TroyBilt Super Tomahawk chipper-shredder - custom tow bar
Steven Laurin & Company
11 years ago
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nod702
11 years agosam7852
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Chippers, Part II
Comments (109)Well, here's my experience... I have had the Mackissic 12PT10 for about 7 or 8 years or so now... I primarily bought this model hoping to shred my crazy jungle full of palm fronds and giant bird of paradise here in So. Cal. First of all this hammermill chipper/shredder works awesome for any woody type material... it just eats em up without any problems at all.. The circular knife shredder/hopper portion of the unit works awesome for long branches also. As for wet stuff like palm fronds the hammermill can work fairly well, but you gotta have a system down, otherwise the thing will just get clogged up with a bunch of wet mush. Another problem with palm fronds is that they can wrap around the shaft and bind it up fairly easily... Don't put the fronds in the hopper, it will bind and cause problems. Steps to keep this thing from clogging or binding.. 1. the metal screen that comes with 1 to 2 inch holes is no good for palm fronds and wet materials.. I ended up cutting out the holes so that they were about 3 inches or so with my handy grinder. Bigger holes in the screen is better, but can't just remove screen because the fronds will just shoot out and not get shredded at all, so just use a screen with giant holes. Works waaaay better. 2. It's best not to throw full length palm fronds in the hammermill, it will slow it down.. Recommend cutting them first into 12 or 16 inch lengths first before shredding them.. Same with the giant bird of paradise leaves/stems. Note: recently I have been using an electric lawnmower to shredd my giant bird paradise leaves/stems... it will shredd em so dang fast.. just tilt the lawn mower up and open the side exhaust/bag connection shoot and feed the giant leaves (stems first). Whatever is left at the end can easily be thrown into the 12PT10.. 3. Also after a few years, the hammermills do get a bit dull. Just take a cheap 4" carbon fiber grinding disk and sharpen up the edges of each of those small steel hammers.. Doesn't take long. Just remove the screen and you can sharpen them up while they are still mounted on the machine. My yard has about 50 palm trees and 20 giant birds that I need to tend too myself along with tons of other tropicals, so this 12PT10 has come in real handy for creating my super mulch pile.. Beets putting out 12 or 15 cans each week overfull of fronds and cuttings....See MoreNew Chipper Shredder - Home Use
Comments (8)Hi Steve, I too have a Super Tomahawk. Do you have the bar grate? I purchased a bar grate for mine off ebay and it has helped a little with the issue of plugging but makes larger chips. I've also noticed that the twigs sometimes end up shot into the ground right through the grate instead of being ground up. That problem would be worse with no grate at all. I've run with no screen in wet leaves and corn stalks that plug even the bar grate. I actually leave the grate on but pull the pin on the far side of the feeding area. It's worked ok but I have to shred some stuff twice. I've been looking for a screen with inch and a half or two inch holes to see how that would work. As far as clearing the discharge area, you'll be doing that with any chipper if you run a lot of stuff through. A 6 tine manure fork works great. Scoop it up and toss it aside. The experience I've had with an MTD chipper was a bad one. It won't solve your plugging problem with wet material. I was shutting the chipper down about every five minutes and digging stuff out of the discharge by hand. This was an older MTD. Maybe they've redesigned them to be better by now. A visit to the shop would solve your touchy engine and clutch engagement for a fraction of a new chipper. My B&S 8 HP I/C start withing 5 pulls and runs as long as I need it. It does seem kinda thirsty... My Super Tomahawk has treated me well but I'm gonna upgrade to a chipper to mount on my BCS tractor this summer. That option is pry gonna be outta your price range......See MoreWould a small chipper/ shredder be good for us?
Comments (13)Hey, I agree that used is the way to go. Once you get it, you'll find more uses for it. The small units you mention are made for just what you're talking about now(dry, dead branches), but they come up short if there's any amount of moisture in the product to be shredded. I had one to chop up my sweet corn after season and it constantly plugged if they weren't brittle-dry. My first "real" chipper/shredder was a mid-80's Troy Bilt Super Tomahawk I bought three years ago for $175 and $150 in parts to fix it up. With the bar grate installed, the flail shredder was great for light, loose, slightly wet stuff like leaves, garden waste, the last bit of a branch after you chip the big part, etc. I wouldn't even look at a machine without a flail shredder. The bigger Mackissics, bigger Bearcats, older Troy Bilt Tomahawks, and BCS BIOs all have them. Most of these can be found sub-$500 and all can be found sub-$1K used. I'd still own it, but have upgraded to a used BCS BIO-100 that mounts on my BCS tractor. It's a great machine, but way outta your price range. I got it for a great deal, or it woulda been outta my price range, too. They're $1400 new without the power unit. A power unit would be over $2K Let us know what you decide. Bill in WI...See MoreWW Grinder Inc, Chipper/Shredder Question
Comments (50)My name is Patrick Perry I own ‘A Worm’s Tale’ in Jacksonville Florida, Coos Bay Oregon, Cedar City Utah, Vancouver British Columbia and other locations. We are the largest producer of organic worm castings in the world. I live in Salt Lake City, but I evaluate each location every year. I have been using WWGrinder, TroyBilt, Craftsman, MTD and other chipper shredders for over 30 years. I prefer the basic WWGrinder design that has been coppied by others. I currently have over 20 machines that work well. I like extra heavy made flails with the exit screens these machines use for reducing the size of materials. After shredding, we sift using an expensive 1/8” trommel and reshred the larger materials. A worms mouth is 1/40 of an inch, so we regrind all shredded materials after they pass through a 1/8” screen. We also have at least 10 commercial grinders; we prefer burr grinders. We stock parts and know who manufactures parts for all these shredders. We usually buy hundreds of flails, chipper knives and have 10 screens of one size custom made at a time (1.5”, .75”, .25”, 125”); they usually cost $150 each. At each location we have mechanics that overhaul and maintain our shredders. We also have HUGE custom built chipper shredders that output material smaller than 1/8” If you need advice, parts or want to sell a working or broken machine, we buy and sell them after reconditioning. Most of the chipper shredders with exit screens are no longer made in the USA. The Chinese replacements are cheaply made with inferior steel and parts; they do not work very well; parts and exact engines become unavailable very quickly. Most people throw them away when they break. We keep a bone yard of obsolete machines for parts if you want to discard one and help others to repair their machines. We believe organic nutrients are the healthiest way to live and we encourage shredding organic materials for growing nutritional foods. (385) 202-4446 texts with a picture is preferred...See More- PRO
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