Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

IslandTractor · Oct 12, 2015

An air ratchet will help but you need a very good quality ratchet. The cheap version from HF definitely does not have the guts to remove the old bolts/ nuts that have damaged threads from mowing.

I use two manual ratchets. One with socket and the other a ratcheting flat wrench. There isn't space to use two socket wrenches. I also use a piece of pipe for more leverage as backing off the nuts over damaged threads is grunt work and not just to break the nut free.

You have to get the tractor/mower in a good position as you need to be reasonably comfortable and get good leverage. I back my tractor up the ramp to my barn and work on the mower fully lifted and with topping link short. I stick a couple of 2x4s under for safety and sit on a short stool just behind the mower so I can comfortably get both arms under with good leverage. PITA to be sure but that is the most efficient way I have found to do it when changing several at a time. I guess if I were to change them all at once I'd dismount the mower and turn it over but I'm sure the oil would leak out of the vented oil cap then.

Freeborn · Oct 12, 2015

When sharpening knifes is it always necessary to remove them from the mower? Do you ever just touch them up on the mower rather than taking them off?

I plan on using the mower to cut Prairie Grass. The mowing will occur either in late fall or early spring when the grass/thatch is very dry and the actual grass should be dormant. I live remotely from my property so its not easy to get time to work on things but maybe its an annual even where I bring the blades home with me. Still it would be nice to be able to touch up knifes on the mower when you need to.

trxracer52 · Oct 28, 2015

Hello Flail Nation

I have recently purchase a few used alamo flail mowers, a gk74, a shd74, and a shd88. I have already changed the blades on the shd 74 from a light stamped to a 3.8 oz knife and like the results for mowing lightly over grown stuff with it. On the shd88 i am having a tough time in deciding to use the 3.8oz knives or go with the heaver 6.4 oz knives. I will be mowing mostly light brush and grass with the occasional batch of sapplings of up to 1". how much better would the 6.4 oz knives handle the sapling compared to the 3.8 oz. thanks for the advice in advance!

leonz · Oct 28, 2015

Freeborn said:
When sharpening knifes is it always necessary to remove them from the mower? Do you ever just touch them up on the mower rather than taking them off?

I plan on using the mower to cut Prairie Grass. The mowing will occur either in late fall or early spring when the grass/thatch is very dry and the actual grass should be dormant. I live remotely from my property so its not easy to get time to work on things but maybe its an annual even where I bring the blades home with me. Still it would be nice to be able to touch up knifes on the mower when you need to.

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About your knives, invest in an less costly wet well grinder to maintain the edge and avoid burning the knife and destroying the temper in them as too heavy a hand will damage them. The nice thing abou the wet well grinders is they run slowly and the water bath cools both the wheel and the knife at the same time. In this way you simply hold the knife with a light pressure along the angle guide for the cutting edge. If you are unsure what angle to set the toll holder at jus purchase one
new side slicer or scoop knife an use a protractpr to find the cutting angle of the side slicer or scoop knife.

I still have good edges on the knives I installed in 1992 for what its worth.

leonz · Oct 28, 2015

trxracer52 said:
Hello Flail Nation

I have recently purchase a few used alamo flail mowers, a gk74, a shd74, and a shd88. I have already changed the blades on the shd 74 from a light stamped to a 3.8 oz knife and like the results for mowing lightly over grown stuff with it. On the shd88 i am having a tough time in deciding to use the 3.8oz knives or go with the heaver 6.4 oz knives. I will be mowing mostly light brush and grass with the occasional batch of sapplings of up to 1". how much better would the 6.4 oz knives handle the sapling compared to the 3.8 oz. thanks for the advice in advance!

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The heavier the knife the more mass you present to the brush/saplings.

The other thing to keep in mind is to reverse over brush clumps to make your first pass as
the rear roller will knock them down and hold them there as you back over them.

Island tractor has some beautiful before and after pictures of brush clearing doing it in
this way on his farm.

As long as you mow "very very slowly" over the brush clumps you will shred everything in small
pieces. If you encounter saplings turn around and mow them down in this way and you will
have no issues.

If you can mow them down when they are deadd/dormant all the better as they wil have dried out quite a bit too.

IslandTractor · Oct 28, 2015

I forget the exact weight of the knives on my Caroni TM1900 but I'm pretty sure they are a few ounces each and certainly not 6.4 oz. That said, my knives do a fair job with brush up to about an inch. Makes a lot of noise but it mulches the saplings pretty thoroughly. I might go for heavier knives/hammers if I were primarily doing brush/sapling work.

ovrszd · Oct 29, 2015

leonz said:
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I still have good edges on the knives I installed in 1992 for what its worth.

WOW,,,,, you haven't had to sharpen your knives in 23 years???

I must have read that wrong........... So how many hours a year do you put on your mower????

jimmysisson · Oct 29, 2015

Leon, I assume you remove knives for sharpening. My SHD88 has 208 knives on 104 stations. Each is held on w a 1/4" bolt/nut. I have to sharpen at least once a year to cut 8 acres of mostly grass. Takes several hours just for the R&R. You got a secret hard knife you're not telling us about?
Jim

leonz · Oct 29, 2015

Hello Jimmy,

No secret hard knive or secret handshake to identify our flail nation members-(nor lists kept to identify the members and I dont need the black helicopters finding the right people with the right mowers!!!

Hades!, they had enough trouble with the blimp yesterday and today and they shot it up with a shot gun and lost all that good helium!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Lawn genie flail mower rotor has a tool free mounting system with a spring latch-dont worry I am working on that issue for everyones benefit too.

I am also working on the knife side of things too in order make things easier for the fellow members.

We always kept a complete spare set on hand to change them out 64 stations 128 knives-not including the 64 dethatching blades.

Dethacthing really dinged the side slicers as pop never removed them when he dethatched the 4 plus acres every year.

IslandTractor · Oct 29, 2015

ovrszd said:
WOW,,,,, you haven't had to sharpen your knives in 23 years??? I must have read that wrong........... So how many hours a year do you put on your mower????

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.