Mackissic mighty mack shredder on 520h

[ebinmaine 63,206]

1 minute ago, JCM said:

No, picked that up at the dealer years ago and turned it into a front hitch set up with a front electric winch years back.

Yepp Yepp. 

 

I'm thinking mine might end up multi-use. 

Perhaps a gen-set mount?

Maybe an air compressor mount?

 

Pop off and swap out for multiple things. 

[Lost Pup 172]

I have a chipper / shredder on my 418a. Took the whole tractor to NAPA and we found a belt that fit / worked.

It works extremely well.

 

Let just say that I use this carefully. It’s a beast. 

The 418 has the hydro belt tension release lever so parked the hydro is dormant and stays cool. 

I have parked the whole tractor over the middle of a really large tarp and just back the tractor out and off and then just fold up and drag the chips to where they are needed. Piles grow quickly so have a rake handy.

 

Landscaper showed me this and it works great. 

 

Edited May 4, 2021 by Lost Pup

[ebinmaine 63,206]

11 minutes ago, Lost Pup said:

I have a chipper / shredder on my 418a. Took the whole tractor to NAPA and we found a belt that fit / worked.

It works extremely well.

 

As of yesterday I believe I have the right belt length. My next task is to find an idler pulley that does not have a groove in the center because the belt wants to ride on that. Perhaps a trip to TSC later today.....

 

 

I was able to try it out for just a couple minutes last night. It's approximately the type of BEAST I thought it was going to be which is excellent.

 

 

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 10,503]

On 4/24/2021 at 6:12 AM, ebinmaine said:

Just with regular penetrating oil?

Used pent oil at first but switched to acetone and a bicycle spoke bent 90 degrees and pointed for a short pick to get it done.

 

Have a 3/4" screen and leave it in when chipping. That way any long slivers that get past the chipper knife get finished off by the flails.

I chip everything down to about 3/8" diameter. When that much has gone in I'm left with a neat handful that when dropped into the shredder does not get hung up and is instantly gone.

 

Have a dedicated grinder for planer and joiner knives up to 24". Puts a nice edge on the chipper knife. Then I hone a micro bevel on it with 600 grit which makes for a stronger and refined edge and found it stays sharper much longer. Still on the original knife and they sure are high quality steel. You will find that out when it comes time to replace it. $$$$

 

Garry

[Handy Don 10,622]

57 minutes ago, Lost Pup said:

I have parked the whole tractor over the middle of a really large tarp and just back the tractor out and off and then just fold up and drag the chips to where they are needed. Piles grow quickly so have a rake handy.

 

Nice idea! I've been moving my chipper as close as possible to where I need the chips and then raking.

[Handy Don 10,622]

7 minutes ago, gwest_ca said:

Have a dedicated grinder for planer and joiner knives up to 24". Puts a nice edge on the chipper knife. Then I hone a micro bevel on it with 600 grit which makes for a stronger and refined edge and found it stays sharper much longer.

Do you re-harden the knives afterward? If yes, how? My Troy-bill Tomahawk has only one knife but it serves me well. I have two knives so I can just swap and then resharpen at leisure without interrupting work but I suspect that re-hardening would give me longer stretches of useful sharpness.

[ebinmaine 63,206]

4 minutes ago, gwest_ca said:

time to replace it. $$$$

Boy am I ever lucky there. The outside of my chipper as a whole doesn't look all that awesome but it's solid as a rock.

 

I believe this one has one inch diameter holes in the grate. That poor thing is pretty bent up so I'll have to try to straighten it out some.

 

The inside mechanism is in fantastic condition.

 

This one has one single chopping blade and unfortunately it's welded in place so sharpening it will be a challenge but I'll figure something out.

 

When the time comes for replacement I'll likely have our fabricator friend take care of it for us.

 

All my bearings are good. Flails move nice and free. Really looking forward to getting some time on this thing and see if there's any bugs to work out.

 

[ebinmaine 63,206]

1 hour ago, Lost Pup said:

I have parked the whole tractor over the middle of a really large tarp and just back the tractor out and off and then just fold up and drag the chips to where they are needed. Piles grow quickly so have a rake handy

 

Super cool trick. Not something I have to worry about because we live in 10 acres of forest land and I'm using it to cut the brush down to ground level after felling trees.

[Handy Don 10,622]

9 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

Not something I have to worry about because we live in 10 acres of forest land

½ acre of suburbia. Tradeoffs, right? 

[ebinmaine 63,206]

6 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

½ acre of suburbia. Tradeoffs, right? 

 

 

It's best if this particular Bear 🐻  is set off by his self somewhere. 

 

Ebinmaine:

 ✔️. Does not play well with others. 

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 10,503]

2 hours ago, Handy Don said:

Do you re-harden the knives afterward?

No I do not. But I don't get them hot either.

The grinder stone is a white Norton 80x aluminum oxide with a soft bond (grade H) and an open structure for tool sharpening. They will wear faster than hard stones but will not burn tools as readily.

I recall reading MacKissic uses tool steel for the chipper knife but I don't know the characteristics of the different metals. It is always stored unheated and shows no sign of rust like the rest of the machine.

 

Garry

[ebinmaine 63,206]

5 minutes ago, gwest_ca said:

shows no sign of rust

Hadn't considered that. 

Now that you mention it mine doesn't either.  

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 10,503]

This is what I see when I open the door to remove the knife. There is a bar welded to the flywheel that the knife mounts up tight to and takes the constant blows of the cuts. There are 3 flat head screws (3/8" I think) that take an Allen wrench. They want Loctite on the threads. I use a manual impact driver that you hammer for removing and reinstalling. Have to heat the head of the bolt to release the Loctite even though I use the light blue strength. Don't like hammering on the flywheel and bearings too hard.

 

From the description early models had 3 holes with plugs to access the screws for loosening. Then you rotate the flywheel to get the knife to the chipper opening to remove them and the knife.

Mine has a door at the 9:00 o'clock flywheel position with the chipper opening at 3:00 o'clock with the chipper chute mounted square on the machine.

 

I see the photos of the new models have the chipper chute at about 2:00 o'clock and mounted at an angle. Don't know why.

Do wish the knife was 1/2" longer or the chute 1/2" narrower. Sometimes a sliver of wood will go in past the ends of the knife and wrap it's self around the shaft. Perhaps that is the reason for the change.

 

Mine has what I suspect is the original engine with an August 27, 1991 build date. Machine serial number 514686.

 

Garry

[ebinmaine 63,206]

21 minutes ago, gwest_ca said:

Machine serial number

I'll have to try to remember to check mine and see if it can be dated using that manner. Being a tractor implement it has no engine of course.

 

Your Configuration description does sound about what mine is. .

[Handy Don 10,622]

2 hours ago, gwest_ca said:

 a bar welded to the flywheel that the knife mounts up tight to and takes the constant blows of the cuts. There are 3 flat head screws (3/8" I think) that take an Allen wrench.

That's the Tomahawk arrangement as well. On the flywheel it is set a at an angle to the branch-feed opening so it "slices" across.

[seuadr 488]

5 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

That's the Tomahawk arrangement as well. On the flywheel it is set a at an angle to the branch-feed opening so it "slices" across.

mine turned to mush when i put an allen wrench in them(the holes). i'm going to be using an alternative tool - a 7/32 cobalt drill bit  

[Handy Don 10,622]

2 hours ago, seuadr said:

mine turned to mush when i put an allen wrench in them(the holes). i'm going to be using an alternative tool - a 7/32 cobalt drill bit  

I bought a box of those screws. New every time I swap the knife.

[seuadr 488]

8 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

I bought a box of those screws. New every time I swap the knife.

Do you know the thread offhand? I'm going to get a tap and clean the threads up after i use an easy out to finish getting the screws out. I drilled through the center, hoping they'd back out but no bueno.

[seuadr 488]

16 hours ago, seuadr said:

Do you know the thread offhand? I'm going to get a tap and clean the threads up after i use an easy out to finish getting the screws out. I drilled through the center, hoping they'd back out but no bueno.

looks like they are a 5/16 -18 does that seem right?

[Handy Don 10,622]

1 minute ago, seuadr said:

looks like they are a 5/16 -18 does that seem right?

The Tomahawk uses screws and nylock nuts, no threads in the flywheel hole. They are 5/16" though 

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 10,503]

Knife and anvil screws.

[seuadr 488]

10 minutes ago, gwest_ca said:

Knife and anvil screws.

you know, it is kind of interesting - i don't have an anvil on mine. when i was looking, i don't even recall seeing a spot for it, i'll have to double check, though.

[seuadr 488]

1 hour ago, seuadr said:

you know, it is kind of interesting - i don't have an anvil on mine. when i was looking, i don't even recall seeing a spot for it, i'll have to double check, though.

Well I'll be damned. There it is!

 

[Handy Don 10,622]

That replaceable anvil is a nice feature! Tomahawk doesn't have that -- just the thick steel plate of the chute.

[seuadr 488]

On 4/25/2021 at 4:24 PM, ebinmaine said:

Hey can you get some nice square pics of the decals you have on that one?

 

Maybe @Stepney you and I can do the same so @Vinylguy Terry Could make up a kit. I'd like a new set. 

We'll be repainting ours later in the year. 

 

 

i completely forgot about this. I'll try to get some today - as i told someone else i'd get some pictures of my foot pedal control setup as well.