Stumpy Grinder

The ones I fitted from Tyre Rite are standard 4" PCD trailer wheels with no offset and cost £127 delivered! I doubt the predator ones will be that cheap even if they do fit. SG

Got them from here for about £100 delivered! Tyre-Rite UK, puncture repair & tyre maintenance, inner tubes, OKO tyre sealant My 'extreme machine' is an Alpine Magnum which has an extremely capable cut and will go literally anywhere I can go! It is extremely thirsty though with a Husky 3120XP power head on full trigger time. A set of 'Rock Teeth' are also £60 and don't last very long. However, I do probably les than 1% of my work with this machine, but just having it means that I can do any job that comes up. I also have a Stihl TS 410 Disc Cutter with a Terrasaur blade that will cut through pretty much anything! All stumps are made of wood! It's just a matter of time! SG

Have a look at my reduced width RG20 here which will get through a 28" gap and is a seriously capable machine! Stump grinders need some weight behind them as well as power, or else Newton's third law will ensure that you get the crap knocked out of you! http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/large-equipment/102047-rayco-rg20-width.html

Just built my own using Wix! Really quite simple... http://mike2506cundy.wixsite.com/stump-grinding SG

I went to a local conveyor belt company and got a load of offcuts out of their skip! Perfect and free!

It's actually not difficult with modern equipment and tutorials online. I recently bought a cracking little Mig welder: https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/135te-turbo-mig-welder/ Very easy to use and can handle pretty much any job. I've found myself fixing things that aren't even broken! SG

Having come from an aviation background in the military, publicising accidents or 'near misses' is absolutely the right thing to do! It raises awareness of what can go wrong and hopefully lessen the risk by learning from the experiences of others. A Near Miss is an unplanned event that did not result in injury, illness, or damage – but had the potential to do so. Only a fortunate break in the chain of events prevented an injury, fatality or damage; in other words, a miss that was nonetheless very near. Your mate blowing the whistle could have broken the chain, as could you by not straying from normal practise. Sadly, your event sounds a little more than a near miss. I can only assume the vegetation below broke your fall? I have the greatest respect for you posting this as it must have been very difficult for you to admit 'catastrophic error' as you put it. I hope it is mainly your pride that is dented and you are not badly injured? You are clearly well enough to post this, albeit 5 days after the event. I hope you make a speedy and full recovery. This event will undoubtedly make you (and hopefully others) safer in the future. I bet that 45 foot journey felt like slow motion?! Regards, SG

It might be more cost effective to try and find someone like myself in your area that just does stumps mate? A decent size machine and operator would have them done in less than an hour, whereas it would take you the best part of a day with a small 'hip-buster' hire machine. Probably cheaper than the hire of the machine and you get your day back! I grew up in Newton Abbot but it's a bit too far away for me now! Regards, SG

Sounds like a fun idea! Can you post a pic of one? SG

Job for the little reduced width grinder. Through two narrow gates and a very tight corner! Raised big old Laurel in a walled garden. There it was...Gone! Ready to be block paved and room for the extension to be built to what is a listed building. Another very satisfied customer! SG

I'm sure much of it, as with everything these days is due to cost. Waves and storms are also very unpredictable and can damage tidal systems. Blocked estuaries are effective but are very bad for migratory fish. Generation of electricity is also limited to a relatively short period twice a day. Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon. Blocking them could subsequently send the moon out of kilter with the earth. Lunatics (lunar) rely on this timing to know when to go bonkers! Werewolves also. Menstruating women also rely on a 28 day cycle which I believe is directly related to the moon and to lunacy? Let's not mess with the moon! Burn wood, coal, gas, frack, nuclear or anything other than mess with 28 day cycles which are already the bain of our lives!!?? SG:001_rolleyes:

Mine has been reduced in width to 28". It came with some rubbish 8" standard trailer wheels on, but the axles had been shortened and the hubs set further in. They were just too small and no traction. The original wheels would no longer fit. I looked at hub spacers, but I bought it for narrow access and so set about looking for a decent solution. Turf tyres was an option, but they tend to be too wide. I eventually sourced some 10" mini tractor style wheels which are big enough and give good traction. They have a very close clearance, but I now have a very capable machine which will get through a very small gap if I can't get a bigger machine in. SG

Well you're missing a trick then as you can sell once used teeth on Ebay for about half of what you paid new which is a LOT more than scrap value! The Greenteeth You use can be sharpened by putting them into a rotating pillar drill and lowering them onto a green bench grinder wheel which retains the concave cutting surface. SG

I don't think it will work, as your average 'sales person' will have no affinity with stump grinding! They will not see the problems of access, hazards, obstructions, etc, that you or I would see that may cause issue. You would just have to give them a formula per area of stump, or stump numbers? If you are going to do that, then you may as well just save employing someone and get the customer to measure up and effectively self-quote? I wouldn't be happy getting someone else to quote for me. That said, I do work for several Arborists that quote for my work as part of their job. However, they understand what's involved and generally quote more than I would have done anyway! SG

No! Per year! Just checked it. The tractor isn't on it this year, but the Rayco grinder and a Honda 450 Foreman quad cost me £284 per year for both.

I've got NFU insurance cover on my biggest machine. They didn't really know what one was, but covered it as 'pedestrian plant' but named it as a grinder. Hard to tell exact cost as it is a joint policy with a tractor and a quad bike. I'd guess it would cost about £100 on its own. It is covered for fire and theft and 3rd party liability as well as damage whilst in use. Seems to have all the boxes ticked and works well for me as it covers most of my toys. SG

If you get an 8" grinder you'll need a bigger wheel than the link I posted previously. One like this: 200mm 8 x 25mm 1 . Bench wheels. Green silicon carbide abrasive. SG

No! Far from it! It started as a shed, but I suffered a little 'mission creep'! I daren't show the inside which is now a mixture of tools, reloading gear and ferret shite! I do have a fine stereo tuned to Planet Rock (Absolute Rock?) and I'm able to run a chainsaw in there at almost midnight without waking the neighbours so my soundproofing must be quite good, although I need to get the windows and door open quick as it is also pretty air tight! It's pretty secure too. I have a worktop and cupboards full length with vices along the window side, and a row of lockable metal cabinets and a large metal safe along the back wall. It also complies with building regs which is an essential consideration! SG

Just turn an electric fan heater on for a couple of minutes and it's roasting in there!

I built my 'Man Cave' using a framework of treated 3x2" on a raised concrete base. I built the frame first, then stapled a 'Vapour barrier' on which is effectively green polythene form screwfix! The outside was then panelled with shiplap timber treated with cuprinol. I then filled the inside of the sides with cavity wall 50mm insulation and the roof with celotex. I lined the inside with 6mm plywood and painted it. A butyl rubber roof kit cost about £200. Upvc windows and doors from ebay, old reclaimed kitchen units and worktops, full electrics and it's more like a chalet that you could live in! SG

You need to speak to your education centre who will be able to advise as you should be entitled to an amount of resettlement grant training? SG I would also add, that it is very difficult to leave the Army one day and become something you are not the next day! You should try and gain experience now! Try and get part time work at weekends whilst you still have your Army wage, even if you work for peanuts to gain experience and credibility. You have a lot going for you though, as Ex Forces personnel have a good reputation for being disciplined and reliable. You also still have age on your side! I'm sure there are loads of ex forces on here that will understand your situation and hopefully some that can help out. Good luck.

Yeah, don't do it indoors! I have two bench grinders mounted on top of a plank which then clamps into a workmate. Screwfix do a 8" Titan one which is good and powerful and costs about £40 with a free wire brush!! One has a wire brush to clean the teeth and a carbide wheel which I first use to take the milder steel at the rear of the tooth back. Once you've done that, it is quite hot and needs to cool! Do some more.... Once you've done a batch like that, your grinder will also be hot and need to cool! Then out comes the other grinder which has a Green Grit Silicone Tungsten Carbide wheel on, and a normal carbide wheel which is once again used to remove the rear metal once the green wheel has expose more of it. I do this out on the lawn with an extension lead out of the 'man-cave'. Full overalls, eye protection and a valved mask to prevent the glasses steaming up! It sounds a lot of hassle, but I buy 'once used' teeth on Ebay for usually less than 50% of cost new. I can get about 4 more sessions with them and sharpen about 3 sets of 12 per hour which equates to about £144 worth of teeth at cost new. I view this as very cost effective time well spent between jobs! I can get them ridiculously sharp and never run out as I have boxes full of them! Buying a set of teeth for £50 and getting a day out of them costs £50/day. Getting 5 days out of the same set costs £10/day and effectively saves you £200 a week for maybe a couple of hours work at most! It will also encourage you to change teeth more often which increases your effectiveness, as well as reducing fatigue on you and machine whilst saving time and fuel! It's a 'no-brainer'!!!! SG

I use a bench grinder with the correct wheel! A standard carbide wheel is only good to reduce the milder steel behind the Tungsten tip. The only thing that will touch the tip is a specialist Tungsten Carbide wheel (Green Grit) which is designed specially for this purpose. The dust is a bit naughty though so wear a mask! One like this: https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/6in-wetsone-grinding-wheel-green/ Makes short work of bringing a worn tooth back to new condition. I get about 4-5 re-sharpens on most finger teeth (if I haven't snapped or bent them by then!). SG

Ahh, the joys of predictive text! If it is any consolation, the chap that invented predictive text died this week. If anyone wants to attend and pay their last respects, his funfair is next Monkey. SG