Bush Hog Dangers

[gizmo]

I often bushhog the yard just to mulch up the fallen limbs. I am always careful to make sure that the kids are not within about 100' of the machine when I am running and if they do get close I immediately shut down the machine.

Today I was out in the yard mulching limbs. I have a 4' cutter attached to a 35HP PTO (plenty of excess power). I hit a rock that weighed about 4lbs and it stayed air born for at least 100' before its first skip. It must have been going around 60MPH or better. It continued on for about another 100' before slamming squarely into a tree. I hate to think what that thing may have done to someone in its way.

From now on I'll have to be much more vigilant about people out in the yard.

 

[RoyJackson]

Do you have chain guards or something of that nature on your cutter?

 

[gizmo]

No chain guards, but that is a good idea. My cutter is REALLY old. Well, I take that back, half of it is old. The other half is stuff that I have welded on. It may tough to add chains as the blade path is almost to the front edge of the housing. I would have to fab an extension to the housing to keep the chains from swinging into the blades.

 

[hudr]

Spinning blades can do some pretty wild ballistic tricks. We noticed a draft at my parents' house one day. Pulled back the curtains and there was a grapefruit sized hole in the window in my old bedroom. Only thing we could figure was the haycutter must have hit the rock we found on the window sill and slung it through the window. And this was from a "clean" field that we cut every year.

 

[HEC]

Thanks for the reminder Michael as I will be so much more careful from now on also.
Herb,

 

[Highbeam]

I have pitched some baby head sized rocks for several hundred feet behind my cutter. Seems the big stuff is ejected aft more often. Seing one particular baby head skip along at high speed was enough to convince me to keep people and anything else of value as far away as possible.

 

[Soundguy]

Add a set of guards to it for cheap.. i used some semi truck mudflaps ( 4$ each ) and some of that thin angle iron with the hole sin it like garage door opener track frames are made of.. TSC has it.. it is also cheap. Betweent he mudflaps, a couple zip ties, the metal angle and some 1/4" nut/bolt/washer hardware, i had about 15$ into a guard for my KK 5' mower..

The heavy mudflap works real good at reducing the energy/range of thrown debri... Also keeps your back 'cleaner' if you mow on a low set open frame tractor like the old fords..

Soundguy

 

[tractorwheel]

Soundguy, will you please post a photo of the semi mud flaps you are speaking of? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[rk246]

The baby head picture is not a good one...lol /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Soundguy]

Here they are.. not the best pics.. but they work..

Soundguy