Shredder Upgrade

[kmcconaughey]

Wayne, nice job!

Any chance you can post a photo of the back side of the axle showing the tie rod setup?

 

[wshytle]

Kraig-

Thanks. Here is one pic of the tie rod set-up. The other is a stop I had to fab (both sides) because the steering arm would go past center and lock. I'm sure that's due to the fact there were several good looking girls in my geometry class. I seem to always practice overkill in my fabrication but I wanted the tongue to have "pull" support from top and bottom. That's why I put the cross piece above the tongue pivot point. I used a 3/4" grade 8 bolt and the way I have it serves like a clevis. I may end up putting a spacer where I now have the spring but so far so good.

If you want more I'll be glad to post some.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Wayne, exactly the view I wanted to see. Very nice setup.

 

[wshytle]

Well, here's the finished project. I have a grand total of about $10 in paint and that doesn't match but it needed protecting. I put it on the back burner for a couple of months after all the fab work in order to finish other things. It pulls and steers just fine and it will get a work out soon. I will some day paint the wheels but it's needed now. Oh, that's kelly green, not "junkyard dog" green. The yellow wheels came from a two wheel cart a friend found on a jobsite and was destined for the dumpster. I put handles on the tongue because it is very light and pulls by hand very easily.

It's turned out to be a nice little homeowners type chipper-shredder.

 

[jbaker]

Wayne Very Nice job but get rid of the jd yellow wheels

 

[proessler]

Wayne, Looks Good!!

 

[jbaker]

Wayne to avoid another thread I am adding to yours

Can i get some opinions on how well a typical chipper/shreader will work on hay that we use for chicken bedding?

will it shredd or chop it up so it is not long?

 

[digger]

Jeff B.
It will do great on dry hay.
You'll need the screen with the large holes though.

Or no screen at all, depending on how small you want to chop it.

 

[jbaker]

Will hay have to be dry, it some times comes out wet and will have chicken poop on it.

My wife likes to try composting,fertalizing, and mulching and was hoping this wood schread or cut it up small enough to mix in with horse and goat stuff to make a custom manure mix for my spreader..

I don't have a specific one in mind but am trying to get ideas

 

[wshytle]

Jeff-

Charlie is exactly right; the screen with 1" holes is what I use (I wouldn't swear to it though, they might be 3/4"). Anyway, it will turn anything you shred into a pretty fine mulch. If you want it any smaller just run it through a second time. I even throw sod with the roots and dirt in and it pulverizes it. The machine is designed so that even small rocks won't destroy anything. I think somewere here is where I mentioned I accidentally put an old hinge in and it shredded it to small shiny pieces in the mulch. It raised cane and I shut it down but it was too late; everything had passed through. I cranked it back up and continued.

Even the bar screen does a good job but the end product is a bit bigger.

 

[aschumacher]

Jeff, need to be careful of the word 'Typical' shreddrer. As Charlie noted, dry and big hole screen are important basics. But I have seen chipper/shredders in big box stores that say "leaves only" in the shred section. Not sure how well that will work on hay.
I have an old Troy-Built which seems similar to what Wayne built... But I can chip up to 2" limbs and throw all sorts of branches and junk in the shredder <font size="-2">(and its only a 5hp engine!)</font>
So what I'm kind of saying is, be sure what you buy has the ability to do what you want.

 

[wshytle]

Jeff-

Wet isn't all that bad. I've shredded wet stuff before and kept dried pine cones/small dry twigs available to run through to clean the screen. It will clog up...BTDT. If you just mix a little dry then a little wet it helps mix it all together.

Paul-

I was reading over this thread and see where your grandson must be three now. I bet you're having a blast.

 

[proessler]

Yes Wayne, he is 3 !!

 

[wshytle]

After the storm last Tuesday I had several large limbs down so the chipper/shredder has been getting a work out. As a matter of fact it's apart right now being fixed somewhat. It started throwing the belt and I found the clutch pulley started splitting/separating. I hammered it back in place and welded it. It worked fine for a while then threw the belt once again. I also found it needed a valve cover gasket and a slight realignment of the pulleys so I just removed the engine. With some filing I think I can get it aligned well enough. Heck, it's been working fine for over a year now. I was running some larger than normal limbs through the chipper though. That little 6 horse was cranking at times and still runs real well. I have a Briggs 8 horse I/C I'm thinking of mounting but I don't have a clutch right now for the 1" shaft. I imagine it would be a super machine with that engine. I also plan to go ahead and sharpen the knife while it's down this time.

 

[jbaker]

Wayne any chance you have any pictures of before and after the trip thru the unit?

And that 8hp would be engine for the job

 

[aschumacher]

Jeff, I have a Troy-Built shredder/chipper that has only a 5hp Tecumsah engine and does fine. An 8hp would really be hell on wheels. Note, my rig has a direct belt drive with an spring loaded idler that I engage when I figure the engine is ready to work.

 

[wshytle]

Jeff-

Since I don't have the clutch the 6 hp will have to do right now. It does a good job. I guess it's a power thing with the 8 hp but I do plan to go through with it in the near future. I'm after dependability and hp isn't the answer here. I removed the knife and it had signs of wear only on the outer edge. I had a replacement knife on hand so it is now in place.

I don't know exactly what it is but I love shredding and chipping things. For years I carted stuff off to the woods and have several piles to show for it. I also burned but that gets a little tricky with drought situations and so forth.

 

[proessler]

8hp B/S works pretty good on my TroyBilt Super Tomahawk, it even has electric start. 3" diameter branches will chip thru the chipping hopper.I primarily use the bar screen for shredding, & run thru multiple times if I want finer material. Waiting for cooler weather & more material accumu lation.

 

[wshytle]

Jeff-

I did have a good time yesterday. I thought answering your post here would keep Charlie happy so... I recently had to replace the centrifugal clutch and the new one worked flawlessly. It was the first time I used it since the changeout. The old one didn't stop working sotospeak; the outer portion of the pulley was welded and the weld broke. I rewelded it twice but it just wasn't the same. The new one was around $60 but a good investment.

The leaves were perfect as I mentioned in my other post...just the right amount of moisture. I hope to finsh the pile today because of rain in the forecast.

I also have a Kemp chipper/shredder I hope to get up and running. It needs an engine as I may have mentioned earlier in this thread. It had a Briggs 5hp but it was not an I/C and started smoking a bit. I have an 8hp I/C I may install which would make a nice machine. All I would need is another cluch to fit the 1" shaft.

 

[jbaker]

Wayne my wife would love to have leaves the town near by where I used to collect them discontinued there pickup service, so knowone puts them out. Next year I have to put up a add, since we don't many trees.

hopefully by then I will find a chipper/shredder