Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[D2Cat]

Ideally one would walk over an area that has not been mowed in a while before mowing. If not, and the operator can't see an area with no growth (because the ground is covered with a car hood) I'd suggest operators is traveling too fast for those mowing conditions. Yes, speed is not the problem, lack of preparation is. If one hasn't picked up the trash, speed does effect the results though!

 

[def38]

Thanks for the replies. The car hood was a surprise. I have mowed in that area many times and there was no car hood or sheet metal. As for speed, I was in low range, 2 nd gear at 1700RPM=540 at the PTO. I just never saw it due to thick grass and foliage. As for the safety suggestions, I will not be working under the mower. There is little room, leverage is difficult and the danger aspects are obvious...thank you for your concerns and those suggestions.

I think I agree...the grinder with a cutoff wheel will likely be my weapon of choice. Once, things are freed up somewhat, it will likely be free enough to rotate the rotor backwards and extract the remains. Don't really know what the sheet metal is as yet (the Buick body part is conjecture)....its too tangled and mangled to identify accurately. We shall see.

Thanks for the replies. As for the wire in that Peruzzo, I have been there already...I wrapped up about 75 feet of fence wire hiding under grass last year. Took hours to remove it.

 

[def38]

Def38, my suggestion is take your time, wear some really good gloves and be careful!

Good suggestion. I wear gloves almost all the time I'm outdoors, always when doing anything tractor. Haven't been your way is a few years...lived in the Houston area for years. always liked life in Texas.

 

[K5lwq]

Good suggestion. I wear gloves almost all the time I'm outdoors, always when doing anything tractor. Haven't been your way is a few years...lived in the Houston area for years. always liked life in Texas.

Yes Sir, Texas is great but nothing at all wrong with Alabama! Spent many a day as youngster fishing just below the Aliceville Lock and Dam on the Tombigbee River! Could drive there from our farm in Mississippi all on gravel roads. :laughing:

 

[Fallon]

Thanks for the replies. The car hood was a surprise. I have mowed in that area many times and there was no car hood or sheet metal. As for speed, I was in low range, 2 nd gear at 1700RPM=540 at the PTO. I just never saw it due to thick grass and foliage. As for the safety suggestions, I will not be working under the mower. There is little room, leverage is difficult and the danger aspects are obvious...thank you for your concerns and those suggestions.

I think I agree...the grinder with a cutoff wheel will likely be my weapon of choice. Once, things are freed up somewhat, it will likely be free enough to rotate the rotor backwards and extract the remains. Don't really know what the sheet metal is as yet (the Buick body part is conjecture)....its too tangled and mangled to identify accurately. We shall see.

Thanks for the replies. As for the wire in that Peruzzo, I have been there already...I wrapped up about 75 feet of fence wire hiding under grass last year. Took hours to remove it.

Fence wire is easy, done that a bunch. That photo was high strength cable, a guy wire or something. Hard enough to be really hard to cut with smaller cutters. Because it was braided it was squishy enough that my worn bolt cutters couldn't get the job done. It was up against the side so I couldn't get the angle grinder in there without cutting hammers, rotor or the side. Finally some new bolt cutters got the job done.

 

[pripyat]

I wish I'd seen this thread before I started my own.. can someone help me out? Looking at buyng a used flail mower.

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/427645-buying-used-flail-mower-jd.html

 

[leonz]

I wish I'd seen this thread before I started my own.. can someone help me out? Looking at buyng a used flail mower.

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/427645-buying-used-flail-mower-jd.html

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Sent you a PM

 

[def38]

Well, my Chicomm flail mower is no longer choking on scrap sheet metal. I think is was part of a DeSoto hood (maybe a Studebaker)...heavy gauge steel, not the thin crap hoods are made of these days. It took some crowbarring and grinding to free the rotor and hammers of the sheet steel, about 50 lbs of it. Once freed of the steel, I ran back into the field I was cutting and resumed mowing. The mower didn't suffer anything but a missing front debris chain. So, my opinion of the Chicomm flail has gone up a notch, but, I'll never buy another one.

I'm thinking of switching to knife flails once I have all the Buick hubcaps, rocks and other junk out of my fields.

Next, the Perkins engine in M-F gets an oil change to synthetic...better protection in the summer Dixieland heat.

 

[cscholz]

Hi all - I have a Caroni TM-1900BSC mower that I bought early last year. I bought a batch of replacement blades from Flailmaster.com at the recommendation of this forum (thank you!). But my supply is running low and Flailmaster is apparently gone. The blades I bought were M-108381 Forged Heavy-Duty @$1.98 ea: .196" thick, 1-3/4" wide, 3" tall, 1"x1/2" mounting slot. The 3" tall is a bit hard to measure, that's what the catalog says, but the actual blade is taller, depending on how you measure it.

Anyway, has anyone found another source for replacement blades? The factory blades from Agrisupply are $5 ea! I did find these from mowpart.com @$2.15 (Lawn Mower and Small Engine Parts Genuine OEM | Rhino 2986332 Course Cut Knife Non-Returnable MowPart), but they are not thick enough - maybe they have an alternative.

And I found these from hardhitter.com @$3.83 which may be right, but a bit pricey (GE105319M-HD - $3.83 : Hard Hitter, Wear Parts With Muscle).

Any other suggestions - I go through a lot of blades, so price makes a difference.

 

[hayboy48]

I have searched for blades for a Ford 917. Only thing not 3/4 prices was on eBay Always bought from Flailmaster. I ain稚 paying 12$ a blade for 27 or 33 blades. I have both.