This is my first post but I have spent lots of time reading on this site. Thank you to everyone who contribute their knowledge to the community.
I need some advice on a 12" Fitchburg Chuck and Duck...First off, this thing is a beast. I have owned it for about 5 years and chipped tons of trees and branches. Over time it has become less efficient to the point that it actually takes work to feed branches into the machine. I end up jamming the branch into the drum so it will catch. Not ideal if you are familiar with these machines. I have determined that the likely cause of the slow change is that the blade clearances are way too big. Manuals call for pretty tight clearances (found these from old posts) but not sure how to achieve these tight tolerances. Goal clearances posted elsewhere are feed plate clearance of .065"-.070" and bed knife clearance of .004"-.006". The spring loaded feed plate currently is about 3/4" from the blades and not further adjustable (#32 in attached patent photo). I can adjust the bed knife up and down to achieve proper clearances (#36 in attached patent photo). The only way I see to achieve all recommended clearances is to adjust my blades out (#44 in attached patent photo). If I do this, quite a bit of the blade will be above the drum. Any pictures I see of drums, the blades look pretty flush. Even in the patent photo they are shown pretty flush. Should I adjust the knives out and try it? How much above the drum is too much? Any input from others would be greatly appreciated.
I also know that sharp knives are very important. All of my knives feel sharp and are with defects. I do admit that I have no idea how sharp new knives are though.
I need some advice on a 12" Fitchburg Chuck and Duck...First off, this thing is a beast. I have owned it for about 5 years and chipped tons of trees and branches. Over time it has become less efficient to the point that it actually takes work to feed branches into the machine. I end up jamming the branch into the drum so it will catch. Not ideal if you are familiar with these machines. I have determined that the likely cause of the slow change is that the blade clearances are way too big. Manuals call for pretty tight clearances (found these from old posts) but not sure how to achieve these tight tolerances. Goal clearances posted elsewhere are feed plate clearance of .065"-.070" and bed knife clearance of .004"-.006". The spring loaded feed plate currently is about 3/4" from the blades and not further adjustable (#32 in attached patent photo). I can adjust the bed knife up and down to achieve proper clearances (#36 in attached patent photo). The only way I see to achieve all recommended clearances is to adjust my blades out (#44 in attached patent photo). If I do this, quite a bit of the blade will be above the drum. Any pictures I see of drums, the blades look pretty flush. Even in the patent photo they are shown pretty flush. Should I adjust the knives out and try it? How much above the drum is too much? Any input from others would be greatly appreciated.
I also know that sharp knives are very important. All of my knives feel sharp and are with defects. I do admit that I have no idea how sharp new knives are though.