First Run with Viking Sword Blade & Carbide Cutter Teeth
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ค. 2024
- Clevinger Forestry Services, LLC specializes in tree and brush clearing using the Bobcat T-770 Forestry Mulcher.
Clevinger Forest Services is located in Clarksville, TN
Office: (931) 802-5910
Cell: (757) 871-5026 (call or text)
www.cfsmulching.com - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
I'd just like to add to the other comments and say that you are so generous with your informative videos & mentoring of us complete strangers. Yet you can never expect to be repaid for your contributions to our inspirations, knowledge and skills. Thanks again!
Appreciate your comment, a lot. Just trying to always make my momma proud.
@@clevingerforestservicesllc1164 Hi! You provide such great videos. I have a question. Who do you use for insurance and how much they're charging you if you don't mind me asking. Someone told me the insurance is *too* high for this type of business. Thanks!
I hope all is well. I just found your channel and really like how you break down how long it takes you to do your jobs and the sizes of them. I also enjoyed your tutorials on techniques for operator's running a forestry head. I hope you are still working in the woods and would very much enjoy more videos. Thank you for some great videos!
Josebentacourt2141 - Yes, you absolutely do need a front door on your T770 to run a forestry mulcher. The door latch has a sensor that will only allow the mulcher to activate when the door is securely closed.
And nobody in their right mind would try running a forestry mulcher without having protective ballistic glass between them and the mulcher.
Great video.. I would love to see more forestry mulching videos from you. You always make great videos. Have a great weekend and be safe.
I appreciate your comments, Brent, thank you! I try to make informative videos that are helpful for customers to see what is possible for their land, for others interested in the forestry mulching business, and also for those who just enjoying machinery work. When I'm on a jobsite I'm all business, and I don't like messing with too much camera work when I'm on the customer's clock, so I try to keep the camera work as simple as I can. I really appreciate you watching.
Your videos are always so informative, thanks!
Always enjoy your videos. I’ve been kicking around the idea to get in the mulching business for a few years now. I just bought my skid steer and looking for the best mulching head now. Your videos have answered a lot of questions i had about the business. Keep up the great work. Thanks
- Greg
The three best heads that forestry mulching professionals use are either Cimaf, Fecon, and FAE. These are the best. All engineered to work hard and long.
Best of luck with your business. 💯👍
Fascinating, ,like all your videos. It's good to see someone who not only knows what he's doing but CARES about the outcome
Thanks for that comment, Jim!
I've been doing this full-time for 7-years now. It's just normal for me to treat everyone's land like my own when I'm working on it. I want it to look good when I'm finished. And do it all at a reasonable price for the customer.
SO happy to see you back.Was worried about you.Good people are hard to fined these days.
LOL! I'm still kickin', Carl. Keeping busy on jobs between the rainy days. Been getting a lot done on my farm in the meantime. Hope you're doing well.
i just bought a fecon bh74ss that needs new teeth so this was very informative. thank you for making the effort to share !
Great! Glad my info was helpful. The BH74 is a great mulcher. It’s bullet proof. Mine has had ZERO issues in over 700 hours so far. Built like a tank.
love these videos! I’m looking to buy or rent a mulcher head for my campground. Need to clear out 40 acers of brush and small trees, and develop more camp sites and parking. These are my training videos, Thanks!
Hey Nick- Yes, a mulching machine like this would be a great tool to have for your campground. I've actually done work like that at a local campground here in TN. A mulcher, grapple, and a bucket would take care of everything you need to clear trails, campsites, remove fallen trees, etc. It's good to hear my video are helpful to you. There is also a lot of good information in the comment sections of all of the videos. I've been asked all kinds of good business and operating questions over the years. Good luck with your business.
Thanks for the informative video. I learned a lot and it was very relaxing.
Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
I've been thinking about trying cutters. Thanks for the demo!
You bet, Dave. Thanks for watching.
G'day from Sydney.
I've recently been really enjoying your excellent videos. Was in the business 30 years ago. No recent videos?
Cheers! And thank you, Craig Stewart.
Hello Craig- I appreciate your comment. I haven’t made videos for a few years now. I began making videos and posting on TH-cam as a method of marketing what I do with forestry mulching so potential customers could see what is possible for their land. Due to a lot of questions and comments, It started to morph into giving tips to others who wanted help getting into business. I had gotten so busy with my forestry mulching work that I didn’t have the time to make more videos, so it was not an efficient use of my time. I didn’t want to turn into a TH-cam “influencer”.
On another note- I loved visiting Australia a few years ago. We spent three weeks based out of Port Douglas, Queensland. Everyone was extremely friendly, the national parks, nature, and snorkeling the reefs was all incredible. Had a great time in your country.
About about to start my business doing the same as you with a few extra services as well. Thanks so much for your advice and honesty. I really appreciate what you do, given I am about to start with no experience. Thanks from Australia
Thanks, Steve, that’s really good to hear that my information is useful to you. Best of luck with your business!
@@clevingerforestservicesllc1164 Thank you very much
It’s looking neat👍
Thanks a lot, ISX. Appreciate you watching.
Hey David, maybe I missed something but I hope nothing happened to you buddy. Haven't seen you post anything in 2yrs, I hope all is well, you were actually the best forestry mulching channel that I watched.
Please respond buddy, you left me hanging.....🙏
I really, really appreciate you looking out for me, Grizzly! Yes, I’m alive and kicking, happy, and healthy. I haven’t made any videos for the last couple of years for a few reasons. I originally started making videos as a means to advertise for customers. TH-cam is owned by Google, so searching Google would always hit my TH-cam videos. I get a lot of customers this way. So mission accomplished there. Secondly, I started getting lots of interest from people interested in getting into the forestry mulching business, so I made videos geared towards that. I feel like I’ve addressed the major business type questions both in the videos and answers in the comment sections. I started getting so many questions and phone calls from people wanting business advice that it was taking a lot of my time. 2020 was my busiest year since I started in 2014. And in 2021 we were deep into building a new custom home on our farm, so my time was at a premium and making videos takes me a whole lot of time that I didn’t have. My intent was never to be a TH-cam star. My videos were very basic just to provide information. I appreciate your comment about my videos being the best forestry mulching channel. Makes the efforts well worth it💯👍👍
@@clevingerforestservicesllc1164 VERY understandable my friend, now I don't have to worry about you anymore. I wanted so many times to send my comment afraid of what answer I might get back 😬 and I didn't want to hear the worst kind of answer. I too thought about getting into mulching but i know it takes quite a bit of money and besides im disabled. Brother you take care and God Bless, I wish you much success and thank you for your quick response. Jay in NC.
@@silvergrizzly316 God bless, Jay👍
I just found your channel. I wish you’d make more videos.
Thanks for watching my videos👍 I made these videos to show potential customers what is possible for their land by using a forestry mulcher, and also videos for those interested in this business. Lot’s of good information both in the videos AND the comment sections.
@@clevingerforestservicesllc1164 it would be interesting to see your day-to-day work life, showing how your company is progressing.
@@teampenn2007 My wife suggested I make a “day-in-the-life” of forestry mulching, too. I’ll keep this in mind if I get back into making videos.
Nice job..not really sold on them..but they seem to cut. I'm not into the maintenance part of it. Thanks for the video. Keep them coming
I'm with you. I'll see how I feel about these blades after I've sharpened them a few times and see how many hours I get out of a set. I'll be able to figure out the actual cost per hour then.
Good Info, I have the Paddle Fecon and an extra box of blade teeth, I think I will try it out
Definitely worth trying to see how it works for you.👍
Great info. I’ve never ran the knife teeth either due to soil conditions here in Missouri, plus extra time it takes to maintain them seems like a bummer. You almost need to charge for your sharpening time too otherwise it’s not really worth it.
I think the same way, Dustin. Not sure if its really worth the time/effort/cost working in cherty soil. I kinda think I'll chew through a whole tooth side in one day on some of the jobs I'm on. And I really don't like messing with the hex head bolts any more than I have to. They are a problem if you strip the heads. But the sharp knives really do eat up the trees very easily. I was almost giddy. Lol.
Thanks for the video
I appreciate you watching.
That was quite the difference. Might have to try some.
Worked pretty nice.
you did an athetically pleasing job! very nice!
Thanks, Jim. It did turn out great and the property owner was tickled with the results. Turned her un-useable 2-acre back yard into a park. Very satisfying job for me, too. I like these high-visual-impact jobs.
Thanks for taking the time and lnfo on this type of work , am looking forward to the results of Your math when you are done putting the hours in on the teeth , very informative and easy to listen to and read . Go work and again thanks for spending the time to show us what is involved with this type of a business.
You bet, Dallas. I'll do a follow up on this video soon. Been having lots of rain here in TN for the last several weeks.
Are you still liking the blades vs. carbides? I have a Cat/FAE 150 on a 299xhp and I'm interested in running a section of king kong knives on part of the drum for larger hardwoods (6-10") that I often encounter... the carbides don't even have 15 hours use on them from new and they don't like the larger stuff, standing or laying dead on the ground - then it becomes an issue of having to haul off a bunch of log chunks. My main concern is that I don't have a chip limiting head and I'm wondering how the cutters will perform.
The blades definitely cut lager trees better, as long as you keep them sharp. I just ran a set of 10 blades on the center of my drum to try them out, and collect some data to see if they were more cost effective and more productive. The blades turned out to be only a few cents lower in Cost per tooth Hour, so I went back to all carbides. I didn’t like taking the extra hour before each work day to sharpen 10-teeth, so it wasn’t worth it for me. I only advertise to customers that I mulch trees up to the 6”-8” diameter range, which is the engineered limit for my machines cooling system. I only hit bigger trees if they’re softwoods like cedar, pine, sycamore, etc. If there is big deadfall on the ground, I get my mulcher head on it from a 45-degree angle starting at the big end. The mulcher bites much better at an angle, instead of lining the log up perpendicular to the drum. I didn’t have any trouble with the blades biting into the wood without mu head not having depth limiting rings. I just lowered the boom a little slower and kept the drum RPM up to speed and let it do the work.
What happened over the last two years? Hope everything is going well since there have been no videos.
Thanks for asking. I’ve been super busy with work, and my computer got maxed out on storage space with all of the video, so it got frustrating. I was thinking I’d get a new computer for Christmas geared for storage and speed for video processing. I’ve got a lot of cool video ideas for forestry mulching business operators.
Great video. Did you have to re-balance the head with the mis matched cutters? Or was there no noticeable vibrations?
The drum was still in balance after mixing these teeth. No issues.
@@clevingerforestservicesllc1164 Great. I'm going to give this a try.
What are your thoughts on drums with the limiting rings vs your style drum?
I've never run a drum with rings, so I'll say that up-front. I get the concept, from an engineer perspective, that the rings limiting the surface area of the cutter tooth as it impacts wood, will generate a higher force per square inch on the cutting tooth, versus wood possibly hitting more surface area of a tooth without rings. I get that. But the other part of design I look at is the tooth layout on the drum. The number of teeth, and the sequential layout matters. How many teeth are going to engage an 8"-diameter tree in 1-revolution of the drum? So, in my opinion, the number of teeth, the spacing of teeth, and the designed RPM of the drum are what matters. In my mind, me as an operator can control the depth of bite by simply lowering the boom down on a tree slower, and letting the drum RPM do the work.
Also, it's much easier to get debris off of a smooth drum. I don't know how anyone cuts a rats nest of square fencing, or barb wire, metal bars, etc out from between the DCR's.
Lastly, because the DCR teeth hit material with greater force, they are also more prone to breaking the tooth holder welds off from the drum. I see this all the time in forums I follow.
would you ever consider running a flail mower on a tractor in the fall?
whats your opinion on that as a second pass?
Yes, a flail mower would work great to go over this mulched up area in the fall. A bush hog would even be fine to mow it down in the fall. Most of this mulch will be decomposed back into soil in 6-7 months from now. I mulch all of the trees down level with the soil surface, so there are no hazards using a flail or bush hog mower. After one year, this customer can use a compact tractor with a finish mower if they want.
Looks good. We're did u buy the Viking teeth from. Like what store or equipment store? Thank u.
Fecon sells its parts through Distributors. The Fecon website has a Find a Dealer function to locate the closest Distributor. So I got these Fecon knives from a local company call Power Equipment in Nashville.
Let's get busy ! 👍
That's right! I always say that to myself getting started in the mornings on a job. Thanks for watching.
If you can stick weld I'd try some hardening rods, run a couple passes on the edge of the teeth and hit it with the buffing pad to get a point on it , would probably last longer.
Yea, welding is not one of my skills, yet. But even taking the time to weld, or sharpen, all costs time and money. So I have to weigh all of the options.
What do you think of the bite limiters or depth control fins on the knife style heads? It seems that when running a head in a skid steer setup (HP between 90-100) that the bite limiters would help the hydraulic motor maintain RPMs. I see you’re running the open drum style, but was just curious if you had ever considered the bite limiters design? I guess since you prefer the carbides it kind of takes you out of the bite limiter style drums.
I’m looking at a Deere 333G or Takeuchi TL12 with an FAE head with the bite limiters. I’ve been watching these videos for the last 3 months. Trying to decide.
Apparently very few knife style drums are sold. Most folks are buying the carbide type heads which surprised me.
Your work is outstanding one of the best operators and finished products I see on TH-cam. Especially considering you’re a 1 man operation! Any info is appreciated thank you! If a phone call would be easier one day I’d love to chat.
I run carbides due to the cherty soil I typically operate in. So Carbides are more suitable and durable.
When I bought my new Fecon head in 2019, I asked the Fecon rep about running a DCR drum with carbides. He said that running carbides with the depth control rings causes a higher incidence of busting the whole tooth holder off of the drum. So Fecon does not recommend that combination. DCR’s with knifes apparently are the recommended combination. Some operators do say using sharp knives gives better fuel consumption and lower hydraulic temps.
I’ve never run a Tak or a Deere, but I hear a lot of good things about the Tak TL-12. I don’t hear good things about the 333G for forestry mulching.
The important consideration when buying a machine is having reliable, competent, and timely maintenance support and parts reasonably close by.
Battery grinder with a metal cutting wheel is a necessity!! Saves hours of work if you get wire in the head
Yes, they do come in handy for sure.
What do you run on your hoses where they connect into the boom to protect those connections.
It’s a metal cover that sandwiches over the hose connections and clamps tight. It was a part of the Bobcat forestry mulching protection package.
Any more videos coming out in the near future?
Not doing any new videos, I retired this month (Dec 2023).
Good work Dave. With your head tuned in, how often do you drop below 2,400rpm when you’re working on the initial cut and back dragging for the final finish?
I’ve got a T870 & Cimaf that works well, but would like the smaller footprint of the 770. Concerned about a loss of productivity mostly.
Lifestyle Equipment are you running the 180D? I currently have a 770 and was thinking of getting a 150D thinking that it would be better suited to the power of the 770.
Hoyt Ballard yes I’ve got a T870 tuned to about 110hp with a 180D. For the 770 I’d have a 150D, not only for the 92hp but the weight of a 180D will make you feel unstable on uneven terrain.
Hey Lifestyle- I've run my Fecon head on both the 770 and 870, and honestly, I didn't notice much difference between the two machines during mulching. I chose the 770 over the 870 when I started in 2014, specifically for the weight and footprint trade-off with horsepower.
I run carbides almost exclusively due to the type of soil I'm in here in TN. The 770 is spec'd to mulch down continuously through a 3"-4" diameter trunk, and my 770 does that with carbides, and the RPM stays constant.
It's spec's to mulch down "intermittently" through 4"-6" trunks, and my 770 does that too. By intermittently, I lower the drum on the trunk in 1'-2' lengths before the RPM decreases. I do this in short lengths so the RPM doesn't go below roughly 1800 RPM, so it recovers in a 2-3 seconds back to 2400. If you're running knives on your Cimaf, I imagine you'll get longer cuts down a big trunk, and shouldn't have any issues with trees in the 3'-4' range either. I try to not drop the RPM at all when I back-drag. For the most part, I keep the head down on the skid-plates but I constantly adjust up/down based on the sound of the RPM and how the mulch is shooting out of the front.
@@lifestyleequipmentwhere did you get your delete/tune
@@Pendletoncattleco I didn't need a delete on this machine. 2011 model year before they switched to Doosan engines. The kubota is easy to get a little extra hp out of by turning the fuel screws out about 1.5 turns.
Hello Mr King.
I’m trying to get started in forestry mulching and my sales guy is advising me to purchase a T595 T4 bobcat skid steer. Is that a good machine to get started with or should I get a T770.
Is there a difference in productivity?
Many thanks.
Hi Manuel- If you are going to use the Bobcat for forestry mulching, then higher horsepower, hydraulic flow gpm, and hydraulic pressure, and high-flow hydraulic system is needed to efficiently run the mulcher. A T770 has 92HP, A T870 has 100HP. The The T595s only have 70 HP and don’t have high flow hydraulics, I believe. That too low for mulching. But if you are not using it for mulching, and using it for dirt work then that will work for you.
Btw that fecon flapdisk looks like a Walter. I’d go with them as it would probably be cheaper
Yes, I ordered the teeth, flapdisk, and sharpening gauge all from Fecon since this was the first time I used these Vikings, and I wanted to get the factory recommended stuff. Fecon charged $9.26 for this 40 grit disk, so I'll see what the price is locally. It's important to source the best prices.
Are there non what you can use 4 times like you can turn them around and have 4 cutting edges?
Not on this type of mulching drum. Choices are a one-sided carbide cutter, or a two-sided hardened steel knife type.
Hello
Thank you for the great video.
I’m up here on the west coast getting ready to start a usda funded 17 acre thinning project, thinking about swapping my centers out for knives to speed up production.
Do you know how many knives you needed?
Any balance issues running mix of knives and carbides?
I’m running the same setup 2019 T770/BH074
Thank you
Collin
Eastside Land Management
Thanks, Collin. Glad you found the information helpful.
Hi.. here is a question for both Dave and Chris as you both run a BC T770.. I maybe did it backwards and bought my asv rt75 first and then the recon BH74ss. So while the asv runs the recon real good as it has 35gpm, its pretty front heavy as only 8500lbs... so I was looking at a T770 or Cat299XHP... while the cat is no doubt a better machine, its a beast weight wise and puts me over weight on trailer... so leaning towards the bobcat... do you guys have any concern and wish you had the 110hp of a cat or the extra weight at cat is 11500lbs!!?!?a. Welcome comments from anybody on this please EXCEPT to buy a kubota SVL95 as there are so many caught fire catastrophically !! Thanks guys
wow.. no thoughts or comments
In one other vid you said the cutters were $90 x 32 of them. What’s the cost of these Viking teeth?
Viking Sword knife $41.99
bushing $3.08
bolt $5.46
washer $2.51
And I got a total of 89 hours of life out of them, with about 4 hours total of sharpening time.
Do you have any problems with your hydraulic fluid overheating and what do you do to fix it?
All skid-steers sized machines aren't engineered for the demands of running a mulcher. Also, different mulcher heads should to be "tuned" to your specific machine's hydraulic PSI and GPM flow to operate the drum at the optimal cutting RPM. That's the first thing. I use a Bobcat since they engineer their machines to run the attachments that they make for their machines.
But over-heating hydraulics can be caused by several things not related to the design.
-You need good airflow through the hydraulic radiator, so the screens and radiator have to be clean from much debris/leaves/dust. And also keep the engine air filter clean. I use compressed air to blow everything out.
-The cutter teeth have to be reasonably sharp, so the drum is not straining to cut the wood.
-The operator has to be patient and let the drum do the work. You have to keep the drum RPM up when cutting so the fluid keep flowing. If you repeated bog the drum to a stop, and bog it down over a prolonged period of time, then the fluid pressure and temperature will rise since it is not flowing enough through the radiator to be cooled and kept within operating limits.
So if you have a good machine, have sharp teeth, and let the drum RPM stay up, then you shouldn't have hydraulic temp problems. I use a Bobcat T770 and don't have that problem. When I do see the Hyd temp going up, that my reminder to clean leaves/debris of off the back air intake screen.
@@clevingerforestservicesllc1164 Thankyou I run a t770 bobcat as well with a fecon head. Cutter not carbide. I'll get it tuned then and from what you're saying I may be pushing it a little hard. I appreciate your feedback. I watched most of your videos before I got into this.
Just bought a 2017 t770. What is your favorite mulching head? Also do you guys ever have any issues with your t770 over heating? Thanks
I run a Fecon BH74 SS and I really like it. Had it for last 18 months, no issues. I used the Bobcat mulcher for 5 years before this. Did great, but had several frame cracks that needed welding, needed new skid plates welded on every two years. Fecon is better engineered. FAE and Cimaf also make high quality heads.
Your T770 should not overheat the hydraulics, as long as you keep the airflow through the radiators clear. Also, keep decently sharp cutter teeth on it, and do not contantly bog the drum down to a stop over a prolonged period of time. When you bog the drum, then you are increasing the pressure and temperature in the hyd lines, and it is not flowing through the cooling radiator. I run hard for 8 hous straight mulching and I don not over-heat my hydraulics. If you’re over-heating the engine, check that your radiator airflow is clear, air filter is clean, coolant level is correct, and engine oil level is correct.
@@clevingerforestservicesllc1164 thanks for the reply! I appreciate all the information. I was concerned about over hearing and thought about purchasing a cooler but after seeing your response i think I’ll hold off on the cooler. I am in Kentucky so the weather is pretty similar to yours. I’m going to check out the bh74SS. Thanks again and look forward to more videos.
@@gregdunn5729 Yes, I’d save the money on a cooler until you see how things go. You’ve probably read a lot about guys using coolers for mulching, but don’t assume they are doing good maintenance, have an experienced operator, are operating their machines within its designed specs, or are using a skid-steer that was ever designed to handle a forestry mulcher.
@@clevingerforestservicesllc1164 yeah I’ll just make sure the machine is clean with proper air flow and i should be good. I’m going to be doing the operating and should be ok when i figure out the process.
Do you charge by the acre or by the day or by the hour?
I give a cost estimate for the job, then I work by the machine hour. There are a lot of variables when calculating time to clear a piece of land. You could add in all of the possible risks and give a cost quote, but you probably would price yourself out of getting jobs. Working by the hour is the fairest way to charge for both myself and the customer. Many times the actual time to complete a job was less than I estimated, so the customer feels like they were treated fairly. My costs and profit is built into the price I charge per hour, so no matter how long I work my costs and profit are met.
Have ever tried the extreme wear part brand teeth ?
Yes, I have used teeth from XtremeWearParts.com and I liked them. Good prices and included delivery to my door.
Are you pleased with your T770? Any Pros and Cons that you’re willing to share?
Yes, I like Bobcat products. I’ve bought 3 T770’s. They’re reliable, strong, and do everything I need it to do for my forestry mulching business, and for work on my farm- bush hogging, grapple, and dirt work. My current machine has had one joystick controller box replaced, and zero other issues in 900 hours. That speaks for itself.
@@clevingerforestservicesllc1164 Thank you so much!
@@hummingbirdlandservices4643 I’m not a Bobcat salesman, so I don’t know their current leasing or purchasing deal programs.
But I will say that the decision to buy or lease should be part of your business strategy. Personally, I purchase my equipment. Purchasing gives me a lower monthly payment, and more tax benefits.
@@clevingerforestservicesllc1164 This is great! Thanks so much for your time and response!
@@clevingerforestservicesllc1164 Again, Thanks so much for the response! I have a couple of other questions that I’d like to ask, but would prefer not to post them on here. Is there an email address I could use to reach out to you? Thanks!
Still in business? Miss your videos and good work
Yes, I’m still in business. Going on 7 years, and business keeps increasing. I get a lot of business from my TH-cam videos by customers searching for forestry mulching. That was one of my main goals for doing the videos. Now it seems I’m too busy to make new videos. lol
@@clevingerforestservicesllc1164 hey I'm happy for you. Just really liked the way you set up your videos it was fun to watch. congrats on the business growing.
I wonder if you could put on some old teeth on it and use it as a roto tiller.
These mulcher teeth can only get about 1-1/2" deep into the soil, so it can do some limited soil surface tilling and smoothing out some rough spots. Old teeth would be good for doing that for sure.
24 years in forestry and land clearing, folks still haven't learned. 1.st always keep same cutters and never mix. 2.nd Know the ground you are working and change cutters for said ground. 3.rd know your equipment and it's limits therefor you don't over work the machine which cost way more than these cheap cutters. 4.th if you run this same test with all new knife cutters vs carbide new, your results would be knife 50% or more faster production and cleaner debris. Now if you are working areas with a lot of rock then yes carbide. Not meaning to sound pissy just get tired of folks putting false information out there on youtube. your videos are good and your finished work is above average so just spend the money on new sets of both cutters save on bearing repairs and seals.
All true statements👍
So how did you like the blades vs the carbides?
Good question. I liked them for their better production rate, but I didn't like sharpening them and how that affected my work flow. Cost per hour to run was almost comparable to carbides.
Here's the breakdown:
I got a total of 94.1 hours out of these knives (about 47 hrs per side). I spent a total of about 4 hours sharpening.
Total cost per knife assembly (knife, bolt, bushing, washer, freight) was $54.47. I figured $30 per hour for 4 hours to sharpen was $120. So 10 teeth cost $544.70. Plus $120 sharpening cost for a total of $664.70. I got 94.1 hours of run time, so 664.70 divided by 94.1 = $7.06 per hour. My cost to run carbides is $7.76 per hour.
Since I don't have the inconveniences of sharpening, I'd call this cost difference a wash.
Bottom line- it comes down to preference for your specific work conditions. I work in cherty/rock soil, so I prefer the durability of carbides, and no inconvenience of sharpening. I used knives on this specific job since the conditions were better suited for knives- good dirt soil, and dense growth of hardwoods mostly in the 4"-8" range spaced about 2 feet apart. So I liked getting through it easier/faster with the knives.
@@clevingerforestservicesllc1164 I have the exact same setup as you. Was wondering about running knifes in the middle and Carbides on the outside. Like you did. Would you recommend that? Did it work well? Thanks and hope your doing well!
@@mattm586 Hey Matt- Yes, running 10-knives in the middle of the drum worked great. The knives did help getting through the material quicker. And there were only 10 to sharpen, which took me about 1-hour to do, after running for about 16 hours. I normally just run all carbides since I’m working is a cherty/rocky soil area. This is my reason for running all carbides. This job in this video had different, and better, soil, and the trees were very densely packed in, and all the same size range of 4”-8”. So this was better suited to run knives.
Miss your videos. Are you and yours going well?
Hey Carl! Yep, everyone doing great here. Lot's going on last several months- building a new house, new grand-kids being born, slammed with work. The videos have just taken a lower priority since they take a lot of time to put together. I'll be catching up on a few videos soon.
Clevinger Forest Services, LLC ,Glad to hear you’ll are doing well.I know video takes a boat load of time to set up and then edit.Thank you agin for your time and sharing.👍👍👍👍👍
Dave! Make some new content! Hope all is well and that your year has been ok with Covid etc.
Hey Thrill! I know, I need to get the GoPros going again and make a video. My excuse is that I’m having my busiest year ever, and we’re in the middle of building a new home, so time is at a premium. That actually gave me an idea for a video: understanding supply-demand curves to optimize profit in forestry mulching. YES! lol
@@clevingerforestservicesllc1164 I spoke to you on the phone a few years ago about starting my own in Arkansas. I am still on the fence but have had a terrible year in our oil & gas business. Starting our new construction home next year and may finally pull the trigger on a mulching business as well. Always appreciate your content, would love to hear a series about building your home as well! Stay well my friend! -Will
"Let 'r Eat" [:-) P.S.- Born in Smyrna at what is now Smyrna Airport (was then Sewart Air Force Base).
I didn't know Smyrna had an Air Force Base. I read up on it. Interesting to see it was a B-17 and B-24 bomber training base during WWII. I like that kind of history.
Time is money
Very true. Its all about finding operational efficiency.
How do you charge?
I give customers a good estimate after we look and walk their property. I charge by the hour. Sometimes I finish faster than I estimated, and it works out cheaper for the customer, sometime its a little longer. But my estimates are always close. Customers are never surprised, and always happy.
What do you normally charge per hour?
Are you doing any more video
Hi Justin- I’ll probably make more videos when business slows down a little bit. I’ve been hustling from one job to the next, along with keeping up the maintenance, for the last 7 months. I really appreciate your interest and watching my videos. Thanks!
@@clevingerforestservicesllc1164 no worries good to hear business is busy let’s get busy
@@clevingerforestservicesllc1164 no problem
How’s Buisness going for ya? Miss watching your videos
Everything is going well. 2020 was by far my best year ever, I guess people were focusing their money on their property since Covid was shutting other things down. My intent for making forestry mulching videos was to show potential customers what is possible for their land by using a forestry mulcher. I actually get about 1/3 of my new business from customers who search and find my TH-cam videos. So that’s a mission accomplished for me. I’ll make more videos when I feel I have some value to add. I appreciate your interest in watching my videos. Thanks!
@@clevingerforestservicesllc1164 that makes sense! Glad to hear you had a great year! Have a great day and thank you for the response
@@Mistypoo702 Hope you’re having a great year, too!
Let gets busy
These knives did get busy. I gave a detailed answer to their performance to Matt Mullis question here in the comment section.
What about plowing or tilling it now?
I'd recommend waiting at least two years to plow or till this ground, to give the tree roots time to degrade and loosen up. But this ground can be immediately worked with a disk to prepare the soil to take pasture grasses or something similar to hold the soil and block out any undesirable weed growth. It would also be a good idea to do a soil sample and get the pH right before planting anything.
@@clevingerforestservicesllc1164 Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
I wonder what has happen to this guy ? He hasn't uploaded in a year .
I’m still alive. This past year has been exceptionally busy with work, so I haven’t been messing with videos. My original intent in posting mulching videos was to generate customer business, and it has worked, so mission accomplished. For others who watch my videos and are interested in getting into the forestry mulching business, the videos that I have posted, and information in the comment sections of the videos, contains almost all of the detailed information an entrepreneur needs to get rolling.
That's great to know .
Flap disc are actually terrible for sharpening and keeping your angle correct. Need a hard back and fiber pads for your angle grinder. Cut way better and you can keep your angle way better.
Are the fiber pads better than flap disks for dissipating the heat? That’s why I use a flap instead of a stone disk. Generating prolonged heat on the hardened steel will degrade the hardness, so that was a factor in my thinking.
@@clevingerforestservicesllc1164 Yes they do great staying cool and leaving no hot spots on your teeth. I use to sharpen my teeth with flap disc and then somebody told me to try out 3M fiber pads. I usually get 2 full sharpens out of 1 fiber pads. It’s was a huge game changer for me and I save so much time now
@@clevingerforestservicesllc1164 also great videos by the way! You really helped the start of my mulching business with all the great information on your channel.Hope business is well!!
@@colemxer I’ll give those a try next time I run knives. I’m assuming something like 60-grit pads?
@@colemxer That’s great to hear. Thanks! Exchanging information is how we all learn.
6" grinder with a flap will help cut down on time
Probably so. And using fresh 40 grit pads.
seems to look a little wet on the ground
Laurel Herbert There definitely was a low area on this property where water drained and it was soft. I had to be careful to only drive straight forward and backward over it so my tracks wouldn’t break the surface layer and sink though it.
+1
Thanks for watching, MG!
Sent you a few messages on Facebook
I check my TH-cam comments often. I don't check my Facebook comments very often. But I think I answered you on FB.