Building a chipper

[Bigsnowdog]

I would like to have a chipper, and more specifically, a PTO driven chipper. I have a tractor with a 73 HP diesel with which I would use it.

I have read of the Vermeer chippers, they have a 6 inch and a 9 inch. I would choose the larger, just so it would take wood with branch stubs more easily, and my tractor would have sufficient HP to run it.

I am not a business, I just have a reforestation project that is generating ever more wood that I must process.

I cannot afford a new chipper. Frequently in my life I have fabricated things I needed that I could not afford to buy.

I work in the engineering department at a manufacturing firm [so I have design capabilities], have fabrication skills, and could sub out machining and fab processes that I cannot do in my shop at home. I have been thinking about building one in the same fashion that manufacturing industry might build a prototype machine.

the single largest items would be the disc and shaft, assuming I made a disc type chipper. I admit to not being very familiar with chipper design. In general, I think it would be easy to over-build one so it was very durable. I would use commercially available cutters that were OEM parts for some existing brand.

Is there a best kind? I read of disc and drum chippers. Are there manufacturer's manuals for chippers that show internal construction, whether they be service or parts manuals?

Does it make more sense to buy one that is worn out, and rebuild it? What all is subject to wear in a chipper?

Could a chipper formerly powered by a stationary engine be converted to a PTO drive? Do the two categories differ in operating speed enough that they are designed differently?

I am interested in whatever observations you may have regarding this subject.

 

[wiley_p]

I think if you can fabricate a drum would be easier to build, less materiel but don't know about it working off a PTO.

 

[Stumper]

BSdog, Have all the fun you want but you can buy new 6" capacity PTO models for under 2 grand. (not a great chipper necessarily but a chipper. You can buy a used drum style with its own engine for $2500-and up. Building your own would be entertaining but , if you value your time at all, a factory machine makes more sense.

 

[Bigsnowdog]

Is there any place I can go to read a good explanation of the difference in internal design between the disc and the drum chippers? I understand how a disc chipper works, and gather that the cheap machines are disc? Do the better discs have more cutters?

I have never seen any photos or drawings of the internals of a drum chipper.

I am not sure what you would get for under $2,000, considering what the Vermeer 6-inch unit costs. What brand is this machine you mention?

The appeal I find in the PTO driven unit is that I can easily maneuver my tractor into difficult places where it would be harder or impossible to go with a pull behind unit.

 

[Bigsnowdog]

Originally posted by RockyJSquirrel
Do you have any idea how implausible your idea sounds?

Do you have any idea how engineering prototypes are built? Do you understand that engineering prototypes are occasionally somewhat larger than the final design, and not incorporating the final layout? Do you understand that a chipper is quite a bit simpler than an automobile?

Do you understand that engineering prototypes, and really, quite a bit of today's commercial and industrial equipment is built from the Grainger catalog, so to speak? Do you realize it is possible to scrounge all kinds of sophisticated components and assemblies from manufacuring industry and its engineering test labs that are capable of necessary function and quite literally much higher quality than anything used in a production grade machine? ....and often at give away prices?

The main reason to use an older one would be the simple matter of it being considerably cheaper to use existing disc assemblies, assuming a disc machine, rather than machining a new one with supporting shaft and bearings, and necessary features to accommodate the cutter(s). That does not address the issue of a possible hydraulic feed, of course. It may make sense to buy a junker for certain internal parts.

I may like trees but I do not live in one. Your example of building a car is absurd, and it betrays your lack of understanding of just what goes on, what the possibilities are, in the development group in an engineering department of an equipment manufacturer. Consequently, your sarcasm may have been intended to make a point, it failed.

 

[treeman82]

What scares me about this idea, is that a disc or drum is going to weigh at least a few hundred pounds. Couple that with a couple of nice, sharp blades. G-d forbid a weld should break, and send that disc flying off in little pieces, people will get hurt VERY badly, or killed for the simple reason that you were trying to save a few bucks.

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

why not just bite the bullet and buy a chipper ..i just think its a waste of time why not buy a second hand machine ..your chipper will never be as good as a production model..they spend a few hunderd thou if not more on there designs..we had a guy around here make stump grinder what a clever machine that was it was like a death trap on wheels..no offence intended

 

[SilverBlue]

What a bunch of wieners!

I have been building cars from the ground up since the 70’s. Not just restorations or rebuilds, full tube chassis 9 second street/ strip cars. Anyone remember the excellent wood splitter that was posted on this very site?
As well there are plenty of machinists that are capable of producing their own, no excuse about labor because it’s personal time, unless you want to compare going fishing and buying one at the market.
So Bigsnowdog don’t become dismayed at this bunch, they are used to playing with those pre engineered rubber nipples they buy at the store.

I prefer originals.

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

first we had low-ballers now we got diy guys with home made machinery to contend with what ever next??? oh and guys with home made cars , '' MAD MAX'' comes to mind

 

[Dadatwins]

If your intent is to actually build a chipper I would suggest calling some local equipment dealers and see if they have any scrap machines, blown motors, roll overs and the like that have the chipper wheel and blade housing intact. Maybe you have the skill to fabricate a drive system and weld a frame to hook to your tractor, but the chipper wheel and blade is a precision made balanced unit with zero tolerance for error. Suggest going to a dealer or follow a tree company around and seeing one in action and how dangerous they are before making the attempt. Good luck.

 

[Dadatwins]

Originally posted by ROLLACOSTA
home made machinery to contend with what ever next???

The very first chain saw was 'homemade' too Rolla, and the guys with the hand saws and cross cuts must have laughed at the idea. Maybe this guy can build the next generation of chippers,



or maybe not.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Or maybe!

 

[SilverBlue]

And some need to pay a mechanic to pump air in thier tires.
Mad Max was a movie ROLLACOSTA come back to reality sunshine hey does England make anything anymore

 

[Crofter]

Re building a chipper

If you have access to free welding and machining, find a scrapped chipper that has had a bearing pile up and maybe a damaged shaft and housing etc. Resurrecting it will be possible without having to spend time on all the arse scratching that goes with trying to design and prove out from scratch a one off prototype. Unless you can put a very high value on being able to say "look what I made, ma", you will never be repaid for your time. If you have such talents use them to advantage, not on reinventing the wheel!

Frank

 

[Bigsnowdog]

Originally posted by Dadatwins
If your intent is to actually build a chipper I would suggest calling some local equipment dealers and see if they have any scrap machines, blown motors, roll overs and the like that have the chipper wheel and blade housing intact. Maybe you have the skill to fabricate a drive system and weld a frame to hook to your tractor, but the chipper wheel and blade is a precision made balanced unit with zero tolerance for error.

I do not know if I will do this, but finding the rotating parts would be a practical start. The greatest machining costs and time requirements would be in the wheel, shaft, and housing. Time of course, is a big issue.

I suspect the people who got so agitated about this have never built anything complicated at all. I have also worked in a company manufacturing machine tools, and we built prototypes there, too. Machines with multiple cutter milling heads, surface grinders, boring machines, high speed, serious equipment.

Do I have all of the design experience that the chipper manufacturer has? No. Doing an autopsy on an old chipper that could yleld the rotating parts would provide that benefit. Consider a thread elsewhere on this site, regarding India producing Stihl knockoffs. Reverse engineering requires little brain power. You just need measuring tools. A chipper, in comparison to chainsaws and machine tools is a very primitive device.

And, no, in response to someone's assertion, no, the cost of the prototype I imagine would not cost ten times what the manufactured unit would cost. There would not be any point in doing that, would there?

Silverblue, what chipper are you referring to?

 

[Crofter]

Maybe you could do it, but why? If you want to, give it a go!
Sounds a bit ill conceived tho. I could be wrong, but an old saying comes to mind ." If you are that danged smart, how come you aren't rich?"

Frank

 

[Dadatwins]

Knew a guy that mated a Vermeer 630A with a 3 wheel motorized scooter to make a self-propelled stump grinder before anyone ever heard of such a thing. If the time, parts and knowledge are there, go for it.

 

[glens]

Originally posted by Crofter
"If you are that danged smart, how come you aren't rich?"

Some of we intelligentsia care little about money.

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[Stumper]

Here are a couple of links. A different 6" PTO chipper was going for as low as $1700 on Ebay a couple of months ago but I don't remember the brand.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=11755&item=3826506824&rd=1

Here is a NICE small self contained unit.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=42228&item=4312639925&rd=1

I've fabbed a few things in the past. Materials cost isn't the issue-layout and prep takes TIME.

 

[treeman82]

What happens when something goes wrong, and the cost to buy a new chipper goes up a couple bucks because insurance companies upped the premiums for wood chipper companies?

In addition to that, I believe that a wood chipper is a lot more complicated than a chainsaw. Chainsaws don't have hydraulic pumps or motors to deal with. Chainsaws don't have oil filters, or large air filters. They don't have feed rollers. They don't have glow plugs or batteries.