King Kutter Chain Gaurds

[foggy1111]

After buying my 5' King Kutter and hooking it up for a test spin.....I noticed I could see the blade tips when sitting in the tractor seat. This concerned me quite a little....as, if I can see those tips, they can see me too....and throw rocks and stuff at me.

I looked at the various chain guards posted on here and didnt' see an exact version I wanted to copy (some got their chains too close and had them nipped shorter by the blades, etc). I also asked to see a pic of of anyone that had a King Kutter with the factory guards...no pics were offered. I looked everywhere for the KK chain guard offering to no avail. The TSC store called KK and they would get them for me for about $200 plus shipping....but dont stock 'em.

Long story short....heres my front chain guard....made from some scrap chain and new (mostly 3/16") steel. I put the guard about 5" ahead of the cutter to keep the chains out of the blade and afford some extra protection. I figured the guard needs to be heavy enough to deal with a quantity of 1" to 1 1/2" saplings as well as the occasional run-in with a stump, etc. I welded some expanded metal in the center gap between the front angle and the Kutter to prevent being hit with flying derbis (perhaps 1/8 sheet would have been better...time will tell). I figure the project cost me about $35 in materials and maybe 4 hours time (less the paint -still to come). I put the heaviest chain links in the center for protection....and the lighter to the outside (so as to not be confused with a factory set up ( )

 

[greenmule]

Well,good luck with them,chains on hogs generally don't work out as planned,they get hit by blade,grass gobs up,etc.

 

[E_Sanborn]

Nice custom job there. Price is right, too! Wish I had that behind my seat. My Howse oem guards are ok, but you work is more better.

I do like the replaceable chin segments on the Howse, though.. ES

 

[E_Sanborn]

...chains on hogs ... get hit by blade,grass gobs up,etc.

Funny you mention that -

After about 40 hrs on my Howse, 1/3 of my rear chain guards-in the middle - are now missing (only) the bottom chain link. They were exactly one link longer than the front guards, which aren't missing any. Yes, taken out by the blade, while backing up. they took many hits each before flying off - I cut the rest in the zone off 1 link after I saw the trend.

Haven't had issue with interference, though, although they do collect straw, twigs, and some small sticks.

I can attest that mine do seem to work well for containing the rock and junk explosions that can and do happen. I don't feel invulnerable, but I definitely feel safer, judged by the smaller number of flying objects that emerge from the deck.

 

[john_bud]

Well,good luck with them,chains on hogs generally don't work out as planned,they get hit by blade,grass gobs up,etc.

Funny, 7 years and the chains (front and back) on my BB600 are still 100% there. Maybe the chain quality has an impact.


Foggy, I would probably want to beef up the support structure some. Then again, I mow thru the woods by running over 2-4" trees and the mower has a hard life.

 

[E_Sanborn]

....7 years and the chains (front and back) on my BB600 are still 100% there. Maybe the chain quality has an impact...

J-B, Right on the mark with that observation...
While the chains on my Howse are a fair size (5/16") they are clearly the consumable variety, with link welds that are pretty tentative. All links that left the guard were showing separation at the weld. I am certain the chain not any grade at all.

/Then again, Howse surely should have done the engineering (ok, measuring) to determine the contact zone of the blades assuming chains would be 90 degrees from normal when backing up.. ES

 

[dirt ditch]

Nice job and good idea to build the frame out ahead of the deck.

Another simple way to make a guard is with a section of a 6" belt from a round baler. my father used a length of baler belt bolted across the front edge of the deck. been using it that way for years.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Well,good luck with them,chains on hogs generally don't work out as planned,they get hit by blade,grass gobs up,etc.

Hmmmm. between 5 tractors and a crew of 8, my mowing business logged over 6000 hours of cutting, totalling roughly 21,000 acres last summer alone, ALL with mowers equipped with chain gaurds, and we NEVER found your observation to be the case.

 

[greenmule]

Well,good for you than. On my non bussiness single tractor operation I HAVE observed it.

 

[foggy1111]

Sheesh.....I really didn't post this to get anyone's approval, or for a "grade" (I wish the nay-sayers would provide a picture of what IS acceptable when I posted before). I believe it will stand up just fine for my purposes and is considerably heavier than the others I have seen posted here on TBN.

I figured that perhaps some other folks may be concerned with safety too.....as there are so many folks with these low-cost King Kutters here on TBN...therefore, my post. I don't think the KK design has the blades far enough under the deck for good safety. (In fact...I'm surprised they haven't had their socks sued-off yet.)

The chains are positioned 5" forward of the deck so that the chain-ends are kept about an inch or so from the spinning blades when draped inward. The 3/16 x 2" angle to which the chains are welded should be stout enough for my purposes...and its pretty well supported in four places. I believe 5/16 or heavier chain would be the best if one were buying chain....as it has more mass to slow down flying objects. I just used some scrap chain that I had laying around (cause I'm sorta tight ). Belting could be used in place of chain...but the belt models I have seen don't seem to hold up to flying debris as well as chain, and don't provide much mass.

I trust this meets with your approval...lmao.