Side hydraulic brush cutter

[vortechf150]

Has anyone built one? Kind of like a limb ninja, but I would rather build one, cheaper, and have a brush cutter already to use. Running with a hydraulic motor, has anyone done this, cutting fence rows of overgrowth, vertical cutter, but the ability to angle it to mow a ditch line. Mainly need to figure out the motor size, any pulleys or direct drive. Tractor is a Mahindra 4550.

 

[Rebeldad1]

our county has a couple. about a 6-8 footer on a big JD tractor.
they trim along all the rural roads. has decent reach to get some of the growth on the banks.

why not a flail mower? VL-AM Boom Flail Mower, VL-AM8 | Betstco Sales, Parts, and Service:

 

[Rebeldad1]

here's what you want for your tractor. 200=300lbs. you just need to build a boom

"SLASHBUSTER"® Mini Excavator Attachment

 

[ArlyA]

Its quite likely your hydraulic motor while need a special pump. Nonetheless, its a neat project.

 

[Densleigh]

Hi,

You ask if anyone has built a side arm / boom mower for either hedge or bank cutting - I did this and fitted it to a 3 pt hitch with extra stabilisers to the safety frame.
Has a commercial flail head (800mm wide) - can go upto around 10ft + and extend over a 4ft high hedge to badger off most of the other side.
Works on a 26hp Italian based machine- usues seperate hyrdo pump on pto. Can be swung round and has a hydro breakaway (by default) set by tractors own hydraulic pressure relief as use that for swing. All other up down in out and head curl is via the hydro circuit driven of the pto pump along with flail head motor.

Works ok on hedges {hawthorn}(but not heavy stems (> 1.5") trims laurel hedges and small ornemental type plants - can also nip of odd small low tree bits. Ok on Grass but can clog easily, direction of rotation of flail has to be swapped for grass cutting.

It works well and does save a lot of tidying up and carting cuttings to a bonfire.

Took a few years to assemble from scratch - had hydro tank welded up but rest of it built in the workshop.

One feature I built in is the ability to remove the boom arm from the main assembly and fit a pair of reel mowers (aka golf fairway mowers - which they were) onto another boom which can be extended out /up down and to the side. Same arm can have a hydro rotary brush fitted to clear debris on hard surfaces or fine lawn.

So not just a hedge cutter but multifunctional.

Before anyone asks I do not have any photo's of the machine - we are not supposed to cut hedges until September by law here in UK. When M/c back on tractor i can do some photos.

As to cost ? Whole lot as 3 machines - hedge / grass flail cutter, reel mowers and hhdro rotary brush probably around ｣1500

Regards John

 

[coyotef150]

I have a question that will not be helpful at all but I am curious. Why can't you cut hedges until September ?

 

[LouNY]

This is a flail;

you can get a lighter version with a sickle bar or heavier with a rotary type.

 

[musselmark]

I built this a few years ago. Works great. Uses 10" saw blades. Hydraulic motor turns the first sprocket, then each shaft feeds the following one.

 

[JethroB]

I built this a few years ago. Works great. Uses 10" saw blades. Hydraulic motor turns the first sprocket, then each shaft feeds the following one. View attachment 666044

Wow. Nice. Reminds me of this. Talk about pucker factor.



https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...=Mfz1YrpMbBg&usg=AOvVaw2Yv19J1JH992dHJDlJiHdx

 

[musselmark]

Wow. Nice. Reminds me of this. Talk about pucker factor.

View attachment 666047

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...=Mfz1YrpMbBg&usg=AOvVaw2Yv19J1JH992dHJDlJiHdx

Ha ha that's exactly where I got the idea. Built it for under 800 bucks. Mine will cut vertically or horizontally as well.

 

[BrokenTrack]

I built a homemade ditch mower for $0.00, but mine was electric and not hydraulic.

I was pretty much testing it to see if the concept would work, and it did.

If I was to build one, I would use a PTO generator, and an electric motor just to make things more simple.

 

[mikester]

I built a homemade ditch mower for $0.00, but mine was electric and not hydraulic.

I was pretty much testing it to see if the concept would work, and it did.

If I was to build one, I would use a PTO generator, and an electric motor just to make things more simple.

I was thinking along the same lines but using a hydraulic motor driving a wire whipper sniper head to cut near and under fence lines.

 

[ArlyA]

I was thinking along the same lines but using a hydraulic motor driving a wire whipper sniper head to cut near and under fence lines.

If I was building this, I'd use a head that holds heavy plastic string. We run .155 but some company's are now making 170 and 180 versions. That stuff will take out small trees.

 

[BrokenTrack]

I was thinking along the same lines but using a hydraulic motor driving a wire whipper sniper head to cut near and under fence lines.

I thought about using my log loader a it already has the boom and hydraulics. It even has the full rotational grapple on it, but it would have to be geared up so that when it spun, it would spin the cutter fast enough. I am not sure how hard that would be. A few belts and pulleys and I would think it would soon be whipping!

It would be limited too though, as it only has a 10 foot reach, and of that, only four feet down below grade.

 

[L47TLBwannabe]

I've thought about making something that could mount either on my loader or on the 3-point of my tractor and run it off the remotes on my tractor. But I think I'd just go with a sickle bar to keep things simple and I don't have to worry about a lack of flow or pressure. My father in law has a dike around his property as he lives in a flood zone and sadly the bozo's that built the dike made the slopes too steep in some places so it can pretty difficult to mow.

 

[BrokenTrack]

I've thought about making something that could mount either on my loader or on the 3-point of my tractor and run it off the remotes on my tractor. But I think I'd just go with a sickle bar to keep things simple and I don't have to worry about a lack of flow or pressure. My father in law has a dike around his property as he lives in a flood zone and sadly the bozo's that built the dike made the slopes too steep in some places so it can pretty difficult to mow.

I mow the sides of the road so about daily I feel like I am going to roll over. I never have though.

An old dump that I have to mow is the worst though. To mow it, I have to put out my arm like a crutch, then corkscrew my way around the dump. That part is easy, as it has a consistent pitch to it. The back swath is the worst because now I have my boom mower down, hill, and often have to lift it to go over stumps and debris around the bottom. Then there is the wood chuck holes at the bottom too.

On the back-swath, 90% of the time my outer rear tire is off the ground.

 

[cstamm81]

I built this a few years ago. Works great. Uses 10" saw blades. Hydraulic motor turns the first sprocket, then each shaft feeds the following one. View attachment 666044

This is very interesting. Did you do a write up on your build? If so, got a link?

 

[Industrial Toys]

That's GREAT. What are the large plastic tubes? Does stuff get caught in the chain?

I have a 3ph ditch bank mower/slasher, but anything out front would me vastly easier to use. Hard to watch where the tractor is going, what the mower is doing and operate ten controls all at once, with an out back mower.

 

[BukitCase]

cstamm81, musselmark's cutter starts here

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/319234-ideas-clearing-grown-trails-6.html

HTH... Steve

 

[cstamm81]

cstamm81, musselmark's cutter starts here

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/319234-ideas-clearing-grown-trails-6.html

HTH... Steve

thanks for the link, I've been looking for that thread for awhile!