Lawn Edger Converted Into "Tree Root Planner"

Lawn Edger Converted Into "Tree Root Planner" FARM HOME Miscellaneous 27-3-26 Marty Garrett, Louisville, Ill., had a problem that's common to many homeowners - pesky surface tree roots that got in the way whenever he mowed his lawn. He solved the problem by replacing the edging blade on his lawn edger with a "wobbling" circular saw blade. "It's like an inverted table saw on wheels. It lets me follow along the roots and plane them off at ground level, without tearing up a lot of grass like a stump grinder does," says Garrett. The purpose of the "wobble" in the blade is to widen out the cut, which produces a shearing effect. To get this effect he mounted a wobble washer - which is thin on one side and thick on the other - on each side of a standard 7 1/2-in. dia. carbide tooth circular saw blade. "The teeth on the blade are 1/8 inch wide, but with the wobble action the blade cuts a much wider path that covers 13/16 of an inch," says Garrett. "When I'm done I just rake up the shavings and sawdust. Very little grass or soil gets torn up." To make the conversion work, Garrett had to replace the original shaft that held the lawn edger blade. He also had to machine different bushings. Garrett would like to find a manufacturer interested in the idea. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Marty Garrett, 845 Garden St., Louisville, Ill. 62858 (ph 618 665-4508)

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