Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[IslandTractor]

Looks to be in pretty good condition. Looks like it is set up for brush rather than finish mowing but I guess that depends on the total number of knives too. The clevis mount will make using it for brush safer. If you weigh and measure those knives, I'm pretty sure Flailmaster will have something equivalent should you ever have trouble finding replacements.

Correction. I just looked at my Caroni rough cut knives, they are slotted rather than having just a simple hole for mounting. That allows the clevis to pass through but also means that when the knife strikes an object it can slide up. Maybe the MC mower is a finish set up after all.

 

[whirly]

It looks like Flail Master's clevis blades come in the correct size and there are 4 gauges you can choose from:

 

[aginn]

I found a never used but previously owned Best flail and decided that I could try it for the money being asked.
Well, it wasn't a bargain even at a bargain price. The manufacturer left a circlip off of a shaft in the gearbox. The first heavy grass I went through encouraged a gear to walk across another which clipped the last 1/8 inch of the teeth off. I did manage to fix it to where it would work. But it could have easily been it's first and last use. Never again.....

From here on out I'll be buying the higher quality(also higher cost) implements. It will be cheaper in the long run. USA made if possible. Or at least made in a country with SOME manufacturing standards.

Sour grapes? Nope. Just dealing with the new reality in todays marketplace.

 

[IslandTractor]

IIRC, there aren't any U.S. made gearboxes in the under 80hp category so even a U.S. made flail will have a Chinese gearbox these days.

And Chinese are not the only ones who screw up. A friend had his 6month old Harley puke up it's transmission because someone used a wrong size nut during assembly.

Sorry about your experience though. With any luck the injured gearbox will outlive us all.

 

[Treeslayer]

Thanks Whirly. I have looked at Flailmasters cataloque also and noticed that many knives were about 3" long and just a bit wider than the MC knives, and at $.74 considerably cheaper making me wonder if I could use them instead. I' m not sure the elongated hole would work or not since the hanger isn't quite as roomy as a good sized clevis and may bang into the mounting bracket if the knife hit something. I will probably just stick with the old knives and replace as necessary as I mainly just use it to rough cut fields once a month or so and the cut doesn't have to be perfect. Really like the flail better than my rotary cutter/bush hog as one field is close to a subdivision.

Hey Island Tractor how do like yer Kioti DK40? I've got one too and it has performed great so far. I see you have a grapple as well - don't know what I would do without mine!

 

[IslandTractor]

Hey Island Tractor how do like yer Kioti DK40? I've got one too and it has performed great so far. I see you have a grapple as well - don't know what I would do without mine!

Love the DK40. No nonsense, totally reliable and the FEL is a beast. Grapple spends more time on loader than any other implement too.

 

[MidTn Mark]

Well...newest member reporting in. Phoenix TE 79 showed up today. That's the good news. Bad news is freakin non-stop rain for the last week and forecast for the next week as well... I could probably get the truck and trailer out but getting it back in would be a circus. So, I wait...

Mark

 

[MidTn Mark]

Well...newest member reporting in. Phoenix TE 79 showed up today. That's the good news. Bad news is freakin non-stop rain for the last week and forecast for the next week as well... I could probably get the truck and trailer out but getting it back in would be a circus. So, I wait...

Mark

 

[GManBart]

Well...newest member reporting in. Phoenix TE 79 showed up today. That's the good news. Bad news is freakin non-stop rain for the last week and forecast for the next week as well... I could probably get the truck and trailer out but getting it back in would be a circus. So, I wait...

Mark

How long ago did you order yours? I ordered an 87" on 4/29 but haven't heard anything yet.

 

[MidTn Mark]

I ordered on 5/2. But... I slipped them $50 to put me in line ahead of you...

Just kidding of course. Not sure if they are clearing out the 79's and then moving to the 87's or what. I do know that they turned mine around in 1 day so they are cranking them out pretty quickly

Mark