It it called the MightyMac? I have a 6.5hp Mac and it works well, but I paid much more than 599, so I don't know what your model is missing. It handles any 1" or less material that I put in it. It's also very easy to start the engine.

The LSC is branded MightyMac but is not hammer mill. I believe there are no optional screens, just the bar screen it comes with. Features include the ability to tilt to the ground for ez loading; and bagging. vac hose is an option.
I dont own/use one of these, but I considered the purchase, hence i read up on them, I trust the above details are correct. i would use a LSC primarily for leaf shredding.

Here is a link that might be useful: lsc

Hi Lawnboy,

I had a MTD chipper very similar to the ones you're considering. It worked ok for dry stuff like leaves and branches but didn't work at all for wet stuff like tomato vines and sweet corn stalks. The discharge chute constantly plugged with the wetter materials. Also, based on my experience with sears on a riding mower, I'll never purchase anything from them again. They talk a good game about warranties until the engine pukes 10 months after purchase. Then you get the runaround.

I just bought a Troy bilt Super Tomahawk for use on my 1/2 acre and think it'll be great for it. I paid 175 for the chipper and had to replace the shaft and bearings for another 70 bucks. It has a B&S 8HP I/C engine that has been hard to stop thus far. I've run a quite a bit of 1 inch and less twigs through it with very satisfying results. I have yet to try wetter garden waste but am optimistic about how it will work. This is similar to the mackissic 763 that sells for 1200 bucks.

Basically, if you're just cleaning up leaves and sticks, either of your choices should work OK. If you've got wetter materials, they're not so good.

It would be good to be educated on the minimum shredder requirements to handle wet materials. Is it primarily HP? Or would it be as simple as removing the screen on the LSC to prevent jams with wet stuff?

My Mighty Mac was brand new and I wanted to try it out on freshly cut corn stalks. The screen that came with the unit kept blocking up, so I went to the next size which had 2 inch long oval slots, and that ended the problem.

Last week I was raking soggy leaves and wanted to put them in the machine with the 2 inch slots and they wouldn't self-feed, but with a stick I was able to push them down and they went through too.

Even with all the wet goo from the leaves, the motor never stalled.

Hi Tumble,

My MTD was a 5 HP. It didn't bog down but would kill when the outlet plugged up. HP wasn't the problem, the entire design was the problem.

The bigger Mackissics, Bearcats, and the older Tomahawks have flail style shredder with 16 or 24 hammers on them vs. blades bolted to a flywheel Like the MTDs, craftsmans, etc. They're truly chipper/shredders.

My MTD was more like a chipper that they made multipurpose by adding a chute for leaves. You can see what they did for the mackissic if you look at the parts breakdown on the link I posted. Their "Three way shredding" is just a blade(part 9B) on a flywheel, a few teeth on the housing(part 11), and a screen (part 22) on the way out. Fine for dry stuff like dry leaves, twigs, and branches but no good for anything wet.

Like I said in my first post, I haven't run garden waste through my tomahawk yet as I've had it two weeks or so but the design looks like it'll be better for wet stuff. If it doesn't work with the 1 inch hole grate, I'll be looking for a bar grate or making one.

Here is a link that might be useful: guts of the mackissic

yes I saw that drawing, but didn't completely understand it, thanks for your explanation. as far as "3 way", doesn't that just refer to 3 loading paths? Anyway, I suspected that wet shredding is an issue so I held off for a better model, but price was an obstacle. All I want to do is fine process 10 yards of leaves & about 90 gals of prunings (

Hiya Tumblenes,

I agree that a grand is outta most people's budget. It's sure waaaay outta mine! That's why I went with an older model and fixed it up. They have a half dozen Super Tomahawks on ebay right now, most under $400 and ready to chip.

Anyway, I'm not knocking the MacKissic. I'll bet it's a good machine and does a good job for what it was built. I'm just giving other options and advice on what works for me.

this was posted by birdman5 in 05:

"picked up a LSC506 (6.5hp Intek) last week from my local dealer and could not be happier. I have 1/2 acre with 11 giant trees and after the weekends storm made short work of all my leaves and branches. My garden now has a pile of compost for the winter. Laying the LSC506 flat makes feeding it a simple chore, I used a backpack blower and just slowly blew the leaves towards the chute and they sucked right in.
First pass through created small particles, I took the bag and put it through for a second pass and the compost is tiny almost dust like.

IMHO, a great tool for $550 for the homeowner looking to make their own compost. Get it local, they are always willing to deal and cash always gets a better price. Service is a huge benefit of buying from the local guys, I never thought so but every time I go there they throw in a tuneup or a sharpening for free"

wonder how it is running a few years later.

I'd look for a used machine.
I'm picking up a Bearcat 70380 tomorrow for $530 including tax and an extra blade set. It retails for over $2,000. It's definitely been used a lot -- I'm getting it from a Home Depot tool rental shop. But as long as it doesn't have huge problems that I'm unaware of, it will be so much better than anything sub-$1,000 new.

All good info, thanks...