Changing teeth?

[dogdad]

Ok ..I have a 352 Vermeer,,,,was wondering in a round about way how you guys decide when you need to change the teeth on your units. Do you go by hours used,,,# of stumps ,observation of the teeth themselves...? Does the chips look different when the teeth are dull ?

 

[Stumper]

Condition of the teeth, type of stump to be ground, actual performance in the wood. (half rotted wood may grind fine even with dull teeth. A small juniper stump in a graveled bed doesn't get fresh teeth-just beat thatlittle rascal out !etc.)
Generally I try to keep sharp teeth on the machine but I seldom change entire sets of teeth-I've discovered that changing a third at a time-(remove dullest and replace with sharps) keeps the machine cutting very well. Changing only a third takes little time and does'nt hold the trauma of putting on an entire new set and then running into embedded steel. Consequently, I change frequently and almost always have sharp teeth doing the work.

 

[stumpy66]

I go with that, you can tell when the machine is not happy. the sound changes....you can see/feel when the tooth is blunt..The cutting edge should always have just that.....a sharp cutting edge, just check em and change the ones that need it, especially if you sharpen them yourself....

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

use your eyes as your guide

 

[okietreedude1]

putting on an entire new set and then running into embedded steel. .

I can attest to this!

I recently retoothed my 222 w/ all new teeth. This week Ive been working on a 150+ stump job for my city. I have hit so much CRAP! Rocks/bricks/cement, sink trap (metal), steel shovel head, window weight, train track rail, glass, fence and more things Ive lost track of.

I now have 2 chipped teeth and a whole set of dull ones.

Ill be busting out the grinder soon.

 

[flyinmechanic]

Don't feel too bad,
Embedded Rebar in stumps that I have hit with my 222 resulted in chipped teeth, but when I hit the same with my 352 diesel, results were much more expensive, (explosive?) sheared off half the bolts on the cutter wheel and snapped a few of the factory teeth off at the shank!
I keep alot of the underground metal items I have run into, in my trailer tool box to show customers when appropriate....

Window weights, rebar, tools, pipe, RR spikes, what else has anyone hit with their grinders???

Doug
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Vermeer 222, 352, 2465

 

[okietreedude1]

t-posts are pretty common too. I bet in the yrs ive hit 10-12 of them. Fortunately, most ive found w/ the chain saw first so I was at least aware of them.

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

Window weights, rebar, tools, pipe, RR spikes, what else has anyone hit with their grinders???

Doug
_________________________________________________________________

Vermeer 222, 352, 2465

huge lumps of flint/rock in the middle of the top roots,bottles,fence posts pig iron stakes,bricks in middle of stump/top roots.........

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

anyone noticed vermeer bolts being a tight fit for the hex socket,just lately the hex 'thingy' has been getting stuck and i've had to beat it out of the nut with a hammer..they never were this tight

 

[a_lopa]

damm glass dulls them real quick,right up there with steel dropers

 

[stumpy66]

Rolla,
Maybe your nuts are cold and your hex is warm....just a thought...
try warming your nuts!!

 

[Brunner]

sharpening those stump bits

so, i have a sharpening business. been sharpening mower blades, shears, tools, etc. i want to add sharpening stump grinders to my list of services.

first question, are stump grinder bits high speed steel (hss) or carbide-tipped?

second, are you using a tool grinding center to sharpen or free-hand?

thanks

 

[stumpy66]

carbide tipped....its easy enough....i am sure people would appreiciate the option of someone else sharpening their teeth for them...

 

[Oly's Stump]

I have a gas operated air compressor in the back of my truck. I use Rayco Super Teeth on my Rayco Machines. I have sharp teeth always ready for installation. I use an air impact wrench to remove dull teeth and replace with sharp ones. I can do this right in the field. I am a real tickler about having sharp teeth on my machines. Its much faster to grind and easier on your equipment. My main line of work is stump grinding for tree firms so thats what I have been doing every day the past 19 years. I also sharpen my dull teeth with green wheels. Make sure if your grinding carbide that you use a mask and vacuum system to collect the dust. That dust is not good for your health. I seldom shear a tooth using the super rayco's. I keep teeth when the carbide brake off on newer teeth to have re-tipped. I send them off for re-tipping. I was thinking of trying the re-tipping myself but have not tried that yet.

 

[dogdad]

I was talking to another 352 owner the other day and he says that you sharpen teeth by grinding the OUTSIDE area of the teeth. Never have sharpened teeth myself, I always thought that the teeth were sharpened on at the flat surface. I still have to change out my first set of teeth and will probably do that this weekend. Hope its not hard to do.

 

[Abbershay]

i seldom place all the teeth just the first cutters usally about every thousand inches.

i recently bought one of these cordless impact wrenches this really speeds up the process.

 

[dogdad]

Every thousand inches?? Please more detail.

 

[Oly's Stump]

Its not hard at all to sharpen teeth. You have to use a green wheel on your bench grinder and you put the edge back on the tooth. It will take you a little bit to get the hang of it. You just grind them to look like they were when they were new. I usually can get about five sharpenings per took before a throw them out.

 

[Abbershay]

about every 50 stumps

 

[dogdad]

You sharpen the OUTSIDE round edge of the carbide,, not the flat surface ? that is what someone told me he did and I wondered if he was doing it correctly. By the way I have the vermeer 352 with the vermeer teeth.