Does anyone have any information on crossville v cutter blades ? I assume whoever built them is no longer in business , or if they are they are sure good at hiding . What I'm wanting to know is correct operating angle relative to the ground . Both push arms have a hinge point and a turnbuckle. As it is right now it appears that when mounted it will be slightly higher in the back , with the blade on the ground the center of trunnion blocks is about 19" and the trunnions on the dozer are about 23" . Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated so thanks in advance ,
No experience on V blade but do run Rome K/G blade . I like the knife edge about " flat " when you set the blade on the ground . HeavyEquipmentForums
The relative angle depends on whether you are clearing for making farmland, pastureland, or replanting trees for the timber companies. Farmland jobs run nose down. How much weld bead you have on the bottom of the moldboard at the tooth edge also affects the camber of the moldboard. The old-timers that know what they are doing cut off and re-weld the blade trunnions up or down depending on the job. Sounds like your adjustable blade would eliminate this PIA job. Some also weld a half-round of pipe under the stinger to raise the nose and then run the hydraulics in Float position. Some re-cut new teeth more often than you would think necessary. From what I can gather it takes years of experience to learn all the tricks. I'm still learning even though my dad started doing this in the 1960s and I'm still running the same Chicot blade, albeit with lots of cutting, welding, and re-fabricating over the last 40+ years.
Thanks a lot for the info , the work I have to do is for pasture so if a little gets left subsurface it's no real problem . The general makeup is standing timber 12-14 inches and down with stumps cut off 8-12 inches scattered throughout ranging from 16 to 36 inches cut approximately 3-4 years ago and I'd guess 80 to 120 stumps per acre depending on where you count . I'm hoping to shear the standing timber and split / cut off the stumps . Any thought on how it's going to work ?
I wouldn't attempt freshly cut 36 inch stumps with anything less than a D8K, L, or R size tractor. But since yours was logged several years ago you shouldn't have any problem on anything you described with a D6H,R, or T or a D7E or F. A D7G would sail through it easily except for the biggest stumps, and I figure they will split easily. The outer 4 or 6 inches of diameter should be rotten already. How many inches of blade do you have left, measuring from the moldboard to the tip of the teeth? (Btw in my previous post I was meaning to say blade instead of moldboard for the part where the teeth are cut in a pattern and built up with weld on the bottom). 18 to 20 inches is still very good for D7 and D8 tractors, and even on down to 15 would work if you're not in a hurry. When they start getting down to 12 inches you are not going to be able to do much. You didn't say what size tractor you have. It would be interesting to know that, and how many acres you are planning to do.
Thanks again for the reply and advice , the cutter blade measures 20" in the valleys and 22-1/2 on the peaks . I'm putting it on either a 29000 ser # 8h with a Kelly long beam ripper or a high 15000 ser# 8k bareback . There's been some debate on what this job should cost , another contractor told the land owner he would dig the stumps out and run them of into the ravines , pile the brush and burn for 1500 per acre but when he called him back he said he couldn't get there for a long time . Then the idea of grinding game along and another contractor said he'd bring a feller buncher and cut the trees grind the stumps for 1000-700 per acre but has yet to show up for his test pass . I had first pass and we were ripping around the trees and stumps with the fore mentioned 8h and pulling the stumps out either with the ripper or 963's and letting the ripped base trees stand until the 63's got ready for them , we were getting this done for 2160 an acre but because of the 1500 being thrown around we stopped and waited to see how the grinding stacked up . Long story short if I can come up with a faster / cheaper way there's 70 plus acres but if I can't I guess there's none
A D8K with that blade has 300 hp and weighs 75000 lbs or more, right? If you have the blade set up right, you won't stop the tractor for anything except the bigger stumps. Do the math based on ground speed and the width of that big V Shear blade. Add two to four minutes for each big solid stump you encounter on each pass. You can beat the mulcher guys by a mile, and digging up stumps to make pasture is a fool's mission. Unless the terrain is rocky or so steep that you can't keep your blade on the ground, no one can do it cheaper than you. You have plenty of stump sticking up on the previously logged trees to keep your blade in the stump until it shears off, the standing timber will be just enough to help you sweep up those stumps as you rake it. And the standing timber is not so big that you need two tractors to rake and pile it. (Although two can do more than double what one will do). Unless they've let it grow back thick as dog's hair with hickory and ironwood saplings, you ought to get it down to where the farmer can handle it with his front end loader tractor and heavy bush hog for way under a thousand. In this area the market for that type work is about $400 or so for the timber companies and $500 plus for the cattle guys. But each area is different so I'm just guessing at this based on your previous description.
Was he talking about a stump grinder? instead of a tub grinder or whatever. Neither makes any sense to me, but what do I know?
Yeah Missouri Clay , those blade's were built for mowing down trees . Have small pasture clearing job coming up , drop on the cutter blade & sharpen it up . Kind of enjoy that work , customer wants trees mowed down so they can grow grass & cut for hay . I like it so much at times I feel bad about sending the bill when finished . Good luck with your job .
Delmer he's talking about a big track type stump grinder , I like yourself am highly skeptical . He's bidding to cut the trees that are left with a track feller buncher , skid them out , mulch the dog hair , grind the stumps . But from all the info I got on this thread ( which I can't thank everyone enough for ) I'm thinking it's going to be hard to beat this blade , especially if we compare apples to apples. After we did our test area I used an app on my phone to outline the area and come up with acres , everyone including me thought it was more until then , so I'm thinking if the grinder shows up and i walk the edge of his area I'm willing to bet the same thing happens.
The mulcher guys like to sell the idea that a thick carpet of shavings covering the site when they've finished is good for the soil. Maybe so, but the farmers around here that had mulching done have had trouble dealing with all that stuff and getting grass to grow like they're accustomed to on tilled dirt. So we haven't seen mulching widely adopted here yet for pasture land, plus it nearly always costs more. One thing about shearing it with a big tractor and a V blade is what td25c said: it's pretty satisfying to watch timber fall like a hay mower laying down Johnson grass, and see some of the stumps sail through the air in a graceful arc when they let go.
Maybe he's figuring on getting some value from what he cuts with the feller buncher? but you'd still be cheaper than the grinder from everything I can see. Wood chips suck up all the nitrogen until they've decomposed, not good for grass.
Amen Brother :thumbsup Took the K/G blade up to the shop this afternoon to sharpen & look it over . Can't wait to drop it on the dozer & cut when it dry's out . http://www.heavytruckforums.com/showthread.php?51-Fwd-Trucks&p=2351&viewfull=1#post2351
FYI. #1 I want that truck. #2 How much can you push with that rear mounted blade????
LOL Twisted ! Dad made a similar comment when we grabbed the blade & backed up to the shop today . Something like ," be careful not to shear off the power pole . " Truck is old & ugly , makes a lot of noise & drips a little oil but never complains about a task . She's a keeper / Getter done truck .
Getting down to the particulars after mounting the blade we set it on couple 2x4's & took a good look at it the cutting edge angle . It's at somewhat of a downward position yet not to aggressive . Happy medium so to speak . Can run on top of surface cutting small growth and will dive in the ground with a little down pressure for stumps & bigger trees . Paint line across the front is square with the tractor so gives some perspective how they get the shear effect . Kind of like having the grim reaper on the business end .