Pull-Type Forage Harvester Converted Into A Wood Chipper

Pull-Type Forage Harvester Converted Into A Wood Chipper WOODLOT EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 23-4-36 We used to buy wood chips to spread around trees and flower beds. Then I converted this old pull-type forage harvester into a wood chipper. Now we make our own chips. It was a pull-type 717 New Holland that I bought last year at an auction. I removed the original hood and replaced it with the rear chute off an old McKee forage harvester. I adapted the chute to mount on front of the 717, in part by building a new mounting bracket for the axle. It allows me to swing the tongue over as far as possible to the right so the harvester travels directly behind the tractor instead of to the left. We made a safety lever out of part of an old schoolbus seat frame and mounted it on the rear of the chute. It allows me to engage and disengage the chipper drum immediately from the ground. We also lowered the blower spout about 1 1/2 ft. - and may lower it more - so it's more practical for blowing chips into our dump trailer or wagon. The only other work we did to the harvester was to install a new ledger and sharpen the knives on the drum. The chipper works great for branches up to 2 in . in dia., which it easily turns into 1 by 1/4-in. chips. Saves us a lot of money on wood chips and didn't cost much more than $350 to build, the price of the used harvester. (Loren R. Becker, R.R. 1, Dashwood, Ontario, Canada N0M 1N0; ph 519 237-3452)

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