Mowers, finish or brush - What's the difference?

[dcyrilc]

What is the difference between a finish mower and a brush hog and how do you tell them apart?

 

[deepNdirt]

Most bush hogs have 1-large blade and 1-wheel, finishing mower has multiple blades with 2-or 4-wheels, or to say 1- wheel on each corner of the cutting deck, the differents in purpose is , Bushhog is for Field cutting or tall overgrown grass,
a Finishing mower for cutting lawn grass, pretty easy to tell them apart when looking at them side by side,

 

[kebo]

Finish cut mowers give a nice, low "lawnmower" cut. They usually have 2 or 3 blades, with belts and some pulleys to spin the blades. Rough cut mowers (or bush hogs) usually have just one blade (in reality it is actually two seperate blades) attached to the same pan (or stumpjumper depending on its design).

The easiest way to tell them apart from a distance is that almost always a rough cut mower will be an almost square or blocky looking deck from a distance, and the rear "corners" may be rounded off, or the rear corners may be "cut off" for lack of a better way to describe it.

A finish mower is usually shaped more like an oval (or a tri-oval if it has three blades) because the 2 or 3 blades are mounted side by side, just like in a lawn tractor. This forces the deck to be designed very similar to decks for lawn tractors.

 

[dcyrilc]

Thank you. I've been looking around the forum for a couple of weeks now and have seen pix various mowers, but couldn't tell them apart since I didn't know what I was looking at.

 

[Couple of Achers]

The first picture is a finish mower and the other pic is the rough cut mower. As stated before, the finish mower is for a nice "finished" looking cut. Like you would get with a regular lawn mower. The rough cut mower is for just that, rough cutting. Like you would use in a old pasture or road ditches. The finish mower has multiple blades on fixed spindles. The rough cut mower has two large heavy swinging blades that are attached to a single spindle and are some what forgiving if you hit something hard. There are rough cut mowers with multiple spindles, but these are usually larger 7 foot wide and larger.

 

[Sackett2]

Now that you know the difference, think about it's potential use for you.
If you have a LARGE lawn, or plan to mow others lawns and golf courses then a finish mower. But these have light blades and hitting a rock can damage the blade, or as I was told a gopher mound. I have one but have yet to use it.
If you have big fields, brush, blackberries and saplings to cut down and land to reclaim, then go with the Brush "Hog" I have mowed scotchbroom over 10 feet tall with mine, and hit stumps and 5 lb rocks with no damage. Lots of noise, but no damage.

 

[dcyrilc]

What are advantages / disadvantages of a brush hog vs a flail mower?

Also, off subject, how do you add the text at the bottom where everyone puts their tractor and attachments?

 

[Sackett2]

I don't have a flail mower, so I speak from what I have learned. A flail would be the step between a finish and a hog. The Flail mows like a tiller, so items don't get thrown 50 feet out- and that's why the road crews use them.
The flail mowers have different types of "blades" "Y" and "T" shaped being the most common, but there are "hammer style" usually 1/2 the blade count

Optimally, I'd like a flail too.. Keith at the address below said a flail mower with hammers on it would chew uo a stump, going slowly...

New 60? Flail Mower EF155 Cat.1 3pt 24HP+ Rating - eBay (item 300366921764 end time Nov-18-09 16:30:19 PST)

As far as the Sig lines, look in the user options area, your account/settings section.

 

[dcyrilc]

The day after I brought my tractor home, I picked up a John Deere Model 90 Boom Flail mower with 9ft reach for mowing the drainage ditches along my driveway. Probably won't get a chance to try it until spring, but it has to beat using the gas hedge trimmer for 1500 ft of driveway! That usually took two full days and I was dog tired afterwards.

The used John Deere 2240 I bought has a couple of issues for me to try to fix over the winter, but I'm looking forward to playing with it come spring!!!

I have some understanding of flail mowers and sickle mowers; how they work; and what they are used for, but didn't really understand what a brush hog was. It sounds like the brush hog has two blades held from the end on a single shaft, so that it has some give when it hits something hard. Is this correct?

 

[Sackett2]

A big Frisbee center with two HEAVY blades that pivot off of it. if it hits something hard, like a sapling it folds back then comes back out had hits it again, beats it to death. Crude but so effective. Great for west coast blackberries.
look at the photos on this page
42? Brush/Field/Rotary Mower SL110 Cat.1 16HP+ Rating - eBay (item 170407669918 end time Nov-19-09 16:35:41 PST)

 

[deepNdirt]

It sounds like the brush hog has two blades held from the end on a single shaft, so that it has some give when it hits something hard. Is this correct?

Yes in all technicality it does actually have 2 blades, but for the sake of telling them apart I simply stated 1-blade with 1-wheel to help with remembering the differences, but unlike the finishing mower blades the bush cutter blades have only 1-sharpen edge on each of the 2 blades, while the other end does in fact bolt the a steel T shape shaft from the gearbox, the stump jumper is a good thing to have when cutting thru unknown grounds
that may have stumps or bolders ect, I do a lot of woods thining of undergrowth and run over things I cannot see all the time, although the last thing I ran over ( small lawn mower engine) hidden in vines damage the stump jumper and took out a big chunk from it causing it to spinn badly out of ballance, so I removed the jumper disc and soon after sold the cutter and the tractor I use with it,.............. I think I am going to try and find a sickle mower and start cutting down the tall stuff and the run back over it with the Bush cutter,

 

[dcyrilc]

I have an area (100 ft x 100 ft) which is damp until late July or August each year. The grass here gets 5-6 ft tall. When I had a ridding lawn mower years ago (before all the hidden obsticles distroyed it) the grass would wrap around the mower head. Does a brush hog have any problems with this?

I expect to buy a second mower next summer. It definately won't be a finish mower. The question becomes what type to buy, tow behind flail; sickle; or brush hog. One area I'll be mowing (100 ft x 1400 ft) along my front fence line was cleared by the power company as part of the requirement for the 10 ft easement I sold them and is filled with stunps from 4" to 15" diameter and about 4-6 " tall.

I'm slowly getting all the woody debris removed from the area and eventually plan to remove the stumps so that I can seed and hay it. The rest of that front seven acres still has trees, but the brush has been eaten away by my livestock and grass is replacing the brush which used to be under the trees. The biggest problem in this area currently, is all the alder sapplings trying to come up.

 

[Couple of Achers]

I have an area (100 ft x 100 ft) which is damp until late July or August each year. The grass here gets 5-6 ft tall. When I had a ridding lawn mower years ago (before all the hidden obsticles distroyed it) the grass would wrap around the mower head. Does a brush hog have any problems with this?

I expect to buy a second mower next summer. It definately won't be a finish mower. The question becomes what type to buy, tow behind flail; sickle; or brush hog. One area I'll be mowing (100 ft x 1400 ft) along my front fence line was cleared by the power company as part of the requirement for the 10 ft easement I sold them and is filled with stunps from 4" to 15" diameter and about 4-6 " tall.

I'm slowly getting all the woody debris removed from the area and eventually plan to remove the stumps so that I can seed and hay it. The rest of that front seven acres still has trees, but the brush has been eaten away by my livestock and grass is replacing the brush which used to be under the trees. The biggest problem in this area currently, is all the alder sapplings trying to come up.

Another thing that may help you decide is price. I have never owned a flail mower, but I seem to recall that they are very pricey compared to a rough cut mower. I would also think that there would be more maintenance required on a flail mower. An awful lot of flails to sharpen compared to two mower blades. But maybe someone who owns one can chime in and set me straight.

 

[kthompson]

Certainly not a professional with rough cut, finish or flail mower but have all three and use each yearly. For finish lawn not that thrilled with flail as all I have seen have rollers they ride on and for turning sharply causes the front end to want to slide of the tractor. Also if you have the "Y" cutters lawn really looks odd. For rough cutter really like the flail but the two I have used they are slower cutters than the rough cut or what many call Bush Hog cutters. They don't "cut" the wood, they gnaw through it or take little bits probably about like beavers or large chain saw teeth. That is also why they don't throw large debris as a rough cut mower will. They are smaller and are great on booms compared to the rough cut rotary mower and that is where I have really used them and there to me can not be beat.

One fact on them is especially on boom mowers they often will rotate either direction. Of course if doing so must have hammers or cutters that cut both directions. Normally if you are cutting like grass the cutter is rotating against the direction of travel so it throws the grass up and over where as if cutting larger stuff such as limbs or trees the rotation is normally the same as direction of travel so as not to have chunks come up and jam the cutter. You can cut larger tree or limb with flail mower if you are where you can allow it to slowly chew on it. But oak limbs for me they don't cut, just debark. Cutting the same size trees or such the flail mower leaves a much neater trash trail than a rotary cutter.

 

[greggh]

Also, off subject, how do you add the text at the bottom where everyone puts their tractor and attachments?

It is in your personal profile. The signature section is where this is located. It will add that information (signature) to every question or answer you send.

 

[dcyrilc]

Thanks!

 

[IslandTractor]

Regarding flail vs finish and bush hog I'd just add to what kthompson wrote that the flail kinda fits in the middle of the other two and overlaps both. It doesn't give (with rough cut blades anyway) as good a cut as a finish mower but it is a lot tougher and can be used as a bush hog. The differences with the bush hog are that the cut is much better and you don't risk shooting projectiles out from underneath but the trade off is higher maintenance costs (replacing flail knives or hammers every couple of years costs about $150) while most bush hogs seem to go at least a decade with the same blades (which are cheaper if you can get them off).

I'd advocate for flail if you want to get away with just one mower and are not simply maintaining an established lawn. Finish for lawn work. Bush hog for low maintenance farm/field and clearing.

 

[Tom_H]

If you have a big enough tractor, there is a hybrid which can do both jobs:

Woods Equipment Company - RM990 series 90?

 

[dcyrilc]

If you have a big enough tractor, there is a hybrid which can do both jobs:

Woods Equipment Company - RM990 series 90?

Looks like it might work... I have a 68HP tractor with 50HP at the PTO. It shows Cat 1 for the hitch witch isn't a problem since I can bush down to that from my Cat 2, but what is it talking about when it says "Driveline: Cat 3"?

 

[Tom_H]

I believe that you have to separately purchase the driveline shaft which goes between the PTO and the power input. I think it means that the shaft is a higher and beefier category. Sorry that I do not know for sure.

I can say that Woods lists it as a rear finish mower. Nevertheless, it has 3 spindle "stump jumper" pans with heavy free pivoting blades like those on a rough cutter, a.k.a. brush cutter, brush hog, rotary cutter. If you search for "RM990" here on TBN, you can read first hand reports from those who own this unit. Most of those owners seem to believe you get the power to cut rough material with the cut quality being that of a finish mower.

By the way, there are some inaccuracies above regarding flail mowers. Flail mowers are available in light, medium and heavy duty models. Light duty use knives to cut grass; heavy duty use hammers to break rough material; medium is in between. Regardless of lawn or overgrown highway median, flails are for use in a location where you cannot afford to launch a projectile which might hit someone. A light flail is used in a park or on a golf course for a fine cut, and won't launch projectiles like a regular mower. A heavy flail is used on a highway shoulder instead of a brush hog so you don't send a 10# rock through a windshield. All flails are designed for safety in close proximity to bystanders. They are more expensive and there is high maintenance on the numerous parts. Unless you will cut in an area where bystander safety is a concern, there is no reason to buy or have one.