Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[IslandTractor]

The idler pulley seems to be out of alignment with the other two. Is this normal? If not, the way to adjust it isn't obvious to me. Thanks for your help. <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=466053"/>

Is there room to put a shim on the rotor pulley to pull it out a bit? They really shouldn't be that far out of alignment.

 

[leonz]

Thanks for the welcome. The manufacture of these blades claim they are forged with an RC of 40 to 50 but mainly what I want to know is how sharp they should be.
attached two pictures, before and after.

Forged? candidly I doubt it as the steel condition does not indicate this and your grinding would have mad a brittle mess of the edge.


Couple of things, invest in a lower cost water cooled knive grinder, W.W. Grainger has them.

You have these blades, UGH, and they need a 37 degree bevel and they have to be of the same weight when your done grinding.

 

[whirly]

1st - It looks like you have at least one broken blade just in the picture.

2nd - You can turn the blades around. The cutting edge is rounded so you will get a better cut and have sharper blades by just doing a 180. You have cotter pins so the job would take you about 3 hours. FYI - get some new cotter pins before you start.

3rd - Those blades are in better shape than mine were before I replaced them and they still did a fair job.



4th - If the belt is out of alignment you will smoke it before you finish your first pass. However, you should still have a couple of spares (FlailMaster has them for $32)

5th - I have the same flail and if the fallow field is green and thick, do your first run with the flail roller about 3" above the ground then you can do a second pass normally. All those blades will not move the cut grass out the back if you are pushing into a mass of vegetation. It can't get enough air in through the front to move the grass out the back and it clogs up in the front. I do not mean thick brush but tall thick grass and vines that are green not dry.

 

[whirly]

Here is the instruction and parts manual for your Mott 72:

Download Here

 

[EdwardB]

4th - If the belt is out of alignment you will smoke it before you finish your first pass. However, you should still have a couple of spares (FlailMaster has them for $32)

Thanks for the tips. I'll keep them in mind. Looking at the pulleys, what do you think the issue is?

 

[whirly]

Thanks for the tips. I'll keep them in mind. Looking at the pulleys, what do you think the issue is?

From the pic the belt looks like it is in line with both sheaves. It would appear just the tensioner is slightly off.

This pic is strait on to the belt so the wall to the left is at an oblique to the viewer BUT it appears that the wall is bowed away from the belt. The tensioner is attached to that wall so straightening the wall might help.

 

[whirly]

Take one of your wife's yard sticks and put the edge across both sheaves as close to center as possible. If the straight edge touches both sides of each sheave then they are in line.

 

[BoylermanCT]

Forged? candidly I doubt it as the steel condition does not indicate this and your grinding would have mad a brittle mess of the edge.


Couple of things, invest in a lower cost water cooled knive grinder, W.W. Grainger has them.

You have these blades, UGH, and they need a 37 degree bevel and they have to be of the same weight when your done grinding.

Leonz, do you have a specific model of wet sharpener in mind? Grainger's cheapest model is $754. I found a Woodtek for $130 on Amazon. Would this work?

 

[BoylermanCT]

Thanks IslandTractor and whirly. That's what I needed to know. I thought they cut alright but my wife wasn't as happy with the cut, (to put it mildly)

I believe this was her way of telling you to order a new flail mower!

 

[leonz]

Leonz, do you have a specific model of wet sharpener in mind? Grainger's cheapest model is $754. I found a Woodtek for $130 on Amazon. Would this work?

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As long as you can clamp the knive in place and hold it in place yes. I saw a bunch of them(don't remember the brands) under $400 on Amazon last year.

Wen sadly no longer makes the water bath knife and scissors carborundum drum sharpener I use.


After looking at the one from wood workers supply(Assuming its the yellow one)you would not be able to use it.

A slow speed wet well grinder with a vertical grinding wheel would be the best one for your use as there is a table with degree markings to rest the individual knife on and wet grind the cutting edge.