PTO-Powered Saw Cuts Out Stumps

PTO-Powered Saw Cuts Out Stumps POWER TAKE OFFS (PTO'S) Power Take Offs (PTO's) 5-1-35 "The going rate in this area for clearing land of stumps with a bulldozer is $300 an acre. With this machine, we can do it in a fraction of the time for less money, and with less mess to clean up later," says Dale Smith, one of two Illinois inventors who manufacture and sell the new Jeffco Stump Saw. Smith and Cyril Barton built the saw to clear stumps from land that logging companies have cut over. The saw cuts the stumps off about 8 in. below the ground. Smith says it will cut through a 2 ft. dia. stump in about 20 seconds. It is capable of cutting a stump up to 9 ft. in dia. by cutting from several angles. An 80 hp tractor will power the saw, but Smith says a tractor up to 120 hp may be needed to raise and support the 2,500 lb. saw. It is 3-pt. mounted and pto-driven. The 540 rpm pto runs into a 2:1 reduction gear box. The blade slides backward or forward hydraulically (up to 3 ft.) from the tractor when cutting a stump. The 6-ft. dia., 600 lb. blade runs at 300 revolutions per minute and is equipped with 32 carbide-tipped, 3/8 in. thick teeth. The teeth are built for Levco stump-grinding machines in Wynne, Ark. Dirt and small rocks don't bother the teeth very much. When they finally do become dull or chipped, they can be unbolted and replaced. "We cut about 8 acres of stumps in a few hours recently and never replaced a tooth," Smith told FARM SHOW. "It just does a remarkable job." Steel pads like those used to stabilize a backhoe are used to support the machine in operation. They are hydraulically adjusted. The pads maintain up to a 45? angle so that the saw starts cutting at ground level and ends up about 6 in. underground at the end of its 3 ft. stroke. The pieces of stump are removed with a loader or bulldozer and discarded. Smith and Barton just disk the land and plant it to soybeans with no other special seedbed preparation. The inventors haven't tried to plow or chisel any reclaimed land, but they think the remaining stump wood below 8 in. should be rotten enough to allow those deep operations in just a few years. "Our machine will probably pay for itself on just 25 acres of cut-over timber," notes Barton. He and his partner are selling the machine for $8,000 FOIL. They're manufacturing the Stump Saw themselves now, but would like to find someone who is interested in building the saw for them. For more details, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jeffco Stump Saw, Inc., Box 169, Mt. Vernon, Ill. 62864 (ph 618 242-1370).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.