Shop-Built Stump Grinder Works Like A Commercial WOODLOT EQUIPMENT Stump Cutters 21-6-9 When Dick McNight needed a new stump grinder for his lawn care business, he found he couldn't justify the expense of a commercial unit so he built his own for a fraction of the cost. "I built it for about $225. It works just as good as a commercial rig, some of which can run you $3,000 or more," says McKnight. The heart of the machine is a 12 in. dia. flywheel off an old tractor engine. Its ring gear was removed and replaced with a hub machined out of steel. The flywheel is fitted with six commercial cutter blades. The flywheel shaft mounts on a pair of pillow block bearings. The handle bars are built out of 1 1/4-in. dia. steel pipe. The fly-wheel is shielded with 14 ga. sheet metal and height of the handlebars is adjustable to handle different size stumps. A 16 hp Briggs and Stratton engine off an old lawn mower mounts on front of the machine's frame and belt drives the flywheel, which turns at about 2,500 rpm's for grinding. The stump grinder rides on a pair of 8-in. high tires. A brake on the left wheel makes it easy to pivot the grinder back and forth when taking out stumps. The engine and cutter wheel are at opposite ends of the frame, counter-balancing each other, so it's easy to move the machine back and forth over the stump. "I've probably taken out 25 stumps since I built it with no problems. It works great," says McNight. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dick McNight, Dick's Lawnmower, 2171 Mountain View Road, Glade Valley, N.C. 28627-9720 (ph 910 363-2424).

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