Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[retiredfarmer]

Good to hear. I bought one on eBay and apparently it needs some welding on the housing, otherwise it is complete. Hopefully I can weld it back up and get it operational.

 

[TheFarmerInAdell]

Fallon or Others,

Do you think the duckfoot (single piece knife) see picture in the below link, these could be run with the same spacing as your "Y" cut (two piece knives)?

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums...wers-170357d1278268119-lets-talk-flail-mowers

Those are actually the original style blade that came on the 917 course cut mowers. So, yes, they will work in the course cut setting. I believe it's every 3rd hole you use and staggered each row for course cut. Mine had those, but I switched to the side slicers for a few reasons. One being price. The other being strength against woody materials to knock down after 20 years of growth.

 

[dieselscout80]

Those are actually the original style blade that came on the 917 course cut mowers. So, yes, they will work in the course cut setting. I believe it's every 3rd hole you use and staggered each row for course cut. Mine had those, but I switched to the side slicers for a few reasons. One being price. The other being strength against woody materials to knock down after 20 years of growth.

I have course cut delta wing knives currently, but I’m wondering if I can get more of to get a better cut.

 

[Fallon]

I have course cut delta wing knives currently, but I’m wondering if I can get more of to get a better cut.

My 917 came with a partial set of side slicers & I replaced them with almost a full set (miscounted so had to reuse a few of the old ones that were in good shape). I can't say I ever thought about swapping really. The side slicers give a great cut quality for fields. They work on brush up to finger size but much beyond that they dont have the weight to do much more than gnaw the bark off. The scoop knives may give a better cut, but you'd need a lawn as opposed to pasture or field to be able to tell.

 

[TheFarmerInAdell]

I have course cut delta wing knives currently, but I’m wondering if I can get more of to get a better cut.

You could probably go every other hole and increase the number of blades. not sure how much better of a cut you'd get as these should overlap a little bit and they're flat on the bottom (as opposed to they "Y" shaped side slicers). You could change it over to fine cut blades and use all the holes if you want a good lawn quality cut. The 917 is versatile like that. You would need all new hangers and links to switch.

 

[jthibodeau89]

Getting my JD 25A ready for Spring. The anti-wrap is going to work well. I welded a thick walled piece of DOM tube concentric to center of the bolt shim. I then welded a piece of 5/16" rod to the end of the rotor. The stub has 1/16" radial clearance to the DOM collar. Axial clearance to the rotor will be 3/16". I also added grease fittings to both bearing housings. I had to get creative on the drive end and placed the zerts in the steel plate cover with a matching hole in the bearing housing.

I'm having trouble loading photos directly from my tablet.

 

[def38]

Getting my JD 25A ready for Spring. The anti-wrap is going to work well. I welded a thick walled piece of DOM tube concentric to center of the bolt shim. I then welded a piece of 5/16" rod to the end of the rotor. The stub has 1/16" radial clearance to the DOM collar. Axial clearance to the rotor will be 3/16". I also added grease fittings to both bearing housings. I had to get creative on the drive end and placed the zerts in the steel plate cover with a matching hole in the bearing housing.

I'm having trouble loading photos directly from my tablet.

I need to see photos of your work so I can do the same.

BTW, it is Zerk, the name of the inventor of the grease fittings we find on our tractors and implements.

 

[shaeff]

Interested in pics here, too!

My 25A needs repair. Two seasons ago I backed into a thick stand of brush and caught a stump, bent the hood enough to contact the knives. Haven’t had time to fix it yet.

 

[mark02tj]

I'm considering a flail mower to cut brush (mostly honeysuckle) on my property. I know it won't do what a forestry mulcher will do, but based on what I've read on this thread, I think it might do a lot of the job for me.

I have a Deere 3520 - 35 HP engine, 30 HP at the PTO. Would that be enough to power a 7' Deere 25-A flail mower? The reason for that specific model is that I found a used one within a reasonable driving distance for a pretty good price. Obviously haven't checked it out yet, but would like your learned opinions on whether or not my mule could handle it.

 

[DavesTractor]

I'm considering a flail mower to cut brush (mostly honeysuckle) on my property. I know it won't do what a forestry mulcher will do, but based on what I've read on this thread, I think it might do a lot of the job for me.

I have a Deere 3520 - 35 HP engine, 30 HP at the PTO. Would that be enough to power a 7' Deere 25-A flail mower? The reason for that specific model is that I found a used one within a reasonable driving distance for a pretty good price. Obviously haven't checked it out yet, but would like your learned opinions on whether or not my mule could handle it.

You have enough HP to run a 7' flail to mow normal height grass and weeds. But cutting brush with it is very questionable. It will require all the HP you got, and maybe more. One option when running an oversize flail in tough conditions is to scoot over after the first pass and only cut a lesser width.

I run a 10' Vrisimo flail with 60 PTO hp in grass and when I do the first cutting in the spring if the grass has gotten a little too long I have to significantly reduce ground speed or take a narrower cut after the first pass.

 

[Fallon]

You have enough HP to run a 7' flail to mow normal height grass and weeds. But cutting brush with it is very questionable. It will require all the HP you got, and maybe more. One option when running an oversize flail in tough conditions is to scoot over after the first pass and only cut a lesser width.

I run a 10' Vrisimo flail with 60 PTO hp in grass and when I do the first cutting in the spring if the grass has gotten a little too long I have to significantly reduce ground speed or take a narrower cut after the first pass.

I concur. I ran a 7' Ford 917 behind a L3200 (25hp PTO). It was a bit slow in grass but would keep up with a 5' rotary given the extra width. Actually tall heavy green grass was worse than a lot of brush. The grass just had more mass & fibrous material. Brush was more woody, but on a cubic foot basis, less dense & tended to cut reasonably cleanly. It did good up to a little over finger sized material.

 

[DavesTractor]

I concur. I ran a 7' Ford 917 behind a L3200 (25hp PTO). It was a bit slow in grass but would keep up with a 5' rotary given the extra width. Actually tall heavy green grass was worse than a lot of brush. The grass just had more mass & fibrous material. Brush was more woody, but on a cubic foot basis, less dense & tended to cut reasonably cleanly. It did good up to a little over finger sized material.

That's a good observation. I'm a big fan of flail mowers and being a dealer I have access to good mowers at wholesale pricing, so that is all I use. But a number of years ago we had a church workday to mow about 5 acres of newly acquired land. It was late spring after a wet early spring and the grass was 4' tall, or a little higher. We had several guys show up with tractors and mowers, me being the only one with a flail. I didn't make two passes before I loaded back up on the trailer and watched the guys with rotary mowers mow at speeds double or triple what I could do with the flail. It was simply too much mass. The flail is determined to keep the material under the hood until it chews it up it seems. Where a rotary will chuck out clumps and leave a bit of a mess, but it gets it done in some applications where a flail is too slow. Your thoughts on small brush fit well with my observations.

 

[jthibodeau89]

Here are the pics. Worked tonight.

 

[jthibodeau89]

Aluminum sleeve is used to center the collar to the shaft to set clearance to the stub. Collar is welded to the original 6 bolt flange plate. I used thick washer spacers to ensure the collar assembly doesn't allow water into the bearing. Clearance between collar and stub is about 3/32". I wound up welding the bolt heads to the 6 bolt flange as well. I also had to grind the stub a little for clearance to the bolt head.

Can't see it in the pics, but I fabricated a couple jack stands that have iron swivel casters. The rotor is on the stands so I can move it around to weld or pull out from housing. I used similar casters to make a set of tractor jacks for splitting my JD 4300 to repair a broken HST control rod.

 

[def38]

Here are the pics. Worked tonight.View attachment 589373

Thanks for those photos. I had thought of doing the same for both the rotor and roller on my Chinese fail. I have tangled with fence wire hiding in the field on several occasions. It takes some doing to free wire from a flail mower.

Your Zerk location looks a bit hazardous without a guard of some sort.

Wish I knew how to weld.

 

[jthibodeau89]

That zerk is inside the belt cover in the drive end. The other end is set directly into the thick side of the cast housing.

 

[def38]

Got it. You're Zerks are safe.

 

[DavesTractor]

Wish I knew how to weld.

With a nice MIG welder, it is quite easy to get handy with a welder. You won't be a pro overnight, but I encourage you to get a welder and maybe take a community college course or get a buddy to give you a few lessens. I can have a guy laying down some pretty good mild steel welds in just a couple of hours. Of course as soon as he changes position or metal thickness or runs into an issue he is lost immediately after only having a 2 hour lessen, but then the second lessen begins. It really isn't hard to do the sort of welding that is normally done on implements.

 

[def38]

There is a shuttered Nuclear Power Station nearby (Bellefonte Nuclear Generating Station) that was closed (never fueled) by TVA years ago. More recently, investors bought the plant and began preparations to operate it. Of course, there is lots of welding and similar metal work that must take place before the reactor gets certified and fueled. Those welders make big bucks welding on anything dealing with the reactor steam and water systems. Unfortunately, recent developments seem to indicate that work there may have been halted once again. Seems as if there are a shortage of welders hereabouts. Welding might be a lucrative skill to have.

 

[jthibodeau89]

I've driven past that plant many times travelling between Chattanooga and Huntsville. My neighbor in Chattanooga was a nuclear project engineer with TVA before they outsourced the project function. He took early retirement and went back to work as a contractor in the same desk the next week.

Are you in N. AL def38? I now live in Shelbyville, TN which is 1 1/2 ~2 hours drive north of you. Come on up and we'll get your welding done.