FEL Mounted Brush Mower / Trimmer

[Hilbilly]

JWR,

I was told by 2 people (one being the hydraulics guy at the parts store) not to put orifice restrictions on the hoses. Apparently the flow must be free flowing from the cylinder or the differential pressures in the cylinder will cause premature seal failure. They used to sell those restrictors but had too many cylinders returned due to seal failure. The flow control valves I tried were free flowing on one direction but restrictive in the other. I might try the 3.5 gpm valves. The ones I tried were 15gpm.

If I go the spring steel route I will use my forge to anneal the steel, then after working the blades into the configuration I want I will reharden then temper. I would likely use my milling machine to form the sharp edges. That way I can take the same amount of steel off each edge. Should produce a balanced blade that way.

LouNY,

Agreed. I prefer the Diverter valve. I installed one on my old tractor and really like the way it worked. If I knew what I know now about the 3rd function I would have gone with that on this tractor. I took the diverter off the old tractor when I traded it in and could install it on this tractor if I ever get to a point where I can't stand the 3rd function.

Xfaxman,

Those are exactly what I need and thanks for that. I will check with the local skid steer implement guy (that's actually is name to see if he has them and check on pricing. My guess is they will be expensive. Seems that everything for a SS is more expensive.

 

[farm boy00]

JWR,

I was told by 2 people (one being the hydraulics guy at the parts store) not to put orifice restrictions on the hoses. Apparently the flow must be free flowing from the cylinder or the differential pressures in the cylinder will cause premature seal failure. They used to sell those restrictors but had too many cylinders returned due to seal failure. The flow control valves I tried were free flowing on one direction but restrictive in the other. I might try the 3.5 gpm valves. The ones I tried were 15gpm.

If I go the spring steel route I will use my forge to anneal the steel, then after working the blades into the configuration I want I will reharden then temper. I would likely use my milling machine to form the sharp edges. That way I can take the same amount of steel off each edge. Should produce a balanced blade that way.

LouNY,

Agreed. I prefer the Diverter valve. I installed one on my old tractor and really like the way it worked. If I knew what I know now about the 3rd function I would have gone with that on this tractor. I took the diverter off the old tractor when I traded it in and could install it on this tractor if I ever get to a point where I can't stand the 3rd function.

Xfaxman,

Those are exactly what I need and thanks for that. I will check with the local skid steer implement guy (that's actually is name to see if he has them and check on pricing. My guess is they will be expensive. Seems that everything for a SS is more expensive.

I would just say what brushhog they are for. Dont throw out what you are doing or that they are for a converted hydraulic brushhog. May keep things cheaper. Then tell him after he pays if you choose to

 

[Hilbilly]

I checked his website and a couple of SS implement manufacturer sites and don't see anything smaller than a 60" mower, so I'm thinking the blades would be too long.

 

[goeduck]

3) The upturned blades are OK but tend to throw things up. I have decided I will make my own flat blades from spring steel, if I can't find a reasonably priced set elsewhere..

Is spring steel too brittle for a mower blade? Concern being you want a blade to bend, not shatter, when it hits a rock, piece of steel or whatever might be under what you are mowing.

 

[Hilbilly]

Is spring steel too brittle for a mower blade? Concern being you want a blade to bend, not shatter, when it hits a rock, piece of steel or whatever might be under what you are mowing.

Very good question and I'm not sure. My thinking is that if it is annealed, rehardened and then tempered, it would be fine but I could be wrong. I'll have to do some more reading to see what I can find out about this.

I called the local SS implement dealer and his blades are all 5" wide. Nothing that is 3" wide and his blades are too long.

 

[Ken45101]

Check TSC for blades. They carry a variety of sizes. BTW, I noticed most are 5160 spring steel.

 

[Hilbilly]

Check TSC for blades. They carry a variety of sizes. BTW, I noticed most are 5160 spring steel.

I checked but didn't see anything with 2 cutting edges but it was nice to see they are made of 5160 spring steel.

 

[cstamm81]

I know this thread is almost a year old, but how has your creation been working for you Hilbilly? I recently scored an Erskine PTO hydraulic unit, 20gpm at 3000 psi. I致e been looking to come up with a solution very similar to yours. 3 to 4K is more than I want to spend on a lane shark or a trailblazer.
I recently came across a company called Hardee, that seems to make highly regarded, fairly simplistic equipment. Miti Mike | hardeebyevhmfg
Brush Tiger | hardeebyevhmfg
I知 trying to get a price on the rotary head and the hydraulic angling setup. It looks like it could be a fairly simple fab job for me, if the head can handle the flow I have. My plan is to use the ability to extend and angle like the Miti Mike, but mounted on the loader with a QA plate like the brush tiger. I could extend and angle from my seat.
Any idea you know how much your rotary cutter weighs? My other idea is to find a 4 hydraulic flail, and try to replicate your setup. They are pretty heavy though, but not as long as a rotary.

 

[Hilbilly]

It's been working great, but I'm still wanting a slower tilt movement. I ordered some parts to slow the tilt but I think the parts dealer forgot about me. I'll call again.

The weight of the 48" mower I have is listed at 400 lbs, including the driveshaft, front and rear shields and the solid wheel. I have removed all of the accessories and cut off the mounting plates. I also removed some of the deck material. So my setup should weigh considerably less than 400#.

Good luck with the build and post pics when you get it done.

 

[rmoberts88]

Which Hydraulic motor did you go with on this project? Do you recall the specs?

 

[MacAttack]

I too am interested in specs. Specifically your tractor hp and PTO hp. I have ambitions of moving my 3pt mower to the FEL. I only have 26hp at the PTO on a 35hp Tractor.

 

[Hilbilly]

The motor I used is linked below. However you will need to match the motor to the pump you use. My case was unique in that I used an odd hydraulic pump, not one of the ones typically used by others on this forum. My pump was picked up at an auction and I had to find the pump specs from the manufacturer and ended up having to build a speed increaser to develop the correct pressure, rpm and flow for the motor I used.

My tractor is 60 hp with 53 at the PTO but I don't think that is a factor if you are going to use a hydraulic power pack to operate the mower. I would be more concerned about the torque on the FEL, especially on a smaller tractor loader.

There are lots of threads on this forum that use a typical PTO pump and give the motor specs / supplier information. Good luck with your build.

Motor

 

[Hilbilly]

I just want to add this for anyone that is still following this thread.

I am still using this setup every year and have not had any problems. I still get the snappy movements from the horizontal position but it hasn't been an issue. I am very happy with the performance and so glad I made this.

 

[JWR]

I too am interested in specs. Specifically your tractor hp and PTO hp. I have ambitions of moving my 3pt mower to the FEL. I only have 26hp at the PTO on a 35hp Tractor.

It is hard to pay enough attention to the Lane Shark. That includes hydraulics, flow specs, mounting, etc. I think it was a really commendable project that Hilbilly took on to make his converted commercial standard small Landpride cutter work on the FEL. As noted way back in this thread, I have an early Lane Shark which operates directly from the tractor hydraulic pump and not from a power-pack or PTO driven pump. Lane Shark people sensed a mass-market need to provide such an attachment that DID NOT require some monster high-flow skid-steer pump to drive it yet would cut light brush and overhanging limbs very effectively. Their drive motor was very carefuly selected (no doubt by cut and try) to meet that niche. They built a business around that concept in my view. There are a lot of 'lessons learned' and subtle issues doing this... such as sudden stops in hyd flow when you raise the FEL frame or tilt it upward, smoothing that transition and avoiding 'shock' to the pump and the whole system. Such as the need for free flow back to the hydraulic sump, etc.
There have been commercial attempts at a Lane Shark clone, amounting to knock-offs by larger companies, etc. as well as individuals like Hiilbilly having a great idea and able to go ahead with it as a project.
A few comments: I don't know the size of 3pt mower you contemplate trying this with. The Lane Shark I have is a 44" cut and i do not think you want anything bigger than that on your 35HP tractor unless you use a PTO driven pump. Secondly, I find the FEL mounted mower to be a specialty device used for a limited set of tasks, NOT a good thing for general purpose brush cutting. If this is your only rotary brush cutter then don't put it in your FEL ! I like the Lane Shark for trimming places I cannot otherwise reach, especially for clipping off overhanging intrusive branches along fence rows, etc. but that is probably less than 5% of my cutting needs (on a 100 acre hilly farm where you can get a tractor on only half of it.) I had experience with a boom mower which had a 17ft reach (and had other utilization troubles with it.) But people wanting to reach across gullies and down steep embankments will learn that these gadgets DO help but they have very quickly-learned-limits with their reach too. Your FEL does not really reach out as far as it might seem to overly excited users.
I think Hilbilly has done a fantastic job making his implementation very "adjustable," incorporating hydraulic tilt (which I wish mine had), etc. Great project when you have the fabrication equipment and skills as well as the ability to do it.