Terminator Stump Cutter

The Terminator Stump Cutter, also called the T1 or the Lancer Stump Cutter, is a tool for loosening up the hard stem of an aluminum Stump Crank of 2.8 mm (8.5 gauge) by machinecutting it free. For the last forty years, users have accumulated their own collections of both machined and mortised aluminum Stump Cranks and tooled them to accept the steel jaws of a welding mandrel. Several such devices have been on the market and have been used in use worldwide for some time - they seem most efficient and reliable, especially to prevent sharpening or heating the tool. The most sought-after by users of this tool, has been its ability to weld thin strips of steel between the steel jaws which do not extend the entire length of the mandrel.

Similar metal parts - steels and other alloys - are very difficult and expensive to machine, and even more so when they come in required exact tolerances. The Stump Cutter must be machined in strict tolerances at over 140 micrometres per millimetre and an iron alloy over 7 micrometres.

The T1 Stump Cutter consists of a flat workpiece of aluminum alloy roughly (2.8 mm diameter at the jaw end and roughly 25.2 mm diameter at the shaft end) and works with an aluminum alloy mandrel for working. The device has a flat workpiece with a working surface of fine grit (320 carbon steel). Its jaws are of an alloy of iron and copper, as near as commercially usable, and an extra internal heating element is also included to assist in raising its sharpness to a satisfactory level and thereby enabling it to be used with other mandrels. The alloy used is compatible with aluminum alloys but produces a larger machine cutting finish (3 micrometres average per millimetre) than the standard machining of aluminum alloys.

The device has an additional electrical heating element between the jaws to ease cutting from hardened steel. It has a rated life of 4,000 hours which means that each T1 has to be replaced after 4,000 hours.

A tool of similar design but using a steel mandrel and workpiece is the Power weld Stump Cutter described in John R.