ideas rough cut versus finish cut

[laurencen]

Hi, I had my CK20 out with the finish mower farm king 6 foot, firstly the grass Im cutting is infested with a crop from years gone and quite tall, the mower easily bogs down, run in high 1st gear, even though the mower is set high still hit rocks, I left the bucket flat 2 inches off the ground and this helps with the rocks but curious if I should look at a rough cut mower for now till its sorted out, my blades are getting beat up,

Laurence

 

[EddieWalker]

I think you pretty much answered your own question. Finish mowers are for areas that get mowed regularly and are not very overgrown. Since you are bogging down, that's telling you the grass or vegitation is too tall. Since you are hitting rocks, that's telling you that it's not ready for a finish mower.

If all you have is the finish mower, you might want to try to raise the deck to as high as it will go and cut at that height. Then lower it and do it all over again until you get to the point where you are not hitting rocks. If you can remove the rocks and lower the cut even more, then go for it. If you get rid of the rocks, then that's just how tall you will have to leave the grass/vegitation.

I have both a bush hog and a finish mower. I prefer the finish mower due to it's cleaner cut and ease of operation. Those four wheels at each corner just make it nice to pull along while cutting. If I let things get out of control, or if I'm cutting an area that I don't regularly maintain, I use the bush hog. Sometimes after awhile of bush hogging an area, I can switch to the finish mower to maintain it. That's my ultimate goal, to be able to do everything with my finish mower.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[IslandTractor]

Eddie has given good advice. The other consideration would be to use a flail which serves kind of a middle ground overlapping both the bush hog and finish mower. Most consumer affordable flails are not quite as tough as true bush hogs nor are they quite as fine cutting as a well maintained rotary finish mower but for many of us the compromise is worth it for the benefit of only needing one mower for both jobs.

 

[ChuckinNH]

A six foot mower is a lot to pull with the PTO hp (16-17) that you have available, and that is perhaps why it bogs easily. You stand a very good chance of damaging the spindles on your finish mower by hitting objects that don't give when hit, and that could be expensive to fix. I go along with the suggestion of using a rough cut mower ( RC or Flail) until you get the area under control, and perhaps remove some of the obstacles. I did learn quickly though that the rotary cutter I just bought will not follow the contours of the land nearly as well as a finish mower, and is much more likely to scalp, or to hit objects (rocks) that I easily missed with my finish mower. I think Eddie has had the same experience as I in that regard.

 

[laurencen]

Well its time to get a rough cut, hoping to locate a used one locally

Thanks

 

[laurencen]

just to let everyone know, tried many dealers for a 5 foot rough cut mower, nothing in the system, there is a couple 6 foot but is this too large a unit for my CK20, my local dealer says find one now as he expects the prices to go up 30% next year due to the price of steel, anyone else heard this

For now I have the bucket 2 inches off the ground and the mower set 4 inches, the bucket for most rocks is working well other than the continious stopping,

What speed do you mow at, the crop is 2 feet tall in random places, yes Im using the wrong implement but the guy who cuts the crop has a large tractor, it will put ruts in my airstrip, I seeded it well and if I can get it cut down the grass will hopefully take over, anyway Im in 2nd gear low range in the heavier stuff, what is typical when its cut down

Laurence

 

[IslandTractor]

Even a 5ft rough cut is on the large side for a CK20. You might consider either a 4ft bush hog or a 4 foot flail as an alternative.

 

[RobJ]

You can cut taller with your FM, just lift the wheels off the ground, adjust the top link to keep the mower level, and mow! I've done this a few times when I was to lazy to put on the bushhog. Once you get it down to the FM height, cut it often. Depending on the use of the area you are cutting, a FM will give you a much nicer cut and look.

Rob

 

[laurencen]

what gear do you use for cutting, once I have it down a bit what can I expect

Laurence

 

[kentrodngun]

what gear do you use for cutting, once I have it down a bit what can I expect

Laurence

Once I knock down my fields (given that I am familiar with the terrain, location of dips, rocks, etc.) I run in 4th gear low speed or 1st gear high speed. I keep it in 2WD unless I absolutely need 4WD. All that said, it still took me 12 hours (machine time) to chop down the fields over the July 4 long weekend.