Talked to an old timer about cutterhead speed and it changed my approach

I was swapping parts with this guy named Dave at the supply yard near St. Louis last month. He said most guys run their cutterheads way too fast for the material they're digging. He showed me his logs where he dropped from 28 RPM to 22 RPM on a sandy clay job and his wear parts lasted almost 40 percent longer. I tried it on my last contract and my teeth barely showed any wear after two weeks. Has anyone else experimented with slowing down the cutter for mixed soils?

2 comments

2 Comments

miles7985d ago

Tried 24 RPM on a clay mix in Ohio and my teeth lasted three full weeks easy.

grace_hunt845d ago

Miles, "three full weeks easy" sounds like you found the sweet spot, but I gotta point out something. 24 RPM on a clay mix is actually pretty slow for most Ohio clays I've dealt with. Unless that was a really sandy blend, you probably weren't getting enough cutting action. Your teeth might have lasted longer because they weren't doing much work. The grit in most Ohio clays usually chews through teeth way faster at that speed.