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Stump Grinder

Started by Hale87, May 03, 2015, 04:57:50 PM

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Hale87

I'm wondering if any of you guys with portable mills also offer stump grinding? Seems like it's something that might be worth adding?? It also seems like there's a lot of guys already doing it.

Thanks for your input!
2002 LT40HD sawmill, WM single blade edger, 23hp Kubota tractor, 2011 Kawasaki Mule, 2002 Honda Foreman, 1983 Case 480D backhoe

Magicman

I will leave that and tree removal to you and whoever else wants to do it.  My sawing is full time enough for me.   ;D
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

beenthere

Hale87
You think there is a reason that the two (portable mill and stump grinding) go together?

You have my curiosity.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Hale87

I'm relatively new to trying to build my business, but after someone asking me the other day if I had one, I got to thinking about it. I just looked at a job the other night where a guy took down his own tree. If I owned a stump grinder I could of offered it up while I was there.

I'm not the guy that wants to saw lumber forty hours a week. Way to boring for me, so I thought maybe it would be a way to break up the work week?
2002 LT40HD sawmill, WM single blade edger, 23hp Kubota tractor, 2011 Kawasaki Mule, 2002 Honda Foreman, 1983 Case 480D backhoe

beenthere

QuoteIf I owned a stump grinder I could of offered it up while I was there.

Are you thinking you could easily "have it along" with your saw rig?

A couple weeks ago I had two stumps ground out... the guy asked a lot of questions about the slope around the stump (needed it pretty flat), and about any rocks (didn't want any), and spent two hours hanging onto the grinding machine to get a 25" hard maple stump and a 20" shagbark hickory stump ground just below ground level.
Member @Wallys World posted the other day about a stump grinder he was using. Maybe he will chime in.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Hale87

Quote from: beenthere on May 03, 2015, 10:01:28 PM
QuoteIf I owned a stump grinder I could of offered it up while I was there.

Are you thinking you could easily "have it along" with your saw rig?

No I don't see anyway to take it along with the mill.
Used stump grinders aren't real expensive, so I figured there would be some guys on here that owned them. I see stumps darn near on every job, (go figure) so I thought it might be a good idea.
2002 LT40HD sawmill, WM single blade edger, 23hp Kubota tractor, 2011 Kawasaki Mule, 2002 Honda Foreman, 1983 Case 480D backhoe

Hale87

Here's two that are for sale somewhat local to me. The bigger one is offered at 6 grand and the 2nd one is being offered at 2800.



  

 

Just doesn't seem like a lot of money to lay out.
A lot of people don't even think of things like that until you mention it to them.
In most cases I 'm thinking people care more about getting their lumber cut up than leveling the stump left behind, and that means you're first to talk to them about it.

2002 LT40HD sawmill, WM single blade edger, 23hp Kubota tractor, 2011 Kawasaki Mule, 2002 Honda Foreman, 1983 Case 480D backhoe

Jemclimber

Stump grinding can be a full time business on it's own.  There is generally a lot of maintenance on these machines and machines need to be kept busy to make money. Then there is insurance.  One little stone actually or supposedly hitting a car or something else can be expensive. One metal pipe hidden in a stump that shears off most of your teeth and ruins a bearing and an expensive kevlar belt can be very expensive. I've seen it happen.  :'(   It can be a nice profitable business, but look at the whole picture before you decide to jump in.   
lt15

AlaskaLes

Back in my earlier years, when I was a treeclimber...funny that now they are frequently called "Arborists", but that word wasn't used back then, at least not in my world....
Anyway, I would frequently operate a stump grinder between climbing jobs and often it was just the next phase after we had removed some 100+ foot monster tree from someone's yard.  There was pretty good money in stumpgrinding and it was a common occurance where I was grinding and a neighbor would come over and ask me what it would take to remove a few from their yard while I was there.

We only had issues with chipped teeth on very rare occasions and it certainly wasn't hard work.  This was on the East coast/suburban areas and the stumps were everywhere!!
Also, when I was working a job grinding, I would look for other stumps nearby and I'd go up and knock and offer the service.  Rarely was the answer "no".

I could see that you'd have to come back with the grinder as you can't tote two tools behind one truck, but you could easily set up a schedule with the customers that would allow you to mill at several jobs and then come back and spend a few days grinding those same jobs.  Back then (in the 80's)  I think we were charging 10.00 per inch and it was a good profit margin.  I'd do some calling around acting as a prospective customer and see what the local grinders are charging in your area to get an idea of what you can charge for your service. 
You can see Mt McKinley from our backyard...Up Close!!

Mighty Mite MK 4B, full-hyd, diesel bandmill
Kubota 4wd 3650GST w/FEL; Forks;
3pt Log Arm& Log trailer
Husky 394XP
Husky 371XP
Husky 353
Echo 330T
Nyle 200M
Robar RC-50 50BMG-just in case the trees get out of line

woodhick

I have a stump grinder along with my sawmill.  I bought the stump grinder not for business but to clear my own property with. As with sawing and other business there are variables.  A smaller grinder takes a LOT more time to grind than a larger one on the same size stump.  Time is money.  I have done some grinding for foks I know and it can be profitable.  My grinder is a tow behind that has to stay hooked to the truck so it limits access to back yards and so.  Teeth can be sharpened with a silicon carbide "green" grinding wheel but it is slow.  Someone mentioned above a rate of $10 per inch.  At that rate I would say you could make a good profit.
James
Woodmizer LT40 Super 42hp Kubota, and more heavy iron woodworking equipment than I have room for.

beenthere

From my previous post:
QuoteA couple weeks ago I had two stumps ground out... the guy asked a lot of questions about the slope around the stump (needed it pretty flat), and about any rocks (didn't want any), and spent two hours hanging onto the grinding machine to get a 25" hard maple stump and a 20" shagbark hickory stump ground just below ground level.

The two stumps were bid at $150, but I gave him a tip as he worked hard for the two hours.

That is about $3 + per inch.

Here is a short video of his grinder.
http://youtu.be/jxS5JfvqP7w
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

AlaskaLes

Wow!!  Now that looks like work!
The one I used to run was attached to the truck and had hydraulic controls and a 6cylinder motor driving it.
All you had to do is move a lever for left and right swing,  advance another 3/4" to 1" or so and then do the swing again.  It would cut about an inch or two down per layer.  Then you'd retract, drop it another inch or two and start the swing and advance process again.  It would chew through a 20" stump about 1' tall and have it 6" or 8" below grade in about 1/2 hour.  If I had to do it like the guy in the video...I would pass.   
If I were you and serious about this tool purchase, I'd definitely go with the larger grinder. 
It may cost more initially, but I'd bet it does the job in half the time.
The cutter head on ours was about 16" to 18" in diameter too, so much bigger than the one in the video.
Les
You can see Mt McKinley from our backyard...Up Close!!

Mighty Mite MK 4B, full-hyd, diesel bandmill
Kubota 4wd 3650GST w/FEL; Forks;
3pt Log Arm& Log trailer
Husky 394XP
Husky 371XP
Husky 353
Echo 330T
Nyle 200M
Robar RC-50 50BMG-just in case the trees get out of line

Wallys World

The reason I have my stump grinder is also basically for my own use. My father passed away in 2001 and I had his insurance money to do something with. I debated about putting it into the stock market then I decided to by equipment. I had to remove stumps to place a 35 x 56 foot steel building. I looked a small track hoe, but what do I do with the stumps and I would need to fill all the holes. I started looking at stump grinders, Vermeer would never call me back so I contacted Rayco. They drove one out from Ohio to New York (where I was living at the time) to demo it on my place. I liked it, bought it right then, and they left it. I bought the Rayco 1625 Super Jr. stump grinder. I was at the Boonville show and went to the Vermeer booth, told them who I was, and had them say "Oh you're the one, we lost our salesman for your area and dropped the ball". From then on they would contact me to see if I was going to purchase anything else, when I was ready to talk about a chipper, they were there the next day towing one behind them to demo. I did purchase a BC625a chipper a month later. Both a small enough for me to haul around easily. Maintenance for the stump grinder is continuous. Teeth need to be changed or in my case now rotated. I run "Greenteeth" an indexable tooth. I have only replaced belts 2 times in its life, but tension and alignment is critical. I got into stumping because my main land was in Virginia, the machine and I were in New York. (I trailered the Rayco when I went to the southern land). It was sitting idle in New York. I advertised some in a coupon clipper type magazine, which got me going good. Then it was by word of mouth. I had other tree guys calling me to see if I wanted to do their stumps. Yes you can make money at it, maybe if you have a payment I don't know how much. Horsepower is key also, I wish I had a 100 horse machine to power thru the big ones.

  20 - 30 minutes with sharp teeth on this size stump. Average 10 inches down.
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