Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[LouNY]

86 is a good size mower. What brand is that? Don't think I've seen yellow/green before....

It's a "Victory Implements" chinese heavy duty.
EMHD Heavy Duty Embankment Flail Mower Series - Victory Tractor Implements

 

[nova3930]

It's a "Victory Implements" chinese heavy duty.
EMHD Heavy Duty Embankment Flail Mower Series - Victory Tractor Implements

Been a good mower? I usually try to avoid Chinese on principle but sometimes that's the only thing in an affordable price range unfortunately.... inflation is killing everything

 

[diesel85]

Been a good mower? I usually try to avoid Chinese on principle but sometimes that's the only thing in an affordable price range unfortunately.... inflation is killing everything

Tell me about it! I've been hankering for a new, larger tractor to compliment my hard working BX2200. I want a L4701HST, but um no, not right now with those prices!

However, same with my flail mower. I am happy I got it when I did.

 

[LouNY]

Been a good mower? I usually try to avoid Chinese on principle but sometimes that's the only thing in an affordable price range unfortunately.... inflation is killing everything

So far so good, it's had less then a 100 hours on it. The steel is pretty soft that the ground shoe is made from.
Part of that is likely that much of my use is trimming driveways and road side so it gets a lot of hard sliding contact.
I'll wrap it with a piece of 1/4" flat stock one of these days.
The price is why I got the one I did, several thousand less then any of the other imports.
I am going to spend a considerable amount of money on it, I just haven't talked to the dealers I normally use for a new PTO shaft,
I'm going to get one with CV joints on each end as it gets to many vibrations when swinging it out or in and when trimming branches at 90 degrees up or way down in deep ditches. Then I'll also have to add a slip clutch to it as it is a shear bolt protected now and I am not aware of CV joints that will use a shear pin attachment. It does have a built in over running clutch which is nice.

 

[nova3930]

So far so good, it's had less then a 100 hours on it. The steel is pretty soft that the ground shoe is made from.
Part of that is likely that much of my use is trimming driveways and road side so it gets a lot of hard sliding contact.
I'll wrap it with a piece of 1/4" flat stock one of these days.
The price is why I got the one I did, several thousand less then any of the other imports.
I am going to spend a considerable amount of money on it, I just haven't talked to the dealers I normally use for a new PTO shaft,
I'm going to get one with CV joints on each end as it gets to many vibrations when swinging it out or in and when trimming branches at 90 degrees up or way down in deep ditches. Then I'll also have to add a slip clutch to it as it is a shear bolt protected now and I am not aware of CV joints that will use a shear pin attachment. It does have a built in over running clutch which is nice.

Material quality is my usual big quibble with Chinese stuff. They often don't use the grade of metal they should or even say they're using... from nuts and bolts on up to million dollar machines...

 

[nova3930]

Here's a few pictures of my terrace line. Basically a ditch up top with a drop off down to the bottom. Looks a lot worse from the top of a tractor it's actually more like a 6 or 7 ft and not 10....

New item by Nathan Whitfield

photos.app.goo.gl

New item by Nathan Whitfield

photos.app.goo.gl

New item by Nathan Whitfield

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[Username Taken]

Tell me about it! I've been hankering for a new, larger tractor to compliment my hard working BX2200. I want a L4701HST, but um no, not right now with those prices!

However, same with my flail mower. I am happy I got it when I did.

Inflation in Japan is still well below ours. So, any huge price increase must be coming from somewhere other than the Japanese economy. Not to mention, the US Dollar is currently at a 24 year high vs the Yen. So somebody's trying to fool somebody.

BTW, Crude Oil is currently $10 a bbl cheaper than it was the day before Russia invaded Ukraine. But you're not supposed to know that. It doesn't fit The Narrative™

sorry, but you're right to wait. It might be the wrong thing to do but I would wait, too

 

[nova3930]

Inflation in Japan is still well below ours. So, any huge price increase must be coming from somewhere other than the Japanese economy. Not to mention, the US Dollar is currently at a 24 year high vs the Yen. So somebody's trying to fool somebody.

BTW, Crude Oil is currently $10 a bbl cheaper than it was the day before Russia invaded Ukraine. But you're not supposed to know that. It doesn't fit The Narrative™

sorry, but you're right to wait. It might be the wrong thing to do but I would wait, too

Inflation can be highly localized. In the case of products made overseas I think the supply chain issues are the main driver. Simple inability to get the product here drives a shortage with associated price increases. I see it here in our clinic. Any supplies sourced overseas has increased at a rate 5X that of US sourced stuff. Methylprednisolone is a prime example. Most of it is made in Europe. When we opened last Feb I paid $95 per box of 25. That same box is $495 now. Dexamethasone on the other hand is made in the US mostly and it's only gone up a couple dollars a bottle in the same time frame....

 

[Username Taken]

Cost-based vs Market-based economies.

gets old quick

 

[nova3930]

Y'all figure this one is made of cardboard or plain paper at this price?

 

[nova3930]

Someone close by just put up a Titan 65" ditch bank flail for around half off new. Are they just complete Chinese junk or will they get the job done ok?

 

[leonz]

Buy a Maschio or Del Morino unit for your needs.

 

[nova3930]

Buy a Maschio or Del Morino unit for your needs.

Trying to find a dealer now. They don't make it easy....

 

[DieselBound]

Someone close by just put up a Titan 65" ditch bank flail for around half off new. Are they just complete Chinese junk or will they get the job done ok?

Even the BEST stuff can be broken depending on use.

I've got a Nova Tractor flail, from the place that makes, if you listen to so many around here, "Chinese junk." I've put it through one extremely hard full year of use (mowing grass that was upwards of 6' tall, something that you're not supposed to be doing) and it has flat out just worked. Yeah, some cheesy bits here and there, but that's the trade-off when talking thousands of dollars of difference: a couple of access door locks ran away on me- the door is heavy and it stays down, so no big deal; and that's kind of the things I'm talking about.

ANYTHING can fail prematurely (before one expects, whether an unrealistic expectation or one based on "warranty"). As prospectuses note: past performance does not guarantee future performance. Today (and tomorrow) are going to be radically different than prior days, and perhaps far more than most folks here could imagine.

Longer you wait the greater the chance that something will ONLY be less affordable: reduced manufacturing (and increased costs- ask those Italians who build those "nice" units how much they're paying for energy these days [I'll bite my tongue about how stupid Europe has been]) means higher per-unit costs, costs that can only be pushed on to the consumer; and then there's the purchasing power of your currency (if you're dealing in USD you're holding up a bit, but sooner or later the inflationary time bomb is really going to fire off).

If one is to get something then NOW is the best time. There might not be any possibility in the future. The guiding principle ought to be to look to buy stuff that you NEED over that which you WANT: driving decisions based on NEEDS tends to soften most bumps, whereas decisions based on WANTS can be more readily seen as questionable when encountering any bumps.

One day I figure I'll end up going with goats...

 

[leonz]

Trying to find a dealer now. They don't make it easy....

6 Maschio dealers in Alabama,

Clanton Tractor and Equipment

Don Allison Equipment

First Choice Farm and Lawn

H+R Agripower

I75 Truck Sales

Implement sales LLC
----------------------------------------------------------------------
One South East Region Del Morino dealer/territory manager
in Pensacola Florida

Coastal Machinery
------------------------------------------------------------------------


With either brand you will have a high quality implement to put on your mule.

 

[nova3930]

6 Maschio dealers in Alabama,

Clanton Tractor and Equipment

Don Allison Equipment

First Choice Farm and Lawn

H+R Agripower

I75 Truck Sales

Implement sales LLC
----------------------------------------------------------------------
One South East Region Del Morino dealer/territory manager
in Pensacola Florida

Coastal Machinery
------------------------------------------------------------------------


With either brand you will have a high quality implement to put on your mule.

Yep finally found the maschio dealer locator.

Wondering just how you found that del morino distributor though.

Place I bought my tiller from is still a del morino dealer. Been well pleased with my tiller so probably see what they can do for me.

 

[thewalnutguy]

I just bought 5 acres and will build a new house, probably this fall. I plan to have about an acre around the house as a lawn area and the balance will be cut only two to three times during the growing season. I had intended to use a rotary cutter to cut the 4 acres, but the more I hear about flail cutters the more interested I get. I have used rotary cutters for years, but have never used a flail mower. Does that sound like a good option for cutting the four acres? I would appreciate people who have experience with flail mowers to chime in and give me the good, the bad and the ugly.

I've got a Mott (now owned by Alamo) 88" wide flail mower that I use for mowing 7 acres of rows of black walnuts three times a summer. The flails are double-sided. In 37 years I've purchased one new set of flails. I've turned them over, never tried sharpening them since unless that was done with a calibrated holding jig balance might be an issue. I'm using the mower with a Kubota L3600 which handles the mower just fine. Even when clearing areas of 3' or higher grass. When Mowing the rows of walnuts I use a kick-wheel rotary on the end of the mower, power coming from tractor's hydraulics. The kick-wheel runs in the row of trees and rolls around the trunk when it encounters a tree. I do this to help control wild grape.

 

[dieselscout80]

I've got a Mott (now owned by Alamo) 88" wide flail mower that I use for mowing 7 acres of rows of black walnuts three times a summer. The flails are double-sided. In 37 years I've purchased one new set of flails. I've turned them over, never tried sharpening them since unless that was done with a calibrated holding jig balance might be an issue. I'm using the mower with a Kubota L3600 which handles the mower just fine. Even when clearing areas of 3' or higher grass. When Mowing the rows of walnuts I use a kick-wheel rotary on the end of the mower, power coming from tractor's hydraulics. The kick-wheel runs in the row of trees and rolls around the trunk when it encounters a tree. I do this to help control wild grape.

What brand is your kick-wheel? It would be great for trimming underneath fences.

 

[thewalnutguy]

What brand is your kick-wheel? It would be great for trimming underneath fences.

made by rears manufacturing, web address for the mower is SIDE CUTTER -- Rear's Manufacturing I've been impressed by Rears' customer service, they actually respond promptly to customer inquiries.
A lower cost option might be Country Home Products DR PRO XLP 3-Point Hitch Trimmer Mower | DR Power Equipment
The DR trimmer mower uses a string line rather than rotary mower blade. The DR uses a rub rail to retract the mower when it encounters an obstruction (tree, fence post) whereas the Rears mower has a wheel with a cushioned rim to roll around the obstruction. For fence line application this wouldn't make any difference, but for trimming around my trees I didn't want the rubbing action against the bark of the tree.

 

[leonz]

I've got a Mott (now owned by Alamo) 88" wide flail mower that I use for mowing 7 acres of rows of black walnuts three times a summer. The flails are double-sided. In 37 years I've purchased one new set of flails. I've turned them over, never tried sharpening them since unless that was done with a calibrated holding jig balance might be an issue. I'm using the mower with a Kubota L3600 which handles the mower just fine. Even when clearing areas of 3' or higher grass. When Mowing the rows of walnuts I use a kick-wheel rotary on the end of the mower, power coming from tractor's hydraulics. The kick-wheel runs in the row of trees and rolls around the trunk when it encounters a tree. I do this to help control wild grape.

Good morning walnutguy,

I want to welcome you as the newest resident member of the "Flail Mower Nations".

The best way to sharpen your flail mowers side slicer knives is to use a wet well grinder.

Using a low speed wet well grinder prevents damaging the side slicer knives from the heat
and friction of a high speed carborundum grinding wheel.

A wet well grinder uses a low speed grinding wheel that is bathed in a water bath that
cools the grinding wheel and prevents overheating the edge of the hand tool or
flail mower knife from overheating and losing its temper from heat treating.

You can purchase a wet well grinder from www.MicroMark.com at a very reasonable price.

It is currently on sale through an internet purchase for $99.95 plus tax and shipping cost to your door.