Chuck n duck chipper

[karl]

We are no longer chipping slabs, so:
Old tree service type chipper of unknown age or brand,
ford 300 powered drum chipper,runs well, good knives
$2000.

[Tom]

While interested, I'm not a buyer.  I just think that a throat size might be a good thing to report.  6" throats won't take much of a slab.

You wouldn't believe how many years I wanted a chipper.  It's not just a piece of support equipment, it's a separate business that will earn dollars on the back end of a portable sawing operation.  "For x-$, I will grind up those slabs".   

It can also produce mulch and compost material for home.  They are very useful and not many are on the market at an affordable price.

[isawlogs]

 
   But Tom its a lot more fun to do this


   

[logwalker]

I have a chuck and duck chipper and I don't think of it as a slab chipper. They are more for brush and limbs. I acquired it from my son-in-law for slabs but was disappointed. For those that are unfamiliar with them they feed by pulling the wood in with the  spinning cutter head. It is a violent and essentially uncontrolled event. Thus the "Chuck & Duck".

Karl, can you fill in with your slab grinding experience?

Joe

[Tom]

Isawlogs,
Why are you burning that perfectly good skidder? 

I know what you mean about the "chuck 'n duck" not being the most efficient slab chipper, but I always thought they might work, if the slabs were small enough.   They still measure them by input inches, so I figured that they would take whatever would fit in the throat.   Maybe I'm wrong.  They are scarey tools and not to be treated without caution.  The hydraulic feeders seemed to make all of the chippers work better.

[bill m]

The chuck and duck chippers only have about a 6 to 9 in chipping capacity. Not the width of the opening. If you cut the slabs shorter (4 to 8 ft. long max. ) it would work for about 75% of the slabs you have.

[WH_Conley]

How about chipping the edger strips, anything that would fit in a 6" chipper and bundle the rest for firewood?

Grade sawing, the pretty wood, would have small thin slabs. Tie and cant logs would have thicker slabs= firewood.

Could you sell the chips and get a little more out of the "firewood slabs" because of no small stuff?

[logwalker]

From my experience with my very heavy duty Altec Whisper chipper, small strips blow thru so fast they end up anywhere fro 8" to 30" long. They are not chips at all but long full width chunks. And they fly for over a hundred feet and end up in trees and elsewhere. And I went to great lengths to set this up according to the book.

I believe now that they are meant for limbs, tops and even small trees to 6" but the chips are almost unusable. And they were designed to go into a hopper truck too.

They are very intimidating to run. Joe

[Reddog]

Joe, your knife and anvil settings seem off if getting chips that large.
Set the knives 3/16 to a 1/4 out from the drum. Then set the bed knife/anvil .015 to .020 from the knives.

[logwalker]

I went exactly by the book when I set them. But I will check them again. Thanks, Joe

[karl]

Sorry for the delay in responding-
I have absolutely no arguement with any statements made so far-
This old beast is NOT for making guaged chips- it is for thrashing big pieces into small ones.
The resulting chips are dependant upon many factors including size, species, MC, frozen or not, knife/anvil setting/sharpness,

We used it to create woods roads, and a yard cover around the mill. Now that we have better means of handling logs, there is not the need to cover the mud with something clean.
Since we also burn our slabs for heat- we used it mainly for those pesky edgings and rotten crap.
Now we just bundle and chop up everything, and save the time and gas to chip.
If I ever felt the need to chip again, I'd be looking for a disc type chipper that was adjustable for a variety of chips for a marketable product.
I would also be looking for something with a hydraulic feed-safety being the main reason, and for control of the chipping process.
Back to the throat size- it is 12" wide, and mangle a 12' wide slab into chips, slivers and shards like any slab.....or stall
I warn everyone who asks about this machine that it is a dangerous machine, and that they need to be savvy and cautious...whenever we were chipping and someone came around, we shut down- didn't need the distraction and certainly not any "help" !!!
It WILL throw pieces back that are inadvertantly tossed into the top of the head- I had a truck mudflap hanging behind it as a deflector, but standing to one side is still imperative. slabs fed in bark down result in less strips blowing through in strips, and seem to chip easier. It does not like lumber cutoffs, and they will bounce around and fly out.

It is for sale, but I am not "trying to sell it".... copy?