Fox set up for brush chipping

Here's a simple mod that was done by the prev. owners (2 farmers shared it) to chip brush with the 3000.




I am thinking of making a chute for it that mounts in place of the head. We've got some steel that would work for it, it's bent up & everything.

I'd probably cut the brackets off one of the heads we've got and build from there. We've got 2 fox choppers. This 3000 and an older model. The older one has a smaller hay head and a 1 row corn head, this one had a wider pickup and 2 row wide corn head. Heads would fit either machine.

Anyone need a head? 2 bolt knives? I've got a brand new set of 2 bolt knives I was gonna modify for the 3000, but now that it's just a brush chipper, i'm not putting new knives in for that job.

Donovan from Wisconsin

I hauled an old chopper home for a guy one time that was set up about the same way,but what was on that one looked like the table from an old table blower so the apron had sides on it. They'd rigged up a pair of big castor wheels under the front of it to support it.

The amish around here mount a conveyor belt (table) similar to your photo. They then mount them at the silo and throw in bundles of corn stalks. Talk about a long hard dangerous job....

That's how Fox mounted their heads. They have 2 pegs on each side that the head locates on in V-notches, and then 2 T bolts to hold them on. I know some of the later Foxes mounted something like the other choppers, where they mount right in front of the feed rolls.

For the purposes of using it as a chipper, the apron bed on a Fox works great. You can set it on there and let go before it gets to the rolls, or atleast have a great gguide into the rolls. I know it wouldn't work near as nice if I tried it with our NH chopper, just trying to jam it into the rolls.

The bar above the feed rolls was added, as well as the linkage to the reversing gearbox. Then when something does get jammed, you can work it back & forth from a safe(r) spot than by the belts & chains & shafts.

I'm thinking of cutting the mounting bracket off one of the heads and making a chute for it out of some steel we have laying around. For now though, it works good this way. It'll never see a crop again, as we don't have anymore good knives for it and it's only running 3 right now....

Back in September when I set it up to chop a couple loads of corn while waiting for parts for our 892, I used a spare shear bar to setup a replacement knife and I forgot to take it out. It was in there for 3 loads of corn, several 1/2 loads of hay when we were mixing hay & corn in the wagons, and even a little bedding. When we were chipping with it and almost done for the day, the shear bar finally fell into the knives and bent 1 all to he!!. I took 2 more knives out to balance it. Some of the other knives are missing some chunks, but for this purpose, it's not an issue.

Donovan from Wisconsin

Please add the extra shielding you mentioned right away. I remember a few years back a friend of a friend had a similar setup and was clearing some brush, he tripped and fell into the machine where it took half of him in. His wife and two young daughters found his remains about an hour after the incident. Memories of that incident remind me of safety first.

Jim