newbie seeking advice

[eblanks]

Hello all, this is a great forum and I've already learned a lot from reading the posts. I did want to get a bit more specific information. I haven't operated a tractor since I pulled a hay wagon for my Grandad probably 15 years ago. He is gone now and my Dad is in possession of the farm. I recently purchased a Ford 3000 to do some cleanup work as the farm is growing over due to neglect. My plan is to acquire a bush hog and clean off as much as I can and continue to grow hay of some sort on the property. The southeast drought has made hay farming a pretty attractive proposition if you can get it to grow. My question is, I have heard that bush hogging can be dangerous, and the land (65 acres, low rolling foothills) has growth that ranges from tall grass, to thick briars to small sapplings to more mature sapplings. What are the cardinal safety rules to remember when bush hogging. How much bush can a bush hog hog? What I mean is how dense is too dense? How thick a sappling is too thick to try to cut? At what point do you get out the chain saw? Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[greggh]

Welcome to TBN.
That depends... see how specific I am. The reason it depends is on the Bushhog. There are standard and medium and heavy duty. When you look at their specs it will tell you the thickness it can cut. Even with the heavy duty I would say nothing over 3". They all say different things but there are a lot of factors. Gear box HP size, slip clutch or shear pin, weight of mower, etc. I know that I haven't been particularly helpful, but you can't answer your question without asking some of these others. PTP horsepower of your tractor makes a difference as well. I am sure others will have better answers, but I think you need to consider these other issues.

 

[greggh]

Sorry that should have been PTO horsepower. I can't type

 

[woodhawg]

My bush hog told me when I tried something too big. It broke the shear pin on the input shaft. Learned that all saplings are not the same, some are hard and some are soft. Pines is pretty easy to push over and cut up. Hardwoods are a different story. Common hedge is bad stuff. I pretty much ruined my first bush hog clearing a pine forest. Now I get off and chainsaw anything much bigger than 1 1/2". Works for me.

 

[daTeacha]

Get the heaviest built hog you can find that's not much wider than your rear wheels and you should be okay. You could also check into hiring a neighbor to do it since converting to hay should make hogging unnecessary in the future. Spend your money on hay equipment.

 

[Soundguy]

If there is a slope.. cut up or down it.. some of em ya might only feel good cutting down. Don't take the tranny out of gear on a slope.. cuz if you start to run-away you won't get any engine braking to help out.

what tranny does your 3000 have.. the 8spd is the best tranny ford built.. IMHO... practically bullet-proof.

your 38 pto hp will let you power a 6' mower.. though you could step down to 5' if you wanted to.

Just about anything you can get the front axle over is fair game.. I try to stay at 2" green-and-flexible and under... for long mower and tractor life.

65ac is a whole lot to cut! on a 5' mower.. plan on cutting for 60+ hours!

If you have to mow that place ( other than haying ) on a continuing basis.. a larger tractor / mower may be in the cards for you... since it is not flat.. don't get a fixed deck mower.. get a v-deck or batwing.

now.. if you are haying it.. I'm guessing you are using a ? sickle bar for that 3000?

soundguy

 

[bota7800]

65ac is a whole lot to cut! on a 5' mower.. plan on cutting for 60+ hours!


soundguy

Soundguy is absolutely correct. We have 35 acres but some of it is foothill so I only have 10 - 15 acres that I try to mow with a 5' mower. I have never finished the complete area. Mowing is a boring dusty job. We have some neighbors that have a larger cab JD that they use with a much larger mower (the kind like the county uses with the 2 fold-up sections (might be called batwing - I am not sure)).

Mowing is the main reason I really want a cab with a/c. I can dream anyway.

 

[eblanks]

Thanks to all for the good advice, to answer some questions, the tractor is a 4 spd single speed axle. I have not purchased any hay making equipment as of yet, I see this as being a lengthy project to get enough land cleared and this is a sideline hobby for me so I'm in no great hurry to get it going, I'm mostly just excited to have a new "toy" to play with but I really don't want to mess it up or myself up on the first day. My Grandad worked this farm way before my time with an 8N, and a 2600 Ford, so that was what I used as a basis when I decided to get the 3000.

 

[Soundguy]

Keep in mind that a 2600 was a more advanced machine than your 3000. most X000 models were built from 65-75.. then the X600 models came out.. etc.

The plain jane 4spd is the least desireable of the 3000 tranny options.. however as durability goes.. it's right there with the 8spd.. etc.

soundguy

 

[MarkV]

I’ll just add that a rotary mower will throw things with great velocity so don’t let people or pets hang around the area you are mowing.

MarkV

 

[Bill Hoffman]

Also be aware that even with chain guards on the bush hog, it WILL throw stuff at you on the tractor. If I were going to do a great deal of mowing, I'd build a shield (expanded metal) to go between you and the mower.

I was hogging a small area that was loaded with poison ivy, picked a piece of old fence wire. The mower threw a glob of freshly pulped poison ivy through the safety chain guard, off the fender and up onto my face. (I was facing to the rear, mowing in reverse) Washed up, called doc who gave me a scrip for prednisone just in case.

Bill

 

[eblanks]

Bill

Thanks for the tip about poison ivy, most every time I visit the farm I get a little poison ivy and was worried that a mower would blow that stuff into the air and get on my skin or worse, into my lungs. Is there any good defense when mowing an area with poison ivy/oak.

 

[ChuckinNH]

As a side note..... If you have gotten poison ivy / oak on your skin, the best thing to do is to rinse thoroughly as soon as possible with the coldest water you can handle. The cold water closes your pores, and rinses the oil off your skin. My son learned that in Ranger training, and I haven't had a case of poison ivy since he told me........ used to be an annual event.

 

[Soundguy]

Soap is even better than water... water has a hard time removing oil.. however soap helps cut the oil pretty fast.

soundguy

 

[Bill Hoffman]

Try washing with Technu. It's a liquid soap stuff type that works really well
in reducing the inflamation of PI. In a pinch, wipe the area with gasoline , paint thinner, or alcohol, they are solvents for the urushiol, which is the oil that causes the inflamation.

It's a drastic solution, but sure beats 2 weeks of prednisone.

Consarn it!! Somebody find a good cash use for PI. We could all retire.

Bill

 

[randyvl]

rub it till till its almost bleeding, wash with chlorox.

kills it every time

 

[pennwalk]

On my little Yanmar 186D with the square 4 foot King Kutter I have noticed that it throws rocks back and to the left as I sit on the tractor so I keep the right side of the tractor towards the neighbors yards as I bush hog at the farm. If I see people in the yard I come back later. It is scary how far rocks will fly. You definitely don't want anybody around the tractor when you mow. As far as how fast you can mow I try to listen to the sound of the engine. It doesn't work as well if I have my earplugs in but the ear muffs I have (pro ears) add some of the outside sound back in and you can hear the engine pretty well.

Chris

 

[firefighter9208]

As far as poison ivy goes Technu is the way to go. They have a pre-exposure lotion that you put on before going out and then a rinse that you use afterward to remove the oils. One of the ingredients in the rinse is de-odorized mineral spirits. This stuff works!!! Believe me. It's kind of pricy though. A 2 ounce bottle is about $8.00 at the pharmacy. My mom found some guy on ebay that sells it and she bought me a 12 ounce bottle for something like $10.00 plus shipping. Poison Ivy Rash Treatment, Poison Oak Treatment and Sumac Rash Treatment

As far as bushhogging goes I go by the motto that my grandfather uses. If the tractor can ride it down the bushhog should cut it up. Of course the slip clutch on my bushhog was froze up and that cost me a driveshaft bushhoging privet last year. Nice pretty twist with a broken u-joint. I learned to make sure the slip clutch will slip before beginning.

Chris

 

[eblanks]

Thanks again for all the helpful advice, I have a follow up story and additional questions. I purchased a used bush hog and trailered it up to the farm this past weekend. After dealing with some tractor starting issues (loose ground wire) I got the hog hooked up and off the trailer, then went to hook up the pto shaft and - you guessed it - too long. I have an over run clutch on the pto from the tractor. And everything I have read indicates this is a necessity for operating a Bush Hog, so it stays. The PTO drive shaft to the bush hog has a slip clutch, which I understand is preferable so I would like to keep that as well. My question is, I have read that it is possible to cut a PTO shaft to reduce the length. Is this advisable? Is it a difficult process? I'll buy a new one if I have to but would rather use the one I already have. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Soundguy]

I've also found that taking a prophilactic does of an antihistamine also helps if i think I am going to be exposed to a skin iritant that also involves an alergic reaction.

soundguy

As far as poison ivy goes Technu is the way to go. They have a pre-exposure lotion that you put on before going out and then a rinse that you use afterward to remove the oils. One of the ingredients in the rinse is de-odorized mineral spirits. This stuff works!!! Believe me. It's kind of pricy though. A 2 ounce bottle is about $8.00 at the pharmacy. My mom found some guy on ebay that sells it and she bought me a 12 ounce bottle for something like $10.00 plus shipping. Poison Ivy Rash Treatment, Poison Oak Treatment and Sumac Rash Treatment

As far as bushhogging goes I go by the motto that my grandfather uses. If the tractor can ride it down the bushhog should cut it up. Of course the slip clutch on my bushhog was froze up and that cost me a driveshaft bushhoging privet last year. Nice pretty twist with a broken u-joint. I learned to make sure the slip clutch will slip before beginning.

Chris