A material reduction machine includes a frame, an arm assembly coupled to the frame, and a bearing assembly coupled to the arm assembly adjacent a distal end. A shaft is rotatably coupled to the bearing assembly and has an axis. A comminution wheel is coupled to the shaft for rotation therewith. The comminution wheel is configured to be driven by a drive system and extends outward from the shaft in a radial direction that is perpendicular to the axis. A gap is defined between a portion of the shaft, the bearing assembly, and the comminution wheel, and a guard plate is attached to the bearing assembly or the arm assembly. The guard plate has an axial extent extending along the axis and a radial extent extending radially relative to the axis to at least partially fill the gap. The axial extent and the radial extent lie in a plane.

The present concept is a stump auger used for cutting a tree stumps, the stump auger includes a main shaft with a top end for coupling to a drive mechanism for turning the shaft about a vertical axis, wherein the main shaft is connected at a bottom end to a cone top. The stump auger cone includes a spiral thread extending about the outer surface of the cone from the cone top to the cone bottom. The stump auger further includes at least two boring bars connected to the main shaft, each boring bar includes at least two third blades which include a blade edge on a front face for cutting the tree stump as the stump auger is rotated about the vertical axis. Each successive third blade lies along successive planes, each third blade higher along the vertical z-axis.

A stump grinder may include a machine body and a helical rotary actuator mounted to the machine body, wherein the helical rotary actuator includes a central axis. A support may be mounted to the helical rotary actuator, and an arm may be mounted to the support. A cutting wheel may be rotatably mounted to the arm, and a motor may be operable for driving the cutting wheel. The helical rotary actuator may be configured for moving the cutting wheel along an arcuate path about the central axis.

A stump cutter includes an engine and a cutting wheel. A drive assembly is disposed between the engine and the cutting wheel. The drive assembly comprises at least one pulley. The at least one pulley defines a cylindrical recess therein. A drum brake assembly is configured to engage the cylindrical recess of the at least one pulley.

A wood chip collection system having a stump grinding wheel, a chip chute and a chip collection bin. The chute is positioned such that chips generated by the rotation of the wheel when engaged in a stump will be directed into the chute. The chute, in turn is sized and shaped to permit the energy in the chips to move the chips into a collection bin. The bin is positioned adjacent to and in alignment with the trailing edge of the chute in order to effectively receive the chips.

A stump cutter includes a cutter wheel rotatable about a cutter wheel axis, the cutter wheel supported by a boom for sweep movements about a vertical cutter wheel sweep axis, and the cutter wheel is supported by the boom for tilt movements about a horizontal cutter wheel tilt axis. A prime mover is configured to drive the cutter wheel about the cutter wheel axis. A mechanical driveline provides power transmission from the prime mover to the cutter wheel, the mechanical driveline including a final drive cutter wheel gearbox positioned along the cutter wheel axis, and a swivel gearbox assembly including two right angle gearboxes joined with a swivel joint therebetween. The swivel joint between the two right angle gearboxes forms a driveline swivel axis. A downstream one of the two right angle gearboxes includes an output shaft connected to an input shaft of the final drive cutter wheel gearbox.

A stump cutter includes a mainframe and a cutter wheel supported by a boom and rotatable about a cutter wheel axis spaced from the mainframe. A two-axis gimbal set supports the boom from the mainframe, the two-axis gimbal set supporting the boom for sweep movements of the cutter wheel about a vertical cutter wheel sweep axis and for tilt movements of the cutter wheel about a horizontal cutter wheel tilt axis. A prime mover on the mainframe is configured to drive the cutter wheel about the cutter wheel axis. A mechanical driveline is configured to provide power transmission from the prime mover to the cutter wheel, the mechanical driveline including a constant velocity joint.

A stump grinder has a grinding arm that durably mounts a rotatable grinding wheel by securing the drive shaft of a motor to the grinding wheel such that a pair of bearings within the motor support one side of the grinding wheel and by supporting the other side of the grinding wheel with a stub shaft received within a third bearing. The grinding arm is laterally offset on the frame of the stump grinder to have a swing angle that is not symmetrical relative to the width of the frame, but with the swing angle starting at one side of the frame and then traversing across substantially the entire width of the frame to improve the ability of the operator to see the grinding wheel. A single joystick is movable in orthogonal directions corresponding to desired up and down and side-to-side pivoting motions of the grinding arm. The joystick includes a depressible trigger for starting and stopping the operation of the grinding wheel.

A stump cutting assembly mounted to a stump cutting wheel. Stump cutting assembly is a stump cutting tooth interconnected to the wheel by a holder or block that is fixed to wheel by welding or other equivalent process, an optional debris deflector and a fastener that interconnects tooth and deflector to holder. As wheel rotates about its axis of rotation, the tooth cuts away at wood or other debris in which it comes into contact through the side to side and/or longitudinal movement of a stump grinder unit.

A grinding blade having a blade body, a plurality of tooth mounts, a plurality of cutting teeth, and a plurality of blade stops is disclosed. The blade body has a front surface, a back surface, and a blade mounting hole along a central axis. The tooth mounts and blade stops are integral with the blade body and protrude upward and away from the back surface and the central axis. Each tooth mount has a cutting tooth releasably coupled through a tooth aperture. The blade stops and tooth mounts are equal in number and are distributed alternatingly and with radial symmetry about the central axis. A cross section of the solid of revolution defined by rotating the blade stops about the central axis overlaps with at least two thirds of a cross section of the solid of revolution defined by rotating the cutting teeth about the central axis.