Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[leonz]

Nope you did not read that wrong. Up until my father moved we mowed a lot with the flail mower 4 hours plus weekly and we only burned about 3 gallons of gasoline in four hours as the lawn tractor he had was only towing when we used the motorised flail mower.

We had good sod and grass and when we increased the size of the lawn we just mowed with the lawn mower one time and then used the flail mower every week averaging 4 hours per week for six acres as a rule and sometimes much more when the leaves started dropping and mowing the pasture to the end of the property to be able to dump the collection basket every few feet with grass clippings and leaves as well as pasture clippings to keep the invasives back.

Mowing a little more than an acre nowadays takes very little time and it worth having a collection basket. I just hope I can get bigger mule next year and keep the LA115 just to have it when I need a spare mule.

With almost 170 hours its not worth much anyway as its not 4 wheel drive or diesel even though its green

 

[leonz]

Nope you did not read that wrong. Up until my father moved we mowed a lot with the flail mower 4 hours plus weekly and we only burned about 3 gallons of gasoline in four hours as the lawn tractor he had was only towing when we used the motorised flail mower.

We had good sod and grass and when we increased the size of the lawn we just mowed with the lawn mower one time and then used the flail mower every week averaging 4 hours per week for six acres as a rule and sometimes much more when the leaves started dropping and mowing the pasture to the end of the property to be able to dump the collection basket every few feet with grass clippings and leaves as well as pasture clippings to keep the invasives back.

Mowing a little more than an acre nowadays takes very little time and it worth having a collection basket. I just hope I can get bigger mule next year and keep the LA115 just to have it when I need a spare mule.

With almost 170 hours its not worth much anyway as its not 4 wheel drive or diesel even though its green

 

[ovrszd]

I've never sharpened mine in eight years but I lose them regularly in our rocky soil so I'm not sure I have a single original blade set left.

Yeah, maybe that's what he's doing also??

 

[ovrszd]

Nope you did not read that wrong. Up until my father moved we mowed a lot with the flail mower 4 hours plus weekly and we only burned about 3 gallons of gasoline in four hours as the lawn tractor he had was only towing when we used the motorised flail mower.

We had good sod and grass and when we increased the size of the lawn we just mowed with the lawn mower one time and then used the flail mower every week averaging 4 hours per week for six acres as a rule and sometimes much more when the leaves started dropping and mowing the pasture to the end of the property to be able to dump the collection basket every few feet with grass clippings and leaves as well as pasture clippings to keep the invasives back.

Mowing a little more than an acre nowadays takes very little time and it worth having a collection basket. I just hope I can get bigger mule next year and keep the LA115 just to have it when I need a spare mule.

With almost 170 hours its not worth much anyway as its not 4 wheel drive or diesel even though its green

Whoops, shoulda read forward. So 23 years of mowing good sod and grass never required sharpening??? That's some very impressive statistics.

I'm mowing 1.5 miles of road banks plus a 2 acre lot. Put on new blades this Summer. Figure I'll hafta sharpen them before next summer is over. My knives must not be as hard as yours??

 

[leonz]

Hello Richard,



Were you able to find the right settings and speed for your flail mower??

It may be that your knives are not hardened :^(.

About mine, I do know that the knives I own are hardened and I have only
touched them with the wet well grinder.

Even a lower cost wet well grinder-less than $100.00 will give you
excellent edges that will be stronger, and with the cool grind it is
easier to handle the side slicers because they do not get hot.

 

[hunt4570]

Hello Richard,



Were you able to find the right settings and speed for your flail mower??

It may be that your knives are not hardened :^(.

About mine, I do know that the knives I own are hardened and I have only
touched them with the wet well grinder.

Even a lower cost wet well grinder-less than $100.00 will give you
excellent edges that will be stronger, and with the cool grind it is
easier to handle the side slicers because they do not get hot.

I just hand file mine out in the rain.. same thing!

 

[ovrszd]

Hello Richard,



Were you able to find the right settings and speed for your flail mower??

I think there are two things wrong with my mower if the desired result is an aggressive cut. First my drum rotates same direction as tractor tires when running. Does little to no shredding of material, just cuts it and throws it out the back. Second I'm using scoop knives, or what I'd call Whale Tail shaped knives. They tend to collect material on the unsharpened shank. I should have went for side knife cutters.

 

[ovrszd]

I just hand file mine out in the rain.. same thing!

I don't care who you are,,,,, that's funny!!!!

 

[sfabern]

Leonz - Thanks for your good comments. I know that I can get a good cut if I mow more frequently, but for a couple of reasons I want to let the grass grow to 2-3 feet. I had already lowered the roller to cut at about 3-4 inches, but I am now wondering if I shorten my top link will I increase the suction aspect of the mower and therefore address the grass that gets rolled over/remains uncut? I think I have one more hole for lowering the roller, so if I use that lower hole the height of the cut should not change. Thoughts?

The flail mower nation? How do I join. I should be a charter member since as a wee lad I used to mow about 15 acres on a Ford 8N with a flail in the mid-fifties. We called it a hammer knife. This replaced our sickle bar.

Sam

 

[leonz]

Leonz - Thanks for your good comments. I know that I can get a good cut if I mow more frequently, but for a couple of reasons I want to let the grass grow to 2-3 feet. I had already lowered the roller to cut at about 3-4 inches, but I am now wondering if I shorten my top link will I increase the suction aspect of the mower and therefore address the grass that gets rolled over/remains uncut? I think I have one more hole for lowering the roller, so if I use that lower hole the height of the cut should not change. Thoughts?

The flail mower nation? How do I join. I should be a charter member since as a wee lad I used to mow about 15 acres on a Ford 8N with a flail in the mid-fifties. We called it a hammer knife. This replaced our sickle bar.

Sam

Hello Sam,

Every one of us is a charter member.

As you are a flail mower owner you are already a proud resident of the flail mower nations,
there is no passport required at the beer garden entrance for the border crossing.
Further no passport is required to travel to or from the flail mower nations for its
residents.

I have to be careful with the membership rosters as no records are kept and I dont need
any visits from the black helicopters or the men in black wanting to know who, what, when, where, why,
or when about the flail mower nations residents that are not required to pay taxes or fee's to be members.

====================================================================

NOW,

about your workhorse of a flail mower there is no need to shorten the top link
as that will be worse than passing gas in church!!!!

There will be no gain in pressure gradient if you adjust and shorten the top link.
AND you risk causing damage to the scoop knives and knife hangers or making the
mower nose dive if you leave it in float.

If you use the last bottom holes for rear roller placement you will be at the highest mower setting.
Sam you will have to decide if you can tolerate a 5-6 inch cut and be fully aware the mowed quality
will be poorer for the work.

If you have the time to make half cuts Sam that will aid in mowing at the height desired your just going to
spend more time in the seat. if you have a fender radio that will help pass the time.


So much depends on the knife style you have and how sharp they are.