james948
New member
For a basic recap and introduction: (from previous post in attachments category)
Have been looking for a good used rotary cutter lately and finally found one that was worth my while. It is a Woods 208-2 8' pulled unit. It does need a little bit of work here and there such as the hydraulic hose stand off snapped off, but I have already welded a new on, just do not have pics of that yet. These were taken after I unloaded it and backed it into one of the bays for closer inspection.
Which showed that the gear boxes have no leaks, it is missing the rear chain guards (it has the brackets, just no chains and holder rod), and it is missing the transport lock. But all in all I just couldn't pass up a solid 8' pulled cutter for just over 2k when new ones are going for 4K+ in my area.
And also as a note of interest, the previous owner, a waste water management plant, did quite a bit of modification. They added a second wheel on each side and welded quite a bit of gusseting on any area where stress could become an issue. I'll take some close pictures with a camera instead of my phone if anyone is interested. Over all I am quite pleased.
Also on a side note, did find some seepage on two of the gearboxes after 4 hours of heavy cutting. But wow what a worker, cleared out thick grasses and brush without a hiccup.
And so now the project of cleaning it up, repairing replacing any damaged part and repainting it. I plan on either fabricating a transport lock for the cylinder or just ordering a replacement depending on what metal stock I have around. And as for one gear box that was seeping it turns out to be partly my fault. After I took the shield off to look at the gearboxes I didn't get one of the bolts that holds it on (there are only two) which also acts as one of the top bolts on the outer gearboxes. I looked at it to see why it was seeping out and realized the previous owner had stripped it and attempted to fix it by using some kind of epoxy and re-taping the hole, and now the epoxy is cracking and coming out allowing the oil to seep out when it is used. I'll have to drill out the hole and re-tap it for a larger bolt, but that means opening up the gearbox and flushing it to keep metal shavings out.
I also took the blades off and sharpened them, they had a nice rounded edge. But I noticed when I took them off that the retention bolts that hold the large pins in were not tightened all the way. I mean don't get me wrong they were tight, just not threaded in all the way, as if someone used bolts that were too long. After I had the blades off I found out why, the holes were packed with dust and plant matter. So used an ice pick and a blow wand on the compressor to clean them out and then had to re-tap the holes. And since the bolts were not threaded all the way I had to re-die them to salvage the damaged threads that were exposed and banged up.
I have started cleaning off the deck, wire brush on a cordless drill and a good old hand held wire brush as well as the air wand. And then started using a rust preventative primer. So far I am 4 cans in and looking at another 3-4 for the tongue and wheel assembly. After which it will end up matching the tractor, A gallon of Valspar tractor and equipment enamel in Kubota orange will do that.
Also have to get new friction discs for the slip clutch, the original ones are beyond shot, and the original owner knew it, he had the bolts on the slip clutch tightened up so it wouldn't slip :shocked: But that is an easy fix.
More to come
James
Have been looking for a good used rotary cutter lately and finally found one that was worth my while. It is a Woods 208-2 8' pulled unit. It does need a little bit of work here and there such as the hydraulic hose stand off snapped off, but I have already welded a new on, just do not have pics of that yet. These were taken after I unloaded it and backed it into one of the bays for closer inspection.
Which showed that the gear boxes have no leaks, it is missing the rear chain guards (it has the brackets, just no chains and holder rod), and it is missing the transport lock. But all in all I just couldn't pass up a solid 8' pulled cutter for just over 2k when new ones are going for 4K+ in my area.
And also as a note of interest, the previous owner, a waste water management plant, did quite a bit of modification. They added a second wheel on each side and welded quite a bit of gusseting on any area where stress could become an issue. I'll take some close pictures with a camera instead of my phone if anyone is interested. Over all I am quite pleased.
Also on a side note, did find some seepage on two of the gearboxes after 4 hours of heavy cutting. But wow what a worker, cleared out thick grasses and brush without a hiccup.
And so now the project of cleaning it up, repairing replacing any damaged part and repainting it. I plan on either fabricating a transport lock for the cylinder or just ordering a replacement depending on what metal stock I have around. And as for one gear box that was seeping it turns out to be partly my fault. After I took the shield off to look at the gearboxes I didn't get one of the bolts that holds it on (there are only two) which also acts as one of the top bolts on the outer gearboxes. I looked at it to see why it was seeping out and realized the previous owner had stripped it and attempted to fix it by using some kind of epoxy and re-taping the hole, and now the epoxy is cracking and coming out allowing the oil to seep out when it is used. I'll have to drill out the hole and re-tap it for a larger bolt, but that means opening up the gearbox and flushing it to keep metal shavings out.
I also took the blades off and sharpened them, they had a nice rounded edge. But I noticed when I took them off that the retention bolts that hold the large pins in were not tightened all the way. I mean don't get me wrong they were tight, just not threaded in all the way, as if someone used bolts that were too long. After I had the blades off I found out why, the holes were packed with dust and plant matter. So used an ice pick and a blow wand on the compressor to clean them out and then had to re-tap the holes. And since the bolts were not threaded all the way I had to re-die them to salvage the damaged threads that were exposed and banged up.
I have started cleaning off the deck, wire brush on a cordless drill and a good old hand held wire brush as well as the air wand. And then started using a rust preventative primer. So far I am 4 cans in and looking at another 3-4 for the tongue and wheel assembly. After which it will end up matching the tractor, A gallon of Valspar tractor and equipment enamel in Kubota orange will do that.
Also have to get new friction discs for the slip clutch, the original ones are beyond shot, and the original owner knew it, he had the bolts on the slip clutch tightened up so it wouldn't slip :shocked: But that is an easy fix.
More to come
James
