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I am after some advice on which Stump Grinder would be best for my Small Business (Grounds Maintenance and Tree Surgery). The problem: When I have to collect a Stump Grinder from a hire company it takes 1/2 a day to go and collect it, and another 1/2 a day to return it. So you end up with 2-3 days hire for 1x days income. So this is a service I don't push because it interferes with undertaking other work. So I was wondering if this should be a new piece of kit to expand the business's range of services. I have been looking at the following and these are my thoughts: Brands: I have been looking mainly at the Preditor, although I have used a couple of Torro machines. Question 1: So advice from people on what they find good and bad about brands would be helpful. Size of Machine: 1) Predator 360 Stump Grinder or Toro SGR-13 Stump Grinder / I thought that maybe it's ok for small job, but would it be painful on a bigger job and would I out grow it before really get started? 2) Predator 460 Stump Grinder / I thought that maybe it's a better starting point for the smaller job that could do the occasional bigger job. Still good for narrow access. But would you out grow this machine too quickly? 3) Predator 38X Tracked Manual Stump Grinder or Toro STX-26 Stump Grinder or Toro STX-38 Stump Grinder / But then I thought do you just go for a bigger tracked Stump Grinder like this as a starting point? This will obviously be in a much higher price bracket, knowing that you might just cover your costs initially without much return, until you can build the business up in the longer term. Question 2: So I would be most grateful for advice from people who have been in this quandary as to where to start with machine size. Question 3: The machine size might change the pricing that you charge, along with the volume of work that you can undertake that might change the view on what you would choose to buy. So advice on job pricing with the different sized machines would be helpful? All advice is most welcome...

Hello all, I'd like some advice please? I am considering offering a chain sharpening service in my local area, as part of a wider range of sharpening services to provide some sideline income. My plan was to buy the 'top of the range' Oregon 620-230 sharpening grinder which seems to cover all chain sizes, and has the addition of a hydraulic lock to remove the need to manually clamp the chain before each grind. My fears are that I'd be throwing £300 away on a machine that would barely see much action (other than the few chains I'd sharpen for home use). Am I right in thinking that you professional arborists all either sharpen your own chains by hand in the field, or own such a machine yourselves and will sharpen all your chains on a Sunday morning? A person advertising online was charging £7.50 per chain, which I thought seemed a bit steep, but I'd like to hear the members' opinions. If I didn't have a market within the arborist community, I don't think the few domestic users that have a saw for firewood/pruning etc would provide enough income to pay for the machine in any reasonable timescale, so it might be a dead duck of an idea. I was a member years ago so I know the good natured banter here and I'm awaiting some 'good ol' fashioned p-taking' and the like What do you people think? Also, if you have views on such machines vs hand sharpening I'd be willing to hear those too. I'm a bit worried that the hydraulic feature is jest another thing to go wrong, like floor jack, hydraulic presses etc, which invariably leak and lose pressure as the seals degrade. Over to the floor.....

Right, I know very little about the stump grinding business but I am eager to get into it. My boss has said that he is not interested in doing any form of stump grinding so I thought I would capitalise on it! He only does domestic work so a lot of the time it will be narrow access (fitting through garden side gates). I am looking for something that is self-propelled but the deck does spin. I know there is a huge market so I thought I would ask the people in the know who have used these machines before. They are all much the same but their prices obviously vary so does the brand really determine the prices? I am looking for some advice on what I should go for like a Bandit HB20, CARLTON SP2010, FSI B22, Predator 360 and 460 In your opinions what do you like best? What are the running costs like? And if any of you guys are thinking of getting rid of one or know of a great dealer, I am based in Basingstoke, Hampshire. Any advice would be appreciated. Many Thanks,

Sthil 046 felling saw, Green Mini Grinder, HL75 K Sthil long reach hedge trimmer, all stolen from secure locked premises in East Sussex. Marked with post code BN8 6NT.

Just a quick message to highly recommend QRMS for grinder teeth, bought some for my Rayco, Customer service is great and delivery was super fast!

We are looking to hire a stump grinder off someone for a day for 5 conifer stumps(biggest around 16" diameter) near Farnham in the next couple of weeks. Any help appreciated. please message me on here or call ben hyatt on 07823321959 to discuss! Cheers!

I haven't seen anything similar so I thought I would do this out of interest. You can vote for as many as you use out of the following; 1. File guide- standard round file in a guide 2. Roller guide - Round file in a roller guide 3. Electric sharpener - Any handheld electric sharpener 4. Bench grinder - Bench mounted disc grinder 5. Powersharp - the oregon 'auto-sharpen' chain or anything similar. 6. 2 in 1 sharpener - Does the depth guages at the same time 7. Clamp on bar guide - like this 8. Other - Angle grinder, electric drill etc. 9. Freehand Let me know if I've missed anything, it should be interesting to see the results... Edit: I missed out freehand in the poll because I was too busy thinking of all the file guides. It might be added later if not just post.

Hi guys looking for a little help, advice etc. Have just brought a little Rayco 13 stump grinder from Daniel@Chippertech, used it a couple of times now and the teeth are getting a tad worn. Wanted to find out from you guys where you all get your grinder finger teeth from? Got told by a mate it doesn't matter how expensive they are they are wear the same. So, I suppose the real question is where can I get cheap grinder finger teeth from and how much do you pay??? Cheers Guys, Horatio

I'm getting an Iveco Daily 35c14 (yeee haaaa) which can tow up to 3 tons, so I'm thinking why not put some of my kit on to the chipper... then I see this.... [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owJfr-fAODw]YouTube - DIY vs Professional tree care[/ame] Check it out at about 0.50 seconds. Is that a grinder in the chipper I see? Whats the legality on this. Is it a hi-viz attached to the unit if it sticks out too much jobbie. How about some other ideas on attaching saws and kit to the chipper. Kind of helps with the overloading of the truck I reckon.