Flail Mower Ford 917 Flail Mower

[gamehuntrr]

I purchased a Ford Flail over the weekend and noticed it was out of balance so I checked on the cutters and noticed some missing. I used what were on the machine to balance out the cutters and it worked great. It is a 72" machine that had 9 cutters per row for a total of 27 cutters. I took off the outside cutters taking it down to a 60" cut. I am using a small tz22 with this and did not have any issues with cutting even going up a large hill
I am wondering if adding the outside cutters back on if it will cause it to bog down a lot more or will the force already created keep it going smooth. I know this is a small tractor for such a beast but it is able to lift it and cut some very thick grass if I slow down enough.
Machine ran very smooth until I through another blade, now trying to find replacements through flailmaster, but they are not answering their phone today.

 

[leonz]

I purchased a Ford Flail over the weekend and noticed it was out of balance
so I checked on the cutters and noticed some missing.

I used what were on the machine to balance out the cutters and it worked great.

It is a 72" machine that had 9 cutters per row for a total of 27 cutters.

I took off the outside cutters taking it down to a 60" cut.

I am using a small tz22 with this and did not have any issues with cutting

even going up a large hillView attachment 271821

I am wondering if adding the outside cutters back on if it will cause it
to bog down a lot more or will the force already created keep it going smooth?

I know this is a small tractor for such a beast but it is able to lift it and cut some
very thick grass if I slow down enough. [

ATTACH=CONFIG]271822[/ATTACH]
The machine ran very smooth until I threw another blade,
now trying to find replacements through flailmaster,
but they are not answering their phone today.

Welcome to TBN,

I think the flailmaster folks are on vacation this week.

SO apparently you have a Ford 917 flailmower with
the scoop knives.

Be sure to grease the flailmower rotor bearings every time you
mow or every 6 hours with 6-7 shots of grease AND be doubly
sure to take off the belt guard and dig out the buried grease
fittings there as well as scrape away the grass and rubber dust
sticking to the mowers side.


The V belts used in flail mowers are typically a B size belt and
available locally. Be sure to purchase the Kevlar belts(green thread)
when replacing them as the Kevlar provides better shock
protection for the mower and the V belt(s).

Adding the exterior cutters back will not cause it to bog down,
the travel speed is what regulates the mowers abilty to mow.

What you can do is raise the cutting height of the flail mower
by lowering the mounting postition of the rear roller which is
what regulates the cutting height of your flail mower.

The slower you mow the finer the clippings will be and the less
trouble you will have mowing.

You also have a built in lawn striper at no extra charge as well.

Many of us have taken some of the knives off to reduce the cutting width when dealing with losing a knive when you cannot get a spare quickly when mowing tall grass and brush.

Don't forget you can take a smaller cut of what you want to mow as well.


If you have Ford New Holland dealer nearby they may have your knives in stock also.

I also wish to welcome you as the newest member of the Flail Mower Nation
and all that it offers from the members who have joined The Flail Mower Nation previously, we are happy bunch of flail mower owners and can help you with your mower if you have problems or think you have problems.

I will be off the board for a few minutes looking up the parts numbers for your mower so you have them.

Edit:

The Flailmaster home page is not working and temporarily diconnected from the internet.


It may be more economical for you to purchase the scoop knives from www.Cleancutter.com
if you are on the west side of the Mississippi River to save on shipping costs as there are no cost savings in price per unit until you pass the one hundred or so number of knives for purchasing.

___________________________________________________________

Once you go flail you never go back:thumbsup::licking::drool:
Pronovost or not at all!!!:thumbsup::licking::drool:


Only 17, 889 mowers to go.

 

[gamehuntrr]

I got in touch with Flailmaster today and they are having issues with their phone system also. I was able to order new knives from them and ordered their heavy duty knives, so 2 per shackle and I ordered new shackles nuts and bolts as well, I ordered a few extra to keep n hand. I will be interested as to how it cuts with sharp blades as the ones on it were very well rounded, the back looked the same as the front. They were suppose to ship today so I will have them in a few days. I will post back as to how they do on my tractor.

 

[leonz]

I got in touch with Flailmaster today and they are having issues with their phone system also. I was able to order new knives from them and ordered their heavy duty knives, so 2 per shackle and I ordered new shackles nuts and bolts as well, I ordered a few extra to keep n hand. I will be interested as to how it cuts with sharp blades as the ones on it were very well rounded, the back looked the same as the front. They were suppose to ship today so I will have them in a few days. I will post back as to how they do on my tractor.

AH,

You have five foot ford flail mower not the six foot flail mower,
The six foot mower has 33 knive stations where the seven foot
mower has 39 knive stations.

Thier phone system must have been affected with all the bad weather
in the middle portion of the Allegany Mountains as well.


So you do not have the (FM-220398 Flailmaster Part Number) scoop knives,
you have the FM-7(flail Master Part Number) knives


I did not think the 917 was set up to handle the very wide scoop knives like a
sugar beet defoliator with the very wide knives.



Do you know if your mower has the removable trash deflector door?

You will notice a large improvement in the cutting ability with the new side slicer knives

 

[gamehuntrr]

It was set up with the single-piece blade with a 2.6 cutting width. I went with the heavy duty because the blades are able to be turned around to use both edges before sharpening. I was just looking at the spec sheet and it does not give the cutting width as it does for the Single-piece blade. Does anyone know if they will be the same cutting width? I asked if I could replace them and they assured I could, but now I'm a little worried.

 

[leonz]

OK you have the mower with 27 stations for a five foot width of cut.

The mowing width is the same for both knive types-60 inches, no worries


Did you order 54 knives to replace all the knives or the number of knives
that you need to replace the broken side slicers?

The three rows of knive stations overlap each row in order to give you the
five foot width of cut just as the entire compliment of scoop knives would if
you ordered 27 of the sccop knives.

No worries! It will be fine and you will be very happy with the mowing job it does.

 

[leonz]

When its time to sharpen your new side slicers do not use a bench grinder,

All you need to do now is purchase a wet well knive and scizzor
grinder to sharpen your side slicers or you will have cutting
edges that will not hold.

 

[ohben]

I picked up a used ford flail mower too and was wondering what weight oil for the gear box?

 

[leonz]

I want to welcome you as the newest member of the Flail Mower Nation.

You can use 90 weight gear oil in the gear box.


____________________________________________________________
Once you go flail you never go back:thumbsup::licking::drool:
Pronovost or not at all!!!:thumbsup::licking::drool:Onl


Only 17,888 mowers to go.

 

[trl]

Mine is a 62 inch 917, about 30 years old, bouight new, always satisfied with its performance but always a step ahead of the death throes of unavailable parts. Now I need two simple things: the idler rod pulley mechanism (rod is 13.5 inches, with a bend at the end with drilled hole for cotter pin) and a grease nipple for the gearbox. Any offers?

 

[leonz]

Mine is a 62 inch 917, about 30 years old, bouight new, always satisfied with its performance but always a step ahead of the death throes of unavailable parts. Now I need two simple things: the idler rod pulley mechanism (rod is 13.5 inches, with a bend at the end with drilled hole for cotter pin) and a grease nipple for the gearbox. Any offers?

Check with Flail Master first then Wengers of Myerstown, Pa.

OK about the grease nipple where is it on the gearbox???????, the gearbox should only be holding oil.

 

[trl]

Well, yes, I misdescribed the location. The grease nipple is on the joint connection from the pto shaft to the mower driveshaft. To get to it you must remove the cover that is secured by a bolt. To get to the nipple, the driveshaft can be rotated with the transmission belt until it sits up at the proper angle. I am thinking it may be the same size and shape as the nipple on the connection to the pto spline.

 

[paulharvey]

OK about the grease nipple where is it on the gearbox???????, the gearbox should only be holding oil.

Is there any reason the gear box can't be filled with grease like is often done with a bushhog? Mine leaks 90w or AW68 from around the pto "spud". How difficult/expensive to pull pto stub and reseal? I gave $150 for a ?48" (53" wide) Ford-917 with the duck foot hammer-knives.

Also is there a video or some sort of guide on how to sharpen the hamer-knives (angle and how sharp are the really suppost to be). I use mine to mow lawn, which is mostly coastal/pensacola bahia, and it leaves a lot if the seed stalks just beat up, till first rain when they stand back up.

 

[leonz]

Well, yes, I misdescribed the location. The grease nipple is on the joint connection from the pto shaft to the mower driveshaft. To get to it you must remove the cover that is secured by a bolt. To get to the nipple, the driveshaft can be rotated with the transmission belt until it sits up at the proper angle. I am thinking it may be the same size and shape as the nipple on the connection to the pto spline.

________________________________________________________________________________________________


That fitting should be the same size as the other one.

 

[leonz]

Is there any reason the gear box can't be filled with
grease like is often done with a bushhog?
Mine leaks 90w or AW68 from around the pto "spud".
How difficult/expensive to pull pto stub and reseal?
I gave $150 for a ?48" (53" wide) Ford-917 with the
duck foot hammer-knives.

Also is there a video or some sort of guide on how to
sharpen the hamer-knives (angle and how sharp are
the really suppost to be).
I use mine to mow lawn, which is mostly coastal/pensacola bahia,
and it leaves a lot if the seed stalks just beat up, till first rain when
they stand back up.

________________________________________________________________________________________________


Greetings paulharvey,

No grease in the gearboxes, as the grease will heat up
and not lubricate properly and the gears will not be happy.

I have a Wen wet well knive grinder for the side slicers of my
mathews lawn genie.

A wet well knive grinder is best for flail mower side slicer knives/scoop knives
(providing they are not damaged)as the grinding is done with a wet grinding wheel drum.

I do not know what the degree of bevel is on your scoop knives but someone from
either Clean Cutter or Flail Master can tell you.

About your mowers knives; they are what is referred to as a scoop knive,
think of the knive like a coal shovels scoop.


The majority of scoop knives are hardened and require special care as a
hot grind will ruin the temper on the knives.

It may just be time to simply purchase new ones as hardened knives will
last a long time under normal mowing conditions AKA NO ROCKS.

If your flailmower is an 22W0004 model flailmower you can download the
manual/look up parts from the Messick's | Dealer for New Holland, Case IH, Kubota, Cub Cadet and More | Online Parts, Sales & Service. web page

 

[mbro223]

Not to change the subject but I'm new to the message board and thought this would be the best thread to post my question. I just purchased a usedd 917H. I think its about 25 years old or so but still has some shine on the paint! It spent the last 20 years just sitting in a barn so its in very good shape. However, being in Michigan, the blades are pretty rusted and need attention. I mowed 4 acres with it yesterday just cuz I was too excited to try it out rather than wait for new blades! Anyhow, I can't believe I didn't buy one of these years ago? I absolutely love it dull blades and all. The problem is, I could write a book about all the stuff I don't know about these things. On the ID plate it says, as I recall 2274 something? I think its a 74 inch cut as the dimensions of the unit is 79 inches wide N/I the belt housing. My blades are shaped like the delta-wings on a B58 Hustler. I don't know what these are called or what they are designed for. They hang from what looks like a D-ring. Can I replace just the blades or do I need to do the rings and keepers at the same time? Can I shapen them? Are they a knife-edge or do I just square the leading-edge off? It has 3 rows of 11 blades. Thanks for any input I can get on this! Mark

 

[leonz]

1. Not to change the subject but I'm new to the message board and
thought this would be the best thread to post my question.

2. I just purchased a usedd 917H. I think its about 25 years old or so
but still has some shine on the paint!

3. It spent the last 20 years just sitting in a barn so its in very good shape.

4. However, being in Michigan, the blades are pretty rusted and need attention.

5. I mowed 4 acres with it yesterday just cuz I was too excited to try it out rather
than wait for new blades! Anyhow, I can't believe I didn't buy one of these years ago?

6. I absolutely love it dull blades and all. The problem is, I could write a book about all the
stuff I don't know about these things.

7. On the ID plate it says, as I recall 2274 something?

8. I think its a 74 inch cut as the dimensions of the unit is 79 inches wide N/I the belt housing.

9. My blades are shaped like the delta-wings on a B58 Hustler. I don't know what these are
called or what they are designed for.

10. They hang from what looks like a D-ring. Can I replace just the blades or do I need
to do the rings and keepers at the same time?

11. Can I sharpen them?

12. Are they a knife-edge or do I just square the leading-edge off?
It has 3 rows of 11 blades.


Thanks for any input I can get on this!

Mark

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________


Hello Mark, Welcome to the forum.

Glad to see that you know the B-58 Hustler,
I am a fan/novice/ of the Lockeed SR-71 in
its various configurations.


I want also to welcome you as the newest
North American member of the Flail Mower Nation
as we are maintaining a world wide membership.


1. No worries, you have come to the right place to ask questions about
your integrally mounted Ford 917H Flail Mower.


a. NOW as far as your new implement is concerned;
when you have the time please check to see if it has
a trash door that can be removed to allow you to mow
tall heavy brush-if it does you have a big bonus in this implement.

2. Many of the forum members have the 917H as mowers

3. A visit to the car wash or washing it with a steam jenny or a hot high pressure washer
with it after mowing season will provide you with many years of use.


4. The blades are rusty, but it does not mean they are damaged or dull.



5. many of use have give up or sold our rotary cutter or finish mowers and
use only the flail mower.

6. Please visit the 100 plus pages on the forum here on flail mowers by
typing flail mower in the search box to learn more about flailmowers.


7. Model 22 74-inch cut


8. You have what is referred to as a scoop knive.

9. you only replace the D rings/bolts/nuts etc. when they are broken or damaged
from impacting an object.


10. They can be sharpened but as they are hardened the cutting edge will last a very
long time.


11. you can sharpen them but to maintain the edge and to prevent losing the temper of
the metal you should use a wet well kitchen knive grinder as the water keeps the
grinding wheel and knive edge cool while resurfacing it at the proper angle.


12. see above 11.



When you remive the V belt guard you will see a lotof rubber dust and you needto scrape this away ans wash it with some hot water from ahose if possible to be sure the grease fitting or fittings are exposed on the pulleys and side weldment to enable you to grease them occasionally.

The flail mower rotor bearings should only be greased every six to seven hours of mowing with 5 -7 pumps of grease, no more than that. The rear reoller should be greased with tor three shots of grease at every mowing to keep these bearings well lubricated.


When you remove the V belt cover you will see that the V belt or belts are cracked and the rubber is coming off into your hands as dust. The belt or belts need to be replaced with new ones. The Kevlar V belts will absorb and shed shock loads better than the black rubber belts and are not very expensive. Also please note that if you need two belts that you MUST be sure they come with the same lot number as the threading will be identical and this prevents premature V belt failure.

Be very sure to use Blue Loctite on the nots holding the V belt guard in place or Nylock nuts replacing the original nuts holding the V belt guard in place.


You can purchase replacement parts from clean cutter, flail master or Ford New Holland for your "new to you" flail mower.

Be sure to run the flail mower at the 540 RPM engine speed on the engine tachometer to assure the best mowing and reshredding of the clippings.

The great advantage of a flail mower is the units ability to reshred the clippings but a scoop knive cannot fo this as well as a side slicer knive. The scoop knive is a compromise between the side slicer and the hammer knive used for Heavy brush and land clearing.


Now as far as sharpening I would not worry too much about it
unless you have a lot of rocks that are heaved up by frost.

As you live in Michigan, do you live near Ithaca or Bay City in The Thumb?




Happy Mowing and welcome to the Flail Mower Nation
Only 18, 885+- mowers to go.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Once you go flail you never go back!!!!
Pronovost or not at all!!!

 

[greg_g]

3x11 cutters makes it a 74 incher. I've got one. But your "D-ring" descriptive kinda threw me. Mine has the same 33 twin edged cutting units; the cutter itself, its hanger, and the hanger bracket. Having said that, I guess it's fair to say the hanger resembles the letter "D" that's been rotated 90 degrees. But they're open endd under the bracket

The knive edged on mine were well rounded off, some so that they only retained 1/2 of their original cutting width. Some of the hangers wouldn't move in their bracket, so I rely laced all 33 knives/hangers/brackets. FlailMasters had every thing I needed for that job, plus a new idler rod. Banded twin V-belt was dry rotted, but I had to go to Messicks for one of those. Rubber guard had also rotted off the stone shield, but my mowing is such that I had no real need to replace it

//greg//

 

[mbro223]

Thanks for the info Leonz! That clears a few things up. If the trash door goes on the back it doesn't have one. It has holes drilled in the rear but no door exists. I've greased all the bearings and changed the gear oil just for grins but it looked new also. I pulled the belt guard off yesterday to see how many zerks there were in there but only found the one I can get at with the guard in place. The belt is kind of a weird :double-belt". Its 2 belts fused together and is in perfect shape. I'm guessing the guy I bought it from PMed it before I got there. As far as blades go, am I stuck with the scoop knives or can I go to a side-cutter? I would like to get more "lift" if that is possible so it cuts cleaner. I will start reading the threads..........Thanks again!

 

[mbro223]

Yup! We have the same unit! U have the same double belt I assume? My knives are all "flopping" properly so I'm good there. I'm guessing just putting a good square edge on the blades is all I need do or are they ground at an angle. Maybe I should get some new ones to see how they are supposed to look? It looks like these blades for for around 5 bucks a piece?