Stump Grinder - "Play" in boom?

S

SpencerTree

Location
Jasper
How much "play" is typical or acceptable in a stump grinder boom?
I have an early 90s model Vermeer 252 that I've recently (last 2 years) slowly replaced almost every moving part on.
New pivot pin (pulled boom w/ engine, machine shop welded new pipes for the pin/bushing insert, bushings, swing bearings, swing cylinder bushings, everything fit tight when reassembling but it still seems to have a lot of side to side play when I grab and pull on the boom. Grinds fine, can't really see anything moving out of the ordinary. Up and down seems pretty stationary.
Can't really find any videos or threads answering this question so I wanted to ask people here.
 
Stump grinders naturally have some play, they are not the tightest machines in the world in my experience. They are just not built to be precision machines. Some are worse than others, the longer the boom, the more play you will see at the head.

Maybe someone on here has the same machine and can speak from experience, that is not a model I have ever run. In my experience the Vermeer 652 is a rather tight machine, but the new Bandit SG 75 that we are running now has a fair amount of play right from the factory. I believe part of that is due to the 6 foot long boom it has.
 
flushcut said:
Are the swing cylinder pins tight or are they wollered out and worn ?
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Everything is tight as far as I can tell. I replaced the swing cylinder bushings and pins ~2 years ago. The only place with any noticeable movement is the primary up/down pivot pin, although it's all been replaced as well. It's probably about normal the more that I look at it, and is amplified by the time it reaches the end of the boom.

Reach said:
Stump grinders naturally have some play, they are not the tightest machines in the world in my experience. They are just not built to be precision machines. Some are worse than others, the longer the boom, the more play you will see at the head.

Maybe someone on here has the same machine and can speak from experience, that is not a model I have ever run. In my experience the Vermeer 652 is a rather tight machine, but the new Bandit SG 75 that we are running now has a fair amount of play right from the factory. I believe part of that is due to the 6 foot long boom it has.
Click to expand...
I'd imagine a smaller unit like this would be fairly tight but it appears more normal the more I continue to look at it. It grinds fine
 
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