Flail Mower Need advice on right cutting attachment

[RjCorazza]

I have a hammer flail mower, I have cut thick bamboo 14ft high, mulched it down to ground level and mowed grass to look like a lawn.

My hammer flail works about the same. I have yet to mow something that didn't get clean cut and finely mulched.
Other than price, it's hard to beat a flail mower for the finished cut and mulching.

 

[paulsharvey]

I have never been impressed or satisfied with my flail mower. As someone showed, anything longer than maybe the top of the fail, gets stripped of leaves, but the stocks remain, even stuff thats like 1/4" in diameter. Wire like grasses, the stems often take 3 or 4 passes, from different directions to really cut.

An important note, mine has "duck feet" teeth; which i had always heard/assumed was half way between side cutter teeth and hammer teeth. I have recently seen some videos that suggest duck feet are a finish cut, low grass only, and the design isnt about heavy duty (vs side cutters), but about air flow, and uplift to give a truly finished cut?

So, maybe thats my issue; but I have never gotten/seen the results other brag about with flails.

 

[leonz]

Scoop knives also referred to as duck foot blades and
hammer knife flail knives have difficulty recutting
material a second time as they do not have enough
cutting edge length to generate a great deal of suction
also referred to as the pressure gradient to lift the
clippings or brush a second time versus the use of
side slicers which will continue to create the pressure
gradient/suction to lift the clippings brush to slice them
a second or third time to create a fine clipping that will
dissolve into the sod ground.

 

[paulsharvey]

Another dig at flails; they are designed to cut going forward, not backward. So, you pretty much have to drive over it. A rotaty cutter, does both. So, generally, the first few cuts, much of it, you lift, back and lower to knock it all down. After a few cuts, its pretty well knocked down, and the next mow, you can do all in forward

 

[leonz]

The double edge of the side slicer knife will allow you to
mow in reverse if you are mowing heavy brush and grass
allowing you to back over standing brush and brush clumps
and then drive forward to mow them a second time.

 

[TerryR]

The flail that produced the results you see in my photo above has hammer knives.

 

[paulsharvey]

Some/many people say a flail cuts brush like a brush hog, and grass like a finish mower. In my experience, it cuts brush like a finish mower, and cuts grass like a dull bushhog/rough cut.

Others do love them, and I never know if its a vegetation type thing, an equipment thing, or user error.

 

[Gregster613]

Scoop knives also referred to as duck foot blades and
hammer knife flail knives have difficulty recutting
material a second time as they do not have enough
cutting edge length to generate a great deal of suction
also referred to as the pressure gradient to lift the
clippings or brush a second time versus the use of
side slicers which will continue to create the pressure
gradient/suction to lift the clippings brush to slice them
a second or third time to create a fine clipping that will
dissolve into the sod ground.

So...leonz: Flail cutters are "NOT" the ultimate cutting beast that you "Always" claim them to be?!! I have followed all of your posts and do believe the flail is a "Great" cutting machine - but - like "all" cutters there are always faults! Interesting that now is the first time I've ever seen/read you reluctantly admit to it. Welcome to reality.

 

[zzvyb6]

Get a 7' NH 472 haybine. Bale the scrub and burn it. From them on, cut, rake & bale to sell for very little cost to you once you have the equipment. Tax dodge !

 

[leonz]

So...leonz: Flail cutters are "NOT" the ultimate cutting beast that you "Always" claim them to be?!! I have followed all of your posts and do believe the flail is a "Great" cutting machine - but - like "all" cutters there are always faults! Interesting that now is the first time I've ever seen/read you reluctantly admit to it. Welcome to reality.

The post you are referring to describes scoop/duck foot/hammer knives and their limitations simply because the scoop knife/hammer knife total cutting edge length is much less than the side slicer knife in a 2 row, 3 row, or 4 row flail mower rotor carrying side slicer knives.

I have always thought they are a better safer mower for lawn, brush or crop shredding/mowing and always will because of the verticut method of mowing developed by Mr. Mott. If the younger Mott son had not died in that small plane crash I believe most mowers today would be flail mowers.
What I find disappointing is that Ferris mowers in one example sells their zero turns in Europe with a flail mower mounted on it and these mowers are not sold here in the United States.

 

[Farmingthefarm]

Good evening farmingthefarm,

In order to deal with that bush land you need flail shredder.

With 3.24 Hectares to deal with and with your bobcats horsepower
you will be limited to a 48 inch/122 centimeters /1.22 meters width
of cut to mow and not overload the tractor.

To manage this you need a flail shredder with a 4 row flail mower
rotor with side slicer knives to create a fine clipping that will dissolve
into the soil quickly and reduce the fire risk by reducing the fuel load
to just the bush sod after a few mowings.

I want to help you with this so you have a forever flail mower that you will
be able to use for a very long time and have bush land that will be easy to
manage with mowing and reduce the fire risk to a minimal amount.

Please take the time to tell us what brands of flail mowers the tractor dealers
in your state are selling so I can help you pick the right one.

When it is convenient for you I would like you to visit youtube and type in
"tractor time with tim" and look for his flail mower videos to see him mowing
using a John Deere sub compact tractor with a flail mower. He is not mowing
bush land but you will see the quality of cut that it will provide you.


Leon

Thanks Leon,

I've been chatting to others and seeing what's best and I'm leaning towards this Woods slasher, best part is that it doesn't leave a windrow!!

 

[leonz]

The long cuttings will still be there even though the
anti-discharge chains prevent objects being thrown.

If at all possible, please hire the first brush mowing
done, and then decide if you want that type of mower.

I do not think you will because of the long brush that
it leaves on the ground and the long brush will kill the
brush under it and it will not dissolve quickly into the soil.

You also must remember that only half of the cutting edge
of the slasher will be used to cut brush with every rotation
of the spindle where the full width of a flail mower with side
slicer knives is cutting everything in its path at 2,200+
revolutions per minute providing you with a fine mulch that
will dissolve into the soil more quickly when it rains or dries
to a fine particle over time.

The flail mower with side slicer knives will let you recut the
brush on the first pass if you travel slowly enough and recut
it a second time if you mow in a spiral pattern from the center
of the hectare as mowing in a spiral overlap saves you time by
avoiding braking and backing up and turning around.

Mowing small or large acreage is incredibly boring and if you have
a fender radio and ear plug's for hearing protection or radio earmuffs
all the better.

 

[leonz]

Hello Farmingthefarm,

Before you sit down with a salesperson you need
to decide whether to ask them one question;

"Are you willing to lose a sale and not a customer"

If they hesitate, blink their eyes, reach for thier coffee,
or start swiveling in their chair, walk away.

If they say:

Yes,

it is because we want you as a customer for life;
and we want you to have the right implement for your
needs.

it will be safe to open your check book or ask for
a 30 day quote to have a bank draft typed out and mailed
to them.

Print this out, take it with you, lay it on their desk so they can
read it and react accordingly.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

I do not think you will because of the long brush that
it leaves on the ground and the long brush will kill the
brush under it and it will not dissolve quickly into the soil.

I have not found this to be true ... Look at my pictures again that I posted above ...

Here is more of my experience ... Farmer who was haying my field, couldn't get in between where I had planted some trees ... So I cut it with my brush hog last summer ...

This is very heavy thick and tall !

Looked like this about 2 months ago ...

Looking the other direction, camera mounted in the peak of my house just taken ... Area in question is just past the barb wire fence ...

------------------------------------------------

How about a different approach for the OP, instead of BUYING, see if there is a rental place, that has different cutters to rent, even if they have one "too big" for your current tractor, if it is a "type" your interested in, it might be more prudent to rent a tractor and cutter for a day, and "try it" ... In Missouri we have a saying ... "Show-Me!" Mow part of the property with one type, then the other half with the other ... If possible than mow them both again, with the other mowers ... As in now the North part with a slasher/brush hog, now the South part with the flail ... See, and take pictures to compare (I'd love to see them ) then mow the North part again, but with the flail, and vice versa with the slasher on the South Lot ... Then buy what your happy for on your property.

Due to my job as a long distance truck driver, I'm gone a lot and only home for a day or two a month ... I don't have time to mess around with renting ...

I bought my last mower, a finish mower, even though originally I had my heart and mind set on a flail ... However from all my reading, I ended up choosing a finish mower, due to two things that seemed like I would be flirting with disaster, or at least disappointment If I bought a flail ... Most all my reading pointed to flails doing best in the 2"-4" cutting height, I wanted to cut at 5"-5.5", they also seemed to work best at ground speeds under 3 mph ... I want to mow in the 5-6 mph range ... Combine those two factors, and I bought a finish mower, I already have a brush hog.

 

[leonz]

The Australian bush land is entirely different than what we have to deal
with in North America as they have a year round wildfire fire risk.

The less fuel he leaves to burn by mowing and maintaining a 2 inch
height of sod brush in the wet seasons the safer it will be for the
landowner as there is much less available brush as a fuel source.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Guess you haven't lived in AZ ... I did for 13 years ... I use what works ... Cut brush or grass compost.

I see you changed the parameters ... Brush hogs leave too much debris on ground which will kill it, now it's a wild fire danger ... A flail may pulverize it more, but it still needs to break down into a mulch/compost which takes time ... OP doesn't seem interested in mowing every week ...

 

[paulsharvey]

A rotary cutter/bush hog Will work; a flail mower Might work, and it Might work better; but i dont think anyone will tell you the rotary cutter won't work. Just my opinion

 

[Shawn T. W.]

In regards to the fire danger elimination, or at least reduction ... Cutting twice or more a year will provide fresh new growth, which is not really all that flammable ...

Depending on width of mower, and ground speed, you should be in the 1-2 acres an hour range ... So a afternoon of "tractor time" ... A few times a year ...

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Cutting twice or more a year will provide fresh new growth, which is not really all that flammable ...

Like this ... Neighbor to my South brush hogged his side last fall ... He puts his cattle in there occasionally, they eat what they want/can ... the "leftovers" are brushy thorny dried out weeds ... I used a brush hog on my side probably 6 times this summer, last mowing was with my new to me finish mower ...

Which side looks more "flammable"?

 

[1 Old Man]

Like this ... Neighbor to my South brush hogged his side last fall ... He puts his cattle in there occasionally, they eat what they want/can ... the "leftovers" are brushy thorny dried out weeds ... I used a brush hog on my side probably 6 times this summer, last mowing was with my new to me finish mower ...

Which side looks more "flammable"?

View attachment 4273542

Dang pretty fence line. I've got plenty of fence line that could use
your skills. Let me know when you get some free time........