Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

leonz · Oct 2, 2014

Blaneypark said:
Tried this before with no luck. I have a Mott 5 ' flail mower with a square gear box. Looking for the two gears in side, or the whole box.

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First try Flailmaster then Boston Gear then Alamo.

leonz · Oct 2, 2014

Blaneypark said:
Tried this before with no luck. I have a Mott 5 ' flail mower with a square gear box. Looking for the two gears in side, or the whole box.

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First try Flailmaster then Boston Gear then Alamo.

glm1965 · Oct 3, 2014

After reading all these threads on flail mowers, decided I needed one. Was pretty well set on the Caroni 1900. However, found a used JD370 in excellent shape for about the same money. Drove 300 miles to pick it up. Got it home ,checked it out, greased and away I went to mow the tallest grass on the farm I could find. All I can say is "WOW !".Amazing how this thing cuts, And so quiet . Of all my attachments .
,this is by far my favorite. Never see me using my rotary finish mower again . Going to try flush cut knives next but can`t imagine any better cut than what I get now. Short story , I love this mower!

leonz · Oct 4, 2014

glm1965 said:
After reading all these threads on flail mowers, decided I needed one. Was pretty well set on the Caroni 1900. However, found a used JD370 in excellent shape for about the same money. Drove 300 miles to pick it up. Got it home ,checked it out, greased and away I went to mow the tallest grass on the farm I could find. All I can say is "WOW !".Amazing how this thing cuts, And so quiet . Of all my attachments .
,this is by far my favorite. Never see me using my rotary finish mower again . Going to try flush cut knives next but can`t imagine any better cut than what I get now. Short story , I love this mower!

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I want to welcome you as the newest member of the Flail Mower Nation.
We ran 7 foot 25A for years reclaiming pasture down to a two inch cut.
If you have any questions pleae3 post them here and we wil be a happy
to answer them for you.

Do you have the scoop knives or the side slicers knives? It sounds like you have the side slicers
they will last you a very long time. I have 26 year old side slicer knives on my flail mower.

If you can purchase a wet well kitchen knive grinder from northern tool invest in one as the
wet grinding willprevetn losing the temper on the cutting edges.

NOW be sure to check under the V belt guard and dig out all the rubber dust and be sure to
grease the fittings you find there with a coouple of shots of grease.

If you have not done it already change the gear oil in the gearbox.

If you changed the V belt great-if not check to make sure it is not rotting pull the
palm of your hand along the v belt and if rubber is falling off the belt it is time to change it.

If the belt is frayed on the sides it is time to change it.

The Kevlar green belts give the best shock resistance and longest wear.

glm1965 · Oct 8, 2014

Just got my shipment of new heavy duty "y" knives from flail master. I was expecting them to be sharp like a rotary mower blade, they are not. They have a very small radius edge. Is this the norm or do I need to sharpen them . Fail mowers are new to me, so I would like your advice. Guess the ones already on my used JD 370 are not that dull after all. Just thought new blades would have a sharp edge. For future reference, would flush cut knives be better if mainly cutting grass and pasture land. It is all pretty well rock free. Thanks to all for the info.

IslandTractor · Oct 8, 2014

glm1965 said:
Just got my shipment of new heavy duty "y" knives from flail master. I was expecting them to be sharp like a rotary mower blade, they are not. They have a very small radius edge. Is this the norm or do I need to sharpen them . Fail mowers are new to me, so I would like your advice. Guess the ones already on my used JD 370 are not that dull after all. Just thought new blades would have a sharp edge. For future reference, would flush cut knives be better if mainly cutting grass and pasture land. It is all pretty well rock free. Thanks to all for the info.

No need to sharpen them. I use the same Flailmaster knives. I am not sure about finish mowers but the flail blades are definitely sharper than a typical bush hog blade. The flailmaster blades are just as sharp as the factory Caroni blades.

I don't recall the comparative feet per second of blade speed compared to a rotary mower but that certainly is a factor in how well flails cut. Maybe Leonz will enlighten us. I believe he has a direct 800 line to the flail Gods.

leonz · Oct 9, 2014

2,000 plus revolutions per minute depending on the V Belt pulley size and rotor diameter.

the rotary mower comparison is almost 13,000 feet per minute and that tears the grass and brush.

Thomabear · Oct 9, 2014

I'm spinning the scoop knives which were also blunt at the edge when new. In agreement with Island Tractor and leonz there is no requirement or need to sharpen them. My Vrisimo drum turns at 1850 RPM and the blade tip speed is 10212 FPM. I keep up a 5 acre lawn and the cut is near that of a golf coarse. The scoop knives are only rated to 1" saplings but it will do all of that and then some, turning brush into mulch. Although not as aggressive as the Y knives the scoop knives leave a better finish. The only draw back is that with the added lift they tend to stir up more dust in bare ground areas.

IslandTractor · Oct 9, 2014

leonz said:
2,000 plus revolutions per minute depending on the V Belt pulley size and rotor diameter.

the rotary comparison is almost 13,000 rpm and that tears the grass and brush.

I think your rotary estimate of 13,000 rpm should be feet per minute at the blade tip. 13,000 RPM in a grossly balanced mower blade is a very scary thought.

I'm guessing here but it seems the speed of the blade is probably about the same for finish but and flail. I'm guessing the bush hogs have slightly lower blade speed given the heft of those blades and that they don't really cut but mangle whatever they contact.

leonz · Oct 9, 2014

Your right, that was scary. I was tired,I will fix it.

DavesTractor · Oct 9, 2014

Thomabear said:
I'm spinning the scoop knives which were also blunt at the edge when new. In agreement with Island Tractor and leonz there is no requirement or need to sharpen them. My Vrisimo drum turns at 1850 RPM and the blade tip speed is 10212 FPM. I keep up a 5 acre lawn and the cut is near that of a golf coarse. The scoop knives are only rated to 1" saplings but it will do all of that and then some, turning brush into mulch. Although not as aggressive as the Y knives the scoop knives leave a better finish. The only draw back is that with the added lift they tend to stir up more dust in bare ground areas.

Yep, exactly right. I keep 8 acres of park like grass mowed with my Vrisimo 10' flail with scoops. And you are correct about driving over a bare area....it stirs the dust up.

Smokester1 · Oct 12, 2014

Hey Gang. I just got a Ford CM 222 with a front mounted FL60 flail. I havnt got a manual yet and I cant find any info or even a picture of the Front mounted Flail. It says Model FL 60 and made in Italy. I have had zero luck emailing Ford New Holland.. and a local dealer said it might be a bush hog brand made for Ford. My mower is a 1999 CM 222 and I still cant find any info on the Front mounted flail. Any help out there? Thanks..

IslandTractor · Oct 12, 2014

Smokester1 said:
Hey Gang. I just got a Ford CM 222 with a front mounted FL60 flail. I havnt got a manual yet and I cant find any info or even a picture of the Front mounted Flail. It says Model FL 60 and made in Italy. I have had zero luck emailing Ford New Holland.. and a local dealer said it might be a bush hog brand made for Ford. My mower is a 1999 CM 222 and I still cant find any info on the Front mounted flail. Any help out there? Thanks..

I've not heard specifically of the FL60 flail. Is it sold by Ford? Caroni makes a front mounted flail but I don't believe it is generally imported into the US by AgriSupply. Not sure if that could be the one but it is clearly made in Italy. Google Caroni flail and check out their website. If it is a Caroni made flail painted Ford blue, I'd imagine the only difference from the other Caroni FL series would be the hookup to the mid PTO

leonz · Oct 13, 2014

Smokester1 said:
Hey Gang. I just got a Ford CM 222 with a front mounted FL60 flail. I havnt got a manual yet and I cant find any info or even a picture of the Front mounted Flail. It says Model FL 60 and made in Italy. I have had zero luck emailing Ford New Holland.. and a local dealer said it might be a bush hog brand made for Ford. My mower is a 1999 CM 222 and I still cant find any info on the Front mounted flail. Any help out there? Thanks..

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

Your mower is designed to use either a three splndle rotary BOOOO!!, or a flail mower.

Not positive but it is or may be a Jacobsen front wheel drive mower in blue paint.

If you need more information contact:

Smith Mills Implement Company
63065 206 Street
Janesville, Minnesota 56048
1-507-231-5191

flail mower are generic in one respect the bearings and V belts
are metric LIKE all bearings and V belts.

Which type of cutting blade do you have? the side slicer Y blade Pairs or single duck foot/scoop blade.

There are several suppliers/manufacturers of flail mower knives here in the United States.

bushhog28 · Oct 19, 2014

Any flail option to cut this stuff? 4 inch material probably that has rotted 2 years. Want to stay around 5k.

bushhog28 · Oct 19, 2014

I'm hoping 3 inch rotary cutter can handle it if no flail option.

whirly · Oct 19, 2014

You don't say how much ground that stuff covers but I would think that any flail with hammers would eat it up if you can get it close enough to the ground.

That being said if there isn't much more than an acre's worth and there won't be recurrences, I'd beg, borrow, steal or rent a chipper and feed that stuff into it. It'll saver you a bunch of $$.

bushhog28 · Oct 19, 2014

I need a mower anyways. Cutting 28 acres. 1\4 probably looks like this. I'll mow high and let it rot as long as possible. Make a good commercial for a flail company.

Corazza is 7k. Little steep. Want to spend 4\5k tops. Needs to be around 84 inches wide or bigger. The phoenix te220 might work, but can't find cutting specs.

LouieJunior · Oct 19, 2014

That looks like what I had after the power company mulched their easement under some power lines. I used a landscape rake rather than my flail mower. That cleaned most of it up and it burned rather nicely. I had to then deal with stumps. I keep it mowed now and it is a nice area.

IslandTractor · Oct 19, 2014

bushhog28 said:
Any flail option to cut this stuff? 4 inch material probably that has rotted 2 years. Want to stay around 5k.

I'm thinking medium or heavy duty rotary "bush hog" if you have five or so acres of this stuff. 84" heavy duty from a good company (Bush Hog, Rhino, Woods, Landpride) aught to be within your 5K budget. Heavy duty flail of that size is probably out of your budget unless you find a good used version.