Buying used flail mower (JD or Ford)

[def38]

Well, you hit the flail mower lottery. Nice going. Your tractor will handle even denser growth and grass. Wait until you get into brush and sticks...you'll be amazed at how those mowers mulch up most anything in their path...even Buick hubcaps. As for the oil, I would add some Rislone to the gearcase and run it for several hours to clean up any sludge. Then drain the oil and refill with 75W-140 GL-5 synthetic gear oil. Then forget about the gearcase lube for years. I use this oil in all my gearcases and have never had a failure. As for the knives, I would run them for a while then maybe remove them at the end of the season for sharpening. You'll be further amazed at how a new sharp edge on flails can help. Finally, are you going to clean that JD up and make it presentable? If so, more photos requested. Nice work.

Now, what are you going to do with the rotary cutter you also bought? Maybe that's another thread?

 

[pripyat]

The guy I bought it from has a full-time job at a pharmaceutical plant but does "junk" as a hobby. He's got over 150 vehicles in his yard, he is waiting for steel prices to go up. He is playing the steel price stock market? He had a massive batwing, 4 different brush hogs, a couple finish mowers, a couple tractor/loaders. Funny, it is obvious from the road that he has a junk yard but has signs all down the driveway, "KEEP OUT", "NOTHING FOR SALE", "PRIVATE PROPERTY". I was praying I hadn't pulled into the wrong driveway. :laughing:

A lot of his stuff had lot tags on it from auctions. He said he knew that he could sell the mowers for more but didn't list them because he doesn't like dealing with the "Crackheads". I found this guy through a friend. Apparently he just sells to people he knows or friends of friends.

Would my dad's 1526 pull the smaller Ford flail? Dad does a lot of lot cleanup for friends, if his tractor with loaded tires can wield the smaller Ford, I believe we are going to go pick it up as well. Dad was equally impressed with the work done by my new JD. Plus, if he gets the Ford, he will have gotten something out of letting me borrow his truck/trailer and the dent I put in his trailer fender.

As for the rotary cutter, honestly, if the flail can't cut it, I'll just use the chainsaw. I'm going to finish my 20 acres before I consider getting rid of it just to be sure. I do want to get a wheel on it and play with it a little. I confirmed this morning that the diameter of the shaft for the wheel mount does not match my older broken rotary cutter. Looks to be 1-7/8 or 2", I didn't have my caliper with me.

What blades would be best in the future for replacing these? I may start keeping an eye on ebay for auction-style listings for new blades. They are pricey! I'll be sure to inspect the blades CLOSELY next time I purchase a flail.

[edit] For clarity, the blades would be for future. I agree that they have a good bit of life left in them. If they continue to cut the way they do now, I don't even see a need to sharpen them.

 

[pripyat]

One last thing - What would I need to do or buy to get the clutch for the bush hog back to operational? Or is this supposed to be a shear plate?

 

[Skagit]

One last thing - What would I need to do or buy to get the clutch for the bush hog back to operational? Or is this supposed to be a shear plate?

View attachment 663350

That's a shear bolt, you're good to go.

 

[TheFarmerInAdell]

Those knives are reversible. When one side gets dull, just flip them over. And you can sharpen them if you don't wear them out too much. The ones that were on my Alamo that came from the Illinois Tollway had a nice radius at the corner. Those were beyond sharpening. You have some very heavy duty knives on there. Just be sure you don't overheat them when sharpening them. They shouldn't be too hot to touch when sharpening otherwise you risk changing the temper if they have been heat treated.

Here is a clip from the Flailmaster catalog for your mower.



It appears you have the heavy duty version. I think the only difference is the knives. You can likely switch to the smooth cut knives if you'd like. Flailmaster is still fielding phone calls and selling parts, but from what I understand they're not making any right now. Give them a call to see if they have parts for your unit left.

 

[pripyat]

Here is what the blades look like. Should I consider flipping them, sharpening them, or leaving them?

 

[TheFarmerInAdell]

Here is what the blades look like. Should I consider flipping them, sharpening them, or leaving them?

View attachment 663470

View attachment 663469

View attachment 663468

I would sharpen the non-radius edge and make sure that edge is the one cutting the grass. I'm not sure which way your rotor spins, but I'm guessing the edge with the radius is the edge currently doing the cutting. The blades don't need to be razor sharp, just not beat up and dull.

 

[leonz]

Invest in a slow speed wet grinder to sharpen your side slicer knives and you will not lose your cutting edge from heat damage.
you can purchase the wet grinders from micro mark and the angle setters from the mastercraft folks.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I started to sharpen the (regular) knives on my old Ford 917. For off lawn cutting and with the many stones around here, I just gave up on that. Then, mostly just made sure to replace missing and damaged knives.

 

[Hay Dude]

JD390s are very well built and usually a lot more expensive than what you paid
Mine was $2200.
Excellent mowers.