Asplundh 9" chipper questions need help and/or manual

[Chippernewbie]

I just bought my first chuck and duck chipper. It is an old Asplundh 9" drum chipper serial number C1462R4F, there is a number TC1207 welded into the frame. I can't find any other number that might be a model number, but I did find a picture of a CHIPMUNK, showing it from the belt side, that looks a lot like it. Mine is powered by a 4 cylinder Ford Industrial Engine.
Does anybody know what model this chipper would be? Where could I find a manual that shows the chipper parts and adjustments? I tried Asplundh's and Altec's website without finding anything. One big question is that the other models of Asplundh chippers appear to have a fan on the flywheel ducted into the discharge chute. This one does not. It has an exposed flywheel without any fan blades or housing. Is this the way it was built or am I missing something? The CHIPMUNK picture that I found shows the wrong side for me to tell. Either way, I think that it would benefit from having a fan installed. I would like to see a parts manual picture that shows how the fans are made so that I can fabricate one for it as I assume that they would be hard to come by. Thanks for any help that you can give me on this.

 

[Chippernewbie]

Additional information:

I've got the engine running well. I checked the clearance between the drum blades and the bed blade, it was a little too much, so I removed the bed blade. It was a little bit rounded, so I turned it to a nice sharp edge, reinstalled and adjusted clearance to approx. 0.030". The drum blades are sharp and set in the drum so that the bevel meets the drum perimeter. This is the way that the blades were installed when I got it and it looks right to me. The extension of the blades varies by a few thousandths so some of the clearances are less than 0.030" but all clear. I didn't want to take the drum blades out because they are sharp and unless the bevel is incorrect, I don't see how they could be the problem.
I tried chipping some wood today with very poor results. It does not pull the wood in well; I have to push it into the drum and it will only very reluctantly grab after a lot of pushing. Then the chips collect in the bottom of the chute and only a small portion are discharged. The chute appears to be original and there is no apparent place where there was an air duct in it. This machine must have worked better than this once upon a time. What is wrong here? I think that I can return the machine, but I would rather that it worked.

 

[Chippernewbie]

Probable problem causing poor feeding

Here I am again with the one-man thread.
I think that I may have found the problem with poor feeding of this chipper. The floor plate at the bed blade is badly worn. It is worn more in the center, of course, than at the edges. This leaves a step of between 3/16" & 1/4" down from the bottom of the ramp on the bed bar that is catching the material and keeping it from feeding. The floor of this machine is all welded in place and heavily reinforced below. I am now going to work on a way to repair this without removing the drum. If anyone has done this before or has any good ideas, I'm listening. My initial thought is to fabricate a steel wear plate to fit, possibly grinding out more of the edges and then install it with a combination of welding and bolts or rivets and filling the gaps between it and the existing floor plate with a high impact Devcon epoxy.
I don't know if this will increase the chip velocity so that they exit the chute, but if not, that problem remains to be solved as well as how to repair this one. My idea for the chip expulsion, if that is still a problem, is to add a blower, probably a good leaf blower to start with.
Any mental help on this thread will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Chippernewbie]

Another Critical Question

Does anyone know the correct spacing from the drum to the floor plate where it meets the bed bar holder? I know that the floor plate has to be higher than the start of the bevel on the holder, but how much is too high? Is it OK as long as it clears the drum blades and is above the bottom of the bevel or is it more critical than that? I hope that someone other than me can jump in on this thread and answer my questions. Never having experience with this type of chipper before, makes the answers that I give myself questionable. Also, I would really like answers to the first questions that I asked as to model, where to get a manual and did it come with a blower to discharge chips that is now missing?

 

[Chippernewbie]

One Problem Possibly Solved.

Here I go again with the one-man thread. I hope that someone else will benefit from this. I also hope someone could tell me where to get a manual, it would help a lot.

I may have found the actual cause of the feeding problem with this chipper. I found a picture of the blade setting for a JEX series chipper which is different from the one that I have because it has a removable floor plate and mine does not. However, the blades on mine as I received it are set with the bottom of the bevel even with the perimeter of the drum. The blade setting pictures shows them protruding with about a blade thickness between the drum perimeter and the bottom of the bevel. This will allow me to set the pressure bar lower and eliminate having to weld a plate on the floor. I would have had the plate in place today except that my cutting torch developed some leaking o-rings that are non-standard size that I will have to get from a welding shop. I now believe that the previous owner had it set up wrong and it would have been a mistake to weld a plate on the floor.

Can anyone tell me the blade extension setting that is in the manual? If not, I will use the blade thickness which I think is about 3/8" or whatever will allow the pressure bar to be in the right relation to the floor.

 

[Chippernewbie]

Current status of Chipper

Here is a continuation of my one-man thread. I hope someone else can benefit from my research and posting. I would still like to have an Asplundh manual for this or a similar chipper.


I have found out from Willie Day of Altec that this chipper is a C series built between 1956-1958. The engine is a Ford D 172 cid made in 1960.
I re-set the blades out from the drum as far as I could without hitting the bore of the housing side plates and then set the clearance between them and the pressure bar at about 0.030. I won't go through the whole procedure of how to do this as it is covered in other previous posts. However, if someone needs details, email me at [email protected] and I will explain how.

I also had to do a number of things to the engine to get it running correctly. It now chips like a mad beaver. It feeds like it should and flings the chips out of the discharge chute even though it does not have a blower. As soon as I get a new battery for it, I'm ready to put it to work.

 

[Locust Cutter]

That was a good write-up though pictures would help greatly. I have no experience with the chipper you mention, but am going to be in the market eventually for a decent used 9"-12" version as I find myself doing a lot of tree/storm cleanup jobs and am tired of renting them. Either way this post is of no help to you, but I do appreciate you taking the time to write this up. t is still valuable insight into other models I'd reckon.

 

[Chippernewbie]

Reply to Locust Cutter

In response to Locust Cutter's request. I will post some pictures as soon as I can figure out how to get them from my phone to the computer. What would you like to see in the pictures?

 

[Locust Cutter]

The blade to bedknife area and whatever else you're inclined to shoot.

 

[honesttree17]

Hey I think we have the same chipper mine is an asplundh 4 cylinder chipper but mine says gm on it I can't get mine started can you give me some info or maybe send some pics of your engine I think may have the fuel hooked up wrong

 

[Greg Moore]

Found this thread helpful if only to find out the chipper I just bought is _really_ old Paid $300 cdn.. 12" drum chipper.. Didn't know until I took paint stripper to the tag that it's an Asplundh and since the serial is C2239 I expect it's a C series which makes it really old! Hasn't been used in couple of years. Motor (now a 305 Chevy) has a wrist pin rattle and blades are dull, but 2hrs worth of time and no money and it chips. Will probably have another $200 and a dozen hours to make it safer and sharper.

Impossible to find a picture exactly like it but now I know it's from the 50's so odds are slim finding a match. Also has TC1933 welded on frame, still trying to find out what that means