My first chipper

[treedweller]

Right guys iv bought it now so no more shoulda woulda coulda's please. I have jobs stacked up and I can't justify paying for the hire companies chipper for them when I could get a little machine and build it up. Anyway it sounds like a new set of blades then??

[Hodge]

Right guys iv bought it now so no more shoulda woulda coulda's please. I have jobs stacked up and I can't justify paying for the hire companies chipper for them when I could get a little machine and build it up. Anyway it sounds like a new set of blades then??

 

When you said you sharpened the blades how did you do it?

[Mortimer Firewood]

Right i found my small chipper and jumped on it!! Its a Bearcat 71020 chipper shredder with blower unit. Had it out today for the first time and the shredder is evil!!! just rips small brash through upto 1"1/2 to 2" but the chipping chute which is 5" wasn't doing to well. I had to push the branches through it and it just seemed hard work really. I got it back to the yard and removed the blades (4 of) and thgey seemed battered. So i gave them a sharpen up refitted and tested. It faired better but the chips where like dust really fine. How can i get it to perform like a timberwolf 13/75g or 18/100g because they seem to chip it up on there own no need to force it through and the chips are quite big???? Is a new set of blades needed.

 

Apart from that im well chuffed it towed well at 55-60mph all the way from Coventry back to Blackpool. The 20hp kohler v twin starts on the key first turn and it never laboured once.

 

I'll get some pics up but any advice regarding blades chipping chute is welcomed.

 

Cheers guys.

 

 

Stick with it mate i started with an old arbour eater 4 inch got me up and going you need to find some one in your area that knows a bit about chippers and bung him a few quid to get it sorted. It will then last till you can afford anotherif you get a huge job hire one in.

[Robert_S]

good for you mate, well done on achieving your goal of owning a chipper:thumbup1:

 

As said sharp blades and the anvil set. if you have it in your budget i would buy a brand new set of blades and anvil it will transform the chipper, onwards and upwards pal

[arbmark]

blades from countax in case you didnt know - phone them for the nearest stockist to you...or buy from the states. brace yourself they aint cheap!

[treedweller]

I've found a dealer around the corner from me which is a bonus!! they are phoning me with a price on monday. To be fair to the machine its solid and looks presentable.

The system is just the same as the timberwolf gravitey fed machines and Entec's used kohler engines as well as loads of other brands so why do they have such a bad rep?? Parts prices and poor dealer backup?? or is it just small chipper discrimination hahaha

[Old Mill Tree Care]

It's small chipper discrimination.

However, cheap brands are cheap for a reason and you discover design and manufacturing 'short cuts' while you own it. Still, it's better to have your Bearcat than be chopping down in the back of a transit.

 

Enjoy it, keep it very well locked up and it will make you money.

[Dr.Green]

any chippers a bonus - my tw125 broke down and is off getting fixed

 

cutting brash in the back of truck is just no good , its like stepping back in time 1 year never mind the whips in the eye from pissy twigs when loading in the truck rear.

 

 

 

(awaits chipper return before i do any more work)

[WoodED]

get ur blades profesionaly sharpend,

[monkeybusiness]

The distance between your blades and the anvil(s) is critical. Assuming they are all sharp/square (and if they aren't properly sharp and balanced then you are wasting your time) then you need to check the operators manual and ensure the distance between them is correct and even along their length (ie they don't taper in/out from each other). There should be more than one anvil (probably 2 - one bottom and one side) that need to have good, sharp square edges - chippers cut in a similar fashion to scissors and need 2 sharp edges to work correctly.

If you can't find details of the correct blade/anvil gap then you won't go far wrong if you use a hacksaw blade thickness as a guide - set the gap and then rotate the flywheel to make sure the opposite set of blades doesn't foul (if it does the blades aren't set correctly/the flywheel may be mis-aligned/bent!/the blades aren't balanced). Check the flywheel can't float in its bearings - if there is nothing to stop the flywheel moving in/out along its axle then the blade/anvil gap can open up as soon as you start feeding the machine and may potentially close up (with serious consequences as the blades and anvil will meet at massive speed).

It doesn't matter what make/model of chipper/saw/razor etc you buy - if it is blunt it won't work. A well set up Bearcat will out perform an abused Timberwolf/Jensen any day. Congratulations on your purchase - you won't look back I'm sure of that!