His Chopper Chipper Turns Brush Into Mulch

His chopper chipper turns brush into mulch ENERGY Wood Handling 14-4-35 Old forage choppers can be easily converted into brush chippers, according to Missouri farmer J.E. Williams who modified a 1-row Case field silage chopper into a nifty "chopper-chipper". Williams says his home-built chipper easily handles branches up to 2 in. in dia. "We have several hundred black walnut trees that we keep pruned, as well as other fruit trees. The chipper makes waste wood into a great mulch for trees or shrubs or for easy disposal. It does the job of a $10,000 to $12,000 commercial limb chipper at almost no cost except for a few hours labor with a cutting torch and welder." Williams first removed the row dividers, sickle drive mechanism, gathering chains, and other unnecessary tinwork. He re-placed the angle gearbox drives on either end of the conveyor chain shaft (they originally drove the gathering chains) with bearings removed from other parts of the chop-per. He also raised up the mounting brackets on the conveyor chain so it runs on the horizontal rather than at a 45? angle. The chopping mechanism itself is unmodified as is the blower, which blows chips into a trailing wagon. He powers the wood chip-per with a 3-cyl. Ford 4000 tractor. "I've put pine limbs up to 2 in. in dia. through it and have never stalled it yet. I wouldn't put hardwood limbs that big through it, though. It chops it up into tiny pieces, at most an inch or so long. It works best if you feed long pieces into it. Short pieces will sometimes go through sideways and not get chopped up," says Williams. "The chipper turns a liability into an asset since it makes a beautiful mulch." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, J.E. Williams, 700 Harvey St.,4Harrisonville, Mo. 64701 (ph 816 884-5266).

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