DEADLY SLASHER.

[Eagleview]

I bought a new slasher to do large areas quickly as some people do'nt require the better finish that my flail mowers leave . So i shelled out $6000 on a new "Kanga" slasher , being a well known brand in OZ . After an hour i got the spanners out to check all the bolts and noticed oil running out the bottom gearbox seal . The castleated nut had come loose and the cutter bar was about to cut my tractor tyres off . After pulling it apart i was amazed at how badly the cutter bar flange was made . They had cut off a piece of 5"X5/8" flat bar in the guilotine . Which left the ends out of true . They then cut out the center hole with a hand held oxy torch which left it jaggered and not centered , drilled the two 5/8" holes off center and then butt welded this mess onto the splined hub which pulled the plate into an arc with the cooling welds and did not true it back up in a lathe or mill . This then caused the cutter bar to be bent with the bolts untill it seated on the plate putting the bolts under great strain just to do this which left the bar loose (look at the fret marks where the bar has been moving). And then because the 1/4" split pin hole was high in the splined hub , they could not get a 1/4" split pin in the hole so they bent an 1/8" one into a fish hook shape and threaded that in . Needless to say the nut could undo about 5 degrees before the pin could stop it which then made the spline work loose . I phoned "Kanga Slashers" and told them i could not believe that they would build a critical component so badly . I said the plate should have been counter bored and the splined hub should have been turned down and press fitted into it before being welded and then the face of the plate trued up after the welds cooled . He said that's how they do it . Have a look at the mill scale on the "machined" plate and the thickness of the plate at both places were they "did" counter bore it . I am now building my own slasher , at least i know it will be done right . I will also be machining a "well" into the flange that the cutter bar will sit in so that the bolts only hold it up and not take the shear forces that the ones in the photos do (which are metric in a 5/8" hole , loose to start with).

 

[EdC]

If your slasher is anything near as nice as your pickup or other projects it will end up being the goal every manufacturer should shoot for.


edited to add ... But you have to show us the project step by step!

 

[Eagleview]

What a nice thing to say , thank you .

 

[Eagleview]

Well , ive finally made a start on my new slasher . This is the cutter bar drive hub i had an engineer build to my specs . The first part is a flange that goes under the slasher deck , the gearbox passes through the deck and then through a 300X75mm cold rolled channel . The pictured flange then is fitted and bolts passed through all 4 pieces to form a strong laminate . A piece of steel pipe has been welded to the flange to protect the gearbox seal . Then the drive hub with it's internal spline is fitted and held on with the castleated nut and split pin . The walls on the drive hub apply the thrust to the cutter bar and the bolts only hold the bar up and have no thrust applied to them . Unlike a conventional system where the bolts do both tasks . If a bolt breaks on a conventional system the cutter bar will become an eccentric and could cause loss of life . As far as i'm concerned this is the only way a critical component such as the drive hub should be made .

 

[tlbuser]

I am now building my own slasher , at least i know it will be done right .

Did you get Kanga to take theirs back? The new spindle adapter looks good in the pics.

 

[EddieWalker]

What is a slasher?

I'm thinking it's a type of mower, but for the money you're talking, it must be something more then what I'm familiar with. Do you have any pictures of one in use?

It's a pleasure to see your projects and how you build stuff. I like the common sense aproach to it that you have. Nothing extra, just what's needed and you make it as strong as possible.

Eddie

 

[aczlan]

Eddie,
From what I have read recently here, the attachment we call a Bushhog in the US is called a slasher in Australia.

Aaron Z

 

[have_blue]

Eddie,
From what I have read recently here, the attachment we call a Bushhog in the US is called a slasher in Australia.

Aaron Z

And in Texas it's called a "shredder".

 

[rhett]

hi Iron Horse,

you got my interest in finding out what a "Kanga Slasher" is. as "aczlan" and "have_blue" said, 'Slasher' is a term for a Rotary Cutter.

a google search reveals that Kanga uses a "laminated blade bar" and not a round Stump Jumper design. i'm attaching some pix so others can see what you are working with, and possibly existing ideas for you that are used by most Rotary Cutter models in North America.

The research was fun, but for the price you paid they should have provided much better craftsmanship.

Happy Slashing
Rhett

 

[IslandTractor]

What is a slasher?

I'm thinking it's a type of mower, but for the money you're talking, it must be something more then what I'm familiar with.

More like you are not familiar with Aussie prices. Smaller market equals higher prices and on top of that their dollar is worth less than ours so things look very expensive by US$ standards. I don't know exactly what IronHorse's "slasher" compares to but I'd hazard a guess that it is like a medium or heavy duty Bush Hog.

 

[EddieWalker]

Thanks, I sort of thought that's what it must have been, but the $6,000 price tag told me that there's no way it's a rotary cutter. My six foot Landpride, medium duty Rotary Cutter with a three year gear box warrenty cost me $800 brand new. I still think I'm missing something. The exchange rate isn't that big and they have plenty of steel there. Why such a HUGE difference in price?

Eddie

 

[IslandTractor]

Why such a HUGE difference in price?

It is very expensive to build things upside down, especially when there is lots of welding involved.

Also, it is not hard to spend pretty close to $3000 in the USA for a 7ft heavy duty "slasher" so maybe that accounts for some of the cost too.

 

[Eagleview]

Sorry for the confusion . A Slasher (you slash grass with it) is the same as your Bush Hog . It is easy to spend $8,000-$10,000 on a Slasher over here , i bought the Kanga because it was "cheap". This is a photo of a Kanga , on thier "heavy duty model" , they use a triple laminated beam the same as i have but thiers only has two bolt holes for attaching , and the drive spindle is just flat plate as shown in my first photos . After they welded the spline hub to the flat plate , the welds pulled it into an arc . The two poor little bolts were overstressed just trying to pull the laminated beam to that same arc . The result is , no frictional strength between the beam and the spindle and all shock loads being directed straight at the bolts . Metric bolts in 5/8" holes with no frictional strength = a ready made bolt Guilotine . As you can see my laminated beam has 4 bolts for attachment and the side lugs on the spindle transmit all the thrust to the beam , the bolts only hold the beam up . Any shock loads are transmitted through the side lugs , and are disipated via the clutch . The 300(12")X75mm(3") cold rolled channel in the photo is part of the structure the gearbox will pass through to disipate Harmonics throughout the deck plate . It's not just Kanga that build them like this , they all do . How are the ones built in the States made ?

The photos i posted first were also sent to Workcover . I complained about the safety of Kangas slashers and showed them a drawing of how they should be made , they now use a 4 bolt bar and also weld on square steel stock either side of the bar . Not as good as milling a slot out but a lot better than what they had .

 

[Eagleview]

It is very expensive to build things upside down, especially when there is lots of welding involved.

Ahh , a wise guy , if you feel something banging under your feet it's me banging the ceiling with my broom .

 

[rhett]

How are the ones built in the States made ?

thump thump, see post #9

 

[Eagleview]

I'm sorry , i missread what you were saying in post 9 . You guy's don't use a laminated beam at all ?

 

[rhett]

my thump thump was just trying to follow humor i thought i saw from preceeding posts.

right, the round plate / dish is a bountifull feature. rotary cuters for North America use them and have shear bolts not slip clutches. if you overview the round plate idea, when hiting an object, it deflects, as the "Laminated Bar" will grab an object and traumatic shock to the drive line occurs.

honestly, i wish products abundant here were readily availible to you.

Good Luck
Rhett

 

[CCWKen]

Thanks, I sort of thought that's what it must have been, but the $6,000 price tag told me that there's no way it's a rotary cutter. My six foot Landpride, medium duty Rotary Cutter with a three year gear box warrenty cost me $800 brand new. I still think I'm missing something. The exchange rate isn't that big and they have plenty of steel there. Why such a HUGE difference in price?

I just looked (only looked) at a Rhino 10' yesterday. It has dual (actually tripple) gear boxes and dual cutting assemblies. It's pulled by a swinging drawbar. The hydraulic actuated dual rear wheels simutaneously, through linkage, raise and lower the front of the deck. The lightly-used price was $5600. I've seen them from $3200-$3800 in well-used condition.

http://www.equipmentlocator.com/photos/equip/540328-1.jpg

 

[Eagleview]

Re: DEADLY SLASHER/BUSH HOG .

Did you get Kanga to take theirs back? The new spindle adapter looks good in the pics.

Sorry i forgot to reply to your question . Yes , i made them give me back my money . The tone in my voice told them i was not a happy camper .

CCWKen , that slasher , in that condition would bring $12,000 in OZ .

rhett , i have only just noticed the first picture you posted in post 9 is not a side view of the stump jumper in the other two shots . This is how they are now made after i complained , and they are now using it as sales leverage , people are now asking for thier slashers because of the captive bar feature . I should hit them up for royalties . And i now get the thump thump .

Maybe a moderator can change the thread title to DEADLY SLASHER/BUSH HOG for me .

 

[irvingj]

Iron Horse-- anybody ever think about shipping a batch of used BushHogs --or other agricultural equipment-- to OZ, reconditioning them, and selling them down there??

Back when I was young and foolish, I knew a gentleman who did that in Stockholm in the 70's, with US musclecars. He'd buy them, used, a dozen or so at a time, ship them to Sweden, recondition as necessary, and then sell them at a very good profit. (Got to drive a Mustang around Stockholm for a couple of days- you'd think I had a Ferrari by the looks of admiration I got!)

Just a thought-- this Swede had quite a good business going back then....