll
Treehouser
I have a stabilizer leg in the back.
Feathering the grapple to prevent free feed of big piles allows the governor to keep up.
I get my pile on the tray, reset the grapple more towards the tips, throttle up to somewhere around 8-10/10, feed a big pile, slow the engine, throw in the stragglers, throttle down, go get my next pile. If there are two of us, we divide between machine-work and hand-work.
Stacking the pile right (lots of limbs curving overall the same way, butt ends within 1-1.5' of each other, somewhat feathered, not exactly even) or cutting to weaken crotches as needed on large pieces, is proper preparation. Then, I smile as the main feeds most of it.
Crushing the branches with the grapple may help.
If machine- forwarded, but not fed, like short branches, I drizzle then out of the grapple into the feed tray. Machine-smashed together is hard manual-separation.
Feathering the grapple to prevent free feed of big piles allows the governor to keep up.
I get my pile on the tray, reset the grapple more towards the tips, throttle up to somewhere around 8-10/10, feed a big pile, slow the engine, throw in the stragglers, throttle down, go get my next pile. If there are two of us, we divide between machine-work and hand-work.
Stacking the pile right (lots of limbs curving overall the same way, butt ends within 1-1.5' of each other, somewhat feathered, not exactly even) or cutting to weaken crotches as needed on large pieces, is proper preparation. Then, I smile as the main feeds most of it.
Crushing the branches with the grapple may help.
If machine- forwarded, but not fed, like short branches, I drizzle then out of the grapple into the feed tray. Machine-smashed together is hard manual-separation.
SeanKroll
Treehouser
My throat is 16" wide, 9" tall.
I generally like to feed it grapple-piles that are about 2'x2'.
I 'build' grapple piles on a log at least 4" tall, a foot would be easy. I try to have the butts stick about 3' maximum past the log. This allows me to grab near the log, and get under the BMG heel plate spikes, without being up in my radiator or hydraulic fill pipe/ dipstick.
A lower feed tray height, sloping slightly upwards into the blades works easiest for people or machine, and also I can feed it with the tray pointed downward into the blades, if needed.
Bushy spruce tops are tough, sometimes.
Big pieces of brush help carry the small pieces through.
Live pieces of brush help to carry dead pieces through.
I generally like to feed it grapple-piles that are about 2'x2'.
I 'build' grapple piles on a log at least 4" tall, a foot would be easy. I try to have the butts stick about 3' maximum past the log. This allows me to grab near the log, and get under the BMG heel plate spikes, without being up in my radiator or hydraulic fill pipe/ dipstick.
A lower feed tray height, sloping slightly upwards into the blades works easiest for people or machine, and also I can feed it with the tray pointed downward into the blades, if needed.
Bushy spruce tops are tough, sometimes.
Big pieces of brush help carry the small pieces through.
Live pieces of brush help to carry dead pieces through.
SeanKroll
Treehouser
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #63
Finished the dead ash, and then started a pipefitting job in town so I've been busy. I need to line up some more tree jobs while I'm working in town, but i plan on adjusting the blades this week during the holiday. The backhoe needs a starter, so i think I'm gonna attempt to rebuild it myself because i don't think i can get it to the rebuild shop over the holiday. So i unfortunately haven't been able to mess with it, but i will definitely update soon with some progress.
Reddog
TreeHouser
Good ol NeTree had the best CnD knife setting.
"
Set the knives so they're 1/4" above the drum.
Set the bed knife to .010" to .015" clearance from the knives.
Enjoy. "
Always fed and worked like a charm.
"
Set the knives so they're 1/4" above the drum.
Set the bed knife to .010" to .015" clearance from the knives.
Enjoy. "
Always fed and worked like a charm.
CurSedVoyce
California Hillbilly
Tight!
Marc-Antoine
TreeHouser
I hope that the bearings are in pristine condition. If not, the thing will explode.
Reddog
TreeHouser
@ .030 your gonna have stringy chips and daisy chained/linked brush.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #69
That's what chipmore specs tho.....? I actually have the manual. I don't really care about chip quality really tho, just condense it and shove it in the truck 
I'm wayyyyyyyyyy more than that now, about 3 to 4 times the recommended .030 and it actually does pretty good except for the quarter inch on down twigs.
I'm wayyyyyyyyyy more than that now, about 3 to 4 times the recommended .030 and it actually does pretty good except for the quarter inch on down twigs.
SeanKroll
Treehouser
I'm glad I don't have to futz around with that. My anvil is hexagonal, and fixed in position. 6 edges per anvil. I've almost used up all the sides on the anvils that came with it. Same two sets of blades. Just get the blades as close as possible to the anvil.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #71
@SeanKroll just out of curiosity, what gap do run?
SeanKroll
Treehouser
My blades are 'indexed' or ridged, along with the clamps. 3 ridges protruding from the clamp, 3.5 depending on how they came back from grinding, will put it as close as possible to the hexagonal anvil. I'll need to get you a picture. 4 funky threaded rods with square nuts press against the inside of the drum's blade/ clamp slot/ cut-out, with the nuts turned down against the clamping plate, which presses the blade into the other side of the cut-out in the drum.
Not the easiest to change. Nothing I trust to anyone else! My trick is not to feed rocks into the chipper.
Not the easiest to change. Nothing I trust to anyone else! My trick is not to feed rocks into the chipper.
Al Smith
Mac Daddy
It's been a long while but if memory serves the knives are set at around 45 thou off the anvil .Tom once had an old Lindag his monkeys tried to chip a chainsaw with .Got part of it done .I forgot what that tore up .Wound a bull rope through it ,part way and just flat stalled the Ford 300 engine .I think it took them some time to cut out all that rope .Kind of a high maintenance
Frankie
I Build and Run Ported Saws !
Only in Ohio !
SeanKroll
Treehouser
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