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Hardened steel cutter teeth were a game changer for me | Dredge Operators - SMM Buzz

Hardened steel cutter teeth were a game changer for me

I ran a 12 inch cutterhead in Charleston harbor last year and burned through standard teeth in 3 days. Switched to hardened steel ones after a buddy kept pushing them. They lasted 2 full weeks through the same mixed sand and clay. Anyone else notice that big of a difference with different tooth materials?

3 comments

3 Comments

william_henderson4mo ago

Yeah I had the exact same experience with "standard teeth" just not cutting it. Ran a 10 inch head in Tampa Bay through some nasty shell and limestone mix. Standard ones were done in like 2 days, chipped and rounded off. Swapped to hardened steel and they held up for almost 3 weeks no problem. The difference was night and day for me too.

nancyw974mo ago

Oh come on, you people act like spending extra money on hardened steel is ALWAYS the answer. Standard teeth have their place and people just dont know how to use them right. If your standard teeth chipped after two days you were probably pushing too hard or using the wrong speed for that material. Ive run standard teeth in similar conditions for WEEKS with zero issues because I take the time to match the feed rate to the ground. Hardened steel is overkill for most jobs and honestly its just paying more for something you dont really need. Plus hardened teeth are a PAIN to sharpen when they finally do wear down, so youre just trading one problem for another. Sometimes the cheaper option works fine if you actually know what youre doing.

bettyfox4mo ago

10 inch head in Tampa Bay? That's almost exactly what I'm running right now. I've got a 12 inch head on my machine down here in Mobile Bay and it's all limestone mud and crushed shell. I went through three sets of standard teeth in one week. THREE SETS. Each one chipped out and rounded off before lunch on the second day. Had a guy tell me I was running too fast. I was barely crawling along at half speed. Swapped to hardened and they lasted two full weeks. Still had some life left. Not overkill at all down here.