Which sickle mowers best for mowing pond banks

jcummins · Oct 28, 2013

Well....just made a deal on a used Kubota M7040....NOW attachments. And I'm not going to get in a hurry on this do to $$$$ and winter coming on.

Over this winter I'll be searching for a buy on the right sickle mower. I've got multiple pond banks I want to mow....one of many reasons I bought the tractor.

I used a horse drawn sickle mower pulled by an 8N in my teenage years, (and that was a lifetime ago) other than that I'm dumb on these, so need advice on what to buy/not buy. I understand you need one belt driven, so you can drop the mower down the slope. A New Holland 451 has popped out to me real quick as a popular one It also appears a John Deere 350 would work to.

So...what other models and which ones are the better ones?

High Brook Hills · Oct 29, 2013

I have the JD350 9 ft (purchased because it was cheaper than others) and it would work for your banks. For a price point I paid $950.00 and then had to chisel all the old rivets off, add all new blades, and replace 1/3 of the teeth.

Also, if you go the JD350 route make sure you buy one that includes the triangle plate! Very important that for tensioning. I also could not pop out the pivot so I ended up buying a new one. JD was very helpful in locating a PDF of their owners manual and providing to me. It is one piece of equipment we plan on keeping.

Creamer · Jun 23, 2014

I think this one works well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqsd8yIGMXA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKKeCkr9Jck

jcummins · Jun 23, 2014

I ended up with a New Holland 451. And it works pretty much like the videos.

nc redneck · Jun 23, 2014

Not sure if you want 3 point but if you can find a Triumph/Alamo hydraulic sickle mower you can do anything with it. They will cut a 2 inch oak limb if handled the right way. 2 inch pine is pretty easy. You can find them at auctions or ebay with some looking and time.
I made this one 2 years ago just on a idea. After using it for 2 years pond and **** mowing plus trimming trees up to 20 foot it has quickly become my most valuable attachment.
New blades are cheap and easily available at Agri-supply. If buying any sickle mower I would replace all blades. Bolt on is the way to go. Also hold downs or retainers.
I have a video of it in action on my phone but cant download says file is to large. Making one is a lot of work but this thing is bad ***.
These are pictures of when I made it best that I have.