Mowing Bush Hog operating Hints and experience

[bironacad]

I recently purchased a 6' Bush Hog (Woods Rotary cutter HC72) and have yet to hook it to the tractor. What I would like is some shared experience on how to approach brush cutting before I start, lol. I watched the video and read the manual but.... I get walking the path and marking stumps and rocks but what about saplings? I read one persons post that if he could knock it over with his FEL his HOG could handle it. Can I run over a 1" sapling without damaging the underside of the tractor? I was told that this was a heavy duty Bush Hog.

Thanks

 

[RobertN]

1 - Go slow - I always do better going slow...
2 - I have more areas where I am able to just back over saplings ect. I'll lift the mower, back in to the brush and then start lowering it.
3 - Sometimes, if I have the loader on the tractor, I will set the bucket about 6" above the ground. That way, for most stuff I catch it or bump it with the loader before hitting a rock ect with the mower.
4 - Go slow and take your time

 

[allis180]

Your hog should handle 1" saplings with no problems. Even after walking through the area to inspect it before you run the brush hog, your machine will still find things you overlooked. Very annoying. Those little surprises tend to get flung with great velocity from under your cutter. It is essential that people and pets are nowhere around your equipment when hogging.

If yours has a shear pin, it helps to have a few sprares on hand. As already mentioned, go slow.

 

[beenthere]

1" for sure. And up to 2" if getting it pushed over. Underbelly is a concern and a risk to take.
Backing over heavy brush is usually how I protect the tractor belly. If driving over, then be sure you don't end up having to back up on pushed-over brush. :shocked:

 

[TripleR]

Just almost too many caveats to mention. Be sure to check your manual to make sure what size it will handle, it should be in the specs. One of ours will handle 2 1/2 and the other 3" which we regularly cut by lowering the front bucket and knocking them down to protect the cab glass.

We use the front bucket as a "feeler" in rough stuff and it has saved the cutter by locating stumps etc. I have also used the FEL to get out of a washout that appeared over the winter months.

As mentioned, you can back over stuff and lower your cutter, but in backing over stuff, you are putting your tires right on the freshly cut stobs which may or may not be a problem depending on how low you cut. Going any distance in reverse can also be pretty tiring. I do this on occasion depending on what I am cutting. We use a pull type Woods DS1260 which is hard to back straight without turning around or using mirrors. I also use a 6' Land Pride RCR2672 and routinely run over stuff up to ten feet or more tall. I have managed to tear the boots up on my Kubota tie rods, but they are easy to replace and some tractors don't have them so exposed.

I know of no rotary cutter that won't handle 1" saplings though they may exist, I cut them that big with my little BX and 4' cutter.

As mentioned, if you don't have a slip clutch carry some extra shear pins and if you have a slip clutch make sure it is properly adjusted.

Check to make sure your blades are properly "sharpened", ie as per manual which should be a square profile of about 1/16th of an inch with square ends I think, check your manual, there is a thread on this somewhere.

Keep your hand on or near your lift in case you get into something you shouldn't or be prepared to shut it down nd disengage the PTO.

I am sure there are others I am missing, but other members will catch them and bring it up.

Here are some pictures of stuff we cut.

 

[Wooddust]

There are bush hogs and then there are bush hogs.....I have a 6 foot BushHog Brand that is built way heavier than a woods, KK, and many of the other less pricy brands. What I can cut as far as stems go and what you may want to cut would be different. Be careful, your gear box is lighter and the metal that they use for the mower deck is lighter. Ease into it, and you will learn what is too big and what will end up denting your mower or stalling the tractor.

 

[DAY]

Said by others: In "Virgin Territory" go slow. Even take a pre-cutting walk. Then the once or twice a year mowing job is like cutting the lawn.

 

[Baby Grand]

Your hog should handle 1" saplings with no problems. Even after walking through the area to inspect it before you run the brush hog, your machine will still find things you overlooked. Very annoying. Those little surprises tend to get flung with great velocity from under your cutter. It is essential that people and pets are nowhere around your equipment when hogging.

If yours has a shear pin, it helps to have a few sprares on hand. As already mentioned, go slow.

What he said.
Also - if you are cutting around vertical surfaces - buildings, walls, tree trunks, etc - that stuff that gets flung with great velocity can come right back at you, so wear safety glasses if not a helmet. I had a chunk of wood whiz by my ear so close it near trimmed the hair off of it.

 

[devildog1]

1 - Go slow - I always do better going slow...
2 - I have more areas where I am able to just back over saplings ect. I'll lift the mower, back in to the brush and then start lowering it.
3 - Sometimes, if I have the loader on the tractor, I will set the bucket about 6" above the ground. That way, for most stuff I catch it or bump it with the loader before hitting a rock ect with the mower.
4 - Go slow and take your time

RobertN is right on, could not have said it any better.
DevilDog

 

[bironacad]

Just almost too many caveats to mention. Be sure to check your manual to make sure what size it will handle, it should be in the specs. One of ours will handle 2 1/2 and the other 3" which we regularly cut by lowering the front bucket and knocking them down to protect the cab glass.

We use the front bucket as a "feeler" in rough stuff and it has saved the cutter by locating stumps etc. I have also used the FEL to get out of a washout that appeared over the winter months.

As mentioned, you can back over stuff and lower your cutter, but in backing over stuff, you are putting your tires right on the freshly cut stobs which may or may not be a problem depending on how low you cut. Going any distance in reverse can also be pretty tiring. I do this on occasion depending on what I am cutting. We use a pull type Woods DS1260 which is hard to back straight without turning around or using mirrors. I also use a 6' Land Pride RCR2672 and routinely run over stuff up to ten feet or more tall. I have managed to tear the boots up on my Kubota tie rods, but they are easy to replace and some tractors don't have them so exposed.

I know of no rotary cutter that won't handle 1" saplings though they may exist, I cut them that big with my little BX and 4' cutter.

As mentioned, if you don't have a slip clutch carry some extra shear pins and if you have a slip clutch make sure it is properly adjusted.

Check to make sure your blades are properly "sharpened", ie as per manual which should be a square profile of about 1/16th of an inch with square ends I think, check your manual, there is a thread on this somewhere.

Keep your hand on or near your lift in case you get into something you shouldn't or be prepared to shut it down nd disengage the PTO.

I am sure there are others I am missing, but other members will catch them and bring it up.

Here are some pictures of stuff we cut.

That is pretty impressive thanks for the pictures. It is equipped with a slip clutch I don't have a hydraulic top link so when you say raise and lower you are you referring to your lift arms?

 

[kebo]

Excellent advice already given, but I will add one thing...

Keep an eye on the temp gauge. Bushhogging usually creates a lot of debris that can clog up the radiator and cause the motor to overheat. If you don't have a temp gauge, then stop and check the radiator screen every so often.

 

[whistlepig]

Watch out for down wire. Barbed wire, electric fence wire, woven wire fence, nylon electric tape, etc. I have gotten barbed wire tangled in my stump jumper and watched it cut a 40' diameter swath just like a giant weed eater. It will cut the legs or suck someone into the brush hog if they are standing too close.

 

[beenthere]

Watch out for down wire. Barbed wire, electric fence wire, woven wire fence, nylon electric tape, etc. I have gotten barbed wire tangled in my stump jumper and watched it cut a 40' diameter swath just like a giant weed eater. It will cut the legs or suck someone into the brush hog if they are standing too close.

Seems a bit exaggerated, but the general point made is believable.

 

[whistlepig]

Seems a bit exaggerated, but the general point made is believable.

There will others that will have had this happen to them.

 

[JoeL4330]

1" for sure. And up to 2" if getting it pushed over. Underbelly is a concern and a risk to take.
Backing over heavy brush is usually how I protect the tractor belly. If driving over, then be sure you don't end up having to back up on pushed-over brush. :shocked:

This last piece of advice: don't back up on pushed-over brush, is important but may not be understood until you have a pushed-over sapling spring back up as you reverse over it and puncture your radiator ! ...especially important when you have already cut over the sapling and sharpened it like a punji stick. ...go ahead, ask me how I know.

 

[TripleR]

That is pretty impressive thanks for the pictures. It is equipped with a slip clutch I don't have a hydraulic top link so when you say raise and lower you are you referring to your lift arms?

No, when I crest a pond levy or other abrupt rise, I extend the top link which lowers the back of the cutter so it follows the ground. I also use this when sitting on the top of a levy and back down to the waters edge. It doesn't work as well as a pull type, but does a pretty good job.

 

[moored4]

Watch out for down wire. Barbed wire, electric fence wire, woven wire fence, nylon electric tape, etc. I have gotten barbed wire tangled in my stump jumper and watched it cut a 40' diameter swath just like a giant weed eater. It will cut the legs or suck someone into the brush hog if they are standing too close.

Did the tractor jump the wire every time it came by!

 

[Grandad4]

This last piece of advice: don't back up on pushed-over brush, is important but may not be understood until you have a pushed-over sapling spring back up as you reverse over it and puncture your radiator ! ...especially important when you have already cut over the sapling and sharpened it like a punji stick. ...go ahead, ask me how I know.

+1 to that, especially if you have a modern CUT-style tractor. Lots of exposed mechanical and hydraulic stuff underneath. In really tall, thick brush, plan your turns so you don't need to back up or make sharp turns at the end of a row.

Also, be prepared for the cutter to make an unholy racket as it chews up the larger debris. The cutter will take it, but from the sound, you'll think it's coming apart.

 

[Snaker]

I have a KK and understand fully that it is a lite duty mower. I've used it to make and maintain a little over 3 miles of trails plus grass mowing. The wear and tear really ramps up when cutting the thicker stuff. When clearing a new patch of brush, I prewalk with a chainsaw. Anything that I can't grab with one hand at knee level and bend horizontally fairly easily gets sawed off at ground level. Its not nearly as bad as it may appear and I still have a mower in good shape after about 15 years.

When blazing trails in thick brush I use toilet paper pieces to run a center line as the planned path can get tricky to eyeball.

 

[9973720wb19]

when doing an area with high brush (without smalls trees) I like to make the first cut by backing up in the center and work my way out and back driving fwd and back. this way I watch the back wheel on the brush mower to see if it gets muddy or starts to rise or fall sharply...helps to determine the lay of the land and where the wet areas are. when mowing fwd, I like to keep the fel low and it can help if i get stuck.