Bush Hog flail mower
 

I got a 9 horse Briggs engine mounted up on my Bush Hog flail mower today. I mowed weeds in my field today to get it ready to moldboard plow later in month. Works great and I like it on my cub 982. Got some great seat time and mower worked great.

We're gonna get video of the plowing when that happens........right???

Nice mower!

No thicker that was I would have just plowed it under. You get too much dead grass on top and the plow will just plug up.

That's a nice setup, Jerry!

Thanks guys! I didnt mow it last year and spent more time unplugging my plow than I plowed. Im trying this way now. The taller weeds and grass just clog up and drag on the plow even without coulter wheel on. Everybody has there own way but im trying this based off last years plug fest with tall weeds and grass.

Nice set up Jerry,:beerchug: another thing to add to my wish list:bigthink:

Thanks Zippy1, I got this one without engine but had everything else including all knives that are freshly sharpened. I havnt seen to many of them and thought it was a neat flail mower to go on 982.:beerchug:

Looks good! What you could do is spray it next time then plow around it a few times and burn it off. Have to be careful burning though . We did some weedy wheat stubble like that one time , had all the neighbors excited ! Especially since it was at night! Lol

They do a pretty good job. I'm happy with mine. Gotta rework the exhaust because I'm tired of it blowing at the back of my head.

Im happy with mine also SamMac. It did an awesome job cutting up weeds and corn stalks. It puurrrs and doesnt lack at all for power. Next im gonna repaint it.

We will be flail mowing in a couple months,, if SamMac has his way,,

Today, I had to see if my new to me tractor would handle the flail mower,,
I had some 8" tall pasture grass to try it on.
it did it perfectly,, 90" wide cut at about 5 1/2 MPH.

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8k5v7ukq.jpg

Will it hang over a ditch,, or what!!?? :bigthink:

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/...pscifwbv1t.jpg

John you need to touch up the paint on the wheels and do something about that seat. It's not like you to run a machine that doesn't look like it just came out of the factory. :biggrin2:

Yea,, it JUST arrived,, it is my "Spring" project.
I would like it to be warm enough for the paint to dry,,, :biggrin2:

OK, I'll let it slide. :biggrin2:

sorry to pull this out of the archives.
Would someone with one of those pull behind flail mowers mind posting a couple pics of the underside?
I am considering building one and I want to see what things look like underneath the smaller units.

It's just a rotating tube with swinging knives. Google "flail mower" and click "images". They spin really fast, and need balanced. You'd be hard pressed to build one without a lathe and really good welder. Plus you'll have to find someone to balance the shaft, and you will have to buy the blades/knives/hammers (whatever you choose). By the time you buy all the stuff, you can go find a Bush Hog unit and buy it. It's kind of like making you're own lawn mower. Easier to buy one.

Oh trust me I would love to just buy one, I don't need another project right now that's for sure... trouble is the new ones are outrageous, and I cant find a used one around here to save my life... not even a PTO unit I could convert!

Took 2 years for me to find a planter. Believe me, building a flail mower is going to cost you more than buying one. (I'm not convinced you have the tooling it requires anyway. You'd likely have to source out some of the work.) Just stop thinking about it. You'll find one. Be patient. You survived without it this long, you don't "need" it that bad.

it's ok, I know you don't know what I am capable of but I do know my limitations so don't worry about it... I will let you know when it's done :biggrin2:

You prolly have more luck finding one of these.
I have one without a motor, it is nos...blah blah

How long is the one you have? want to sell it?

It is 38" wide and no it is not for sale.

ok, figured it wouldn't hurt to ask

Might want to reconsider, that little guy would pay for the 26 footer going to South Kooka-Munga.

Forgive what may seem like a stupid question, but what is the advantage of a flail mower over a rotary mower? Maybe won't throw objects? A finish mower costs half of a same width flail mower costs, so there must be some advantage. Agrisupply.com has a 47 inch flail for $2100.

All the highway mowers around here are flail--less objects thrown. I've never seen anyone use one outside of that. Look expensive to maintain to me. I'm thinking the lawnmower sized versions will go through heavier grass than a regular mowing deck.

Here, rather than typing it out:
https://blog.lawneq.com/different-mo...s-flail-mower/


They chop stuff up better than a bush hog type mower.


And our wonder boy who doesn't have a welder than will handle even 1/4" thick steel thinks he can make the center tube (check out the pics of the tube in that article), weld on the brackets, balance it, cut out the end pieces, bend the metal to make the top.... gonna be pretty hard to do without a (pretty large) lathe, bigger welder, enormous brake and either a track torch, water jet or a really steady hand on the torch. :biggrin2:

Excellent info. thanks!

This was my last project... I guess a simple mower just seems pretty easy after this :bigthink:

Attachment 90711Attachment 90712
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There's 100's of hrs represented in those four pics, but you get the idea. :beerchug:

That's great and all.... but welding a bunch of square tubing together is about like framing a house. It's easy. I mean... it's a square tube frame. You did a good job and all, but none of those parts spin 1500 RPM. I don't think you grasp it. Go ahead and build one, but I'm not standing anywhere near it if you use the welder you used the other day.

You ever weld up a driveshaft, but didn't balance it? You drove it and it would shake a cup from the cup holder at 50mph.... that's what you're going to be dealing with. If that shaft isn't straight, welded even and balanced.... it will shake apart.

I understand the concept, I guess I just figured it wouldn't be naturally out of balance enough to cause an issue except for some unwanted vibration... (like our Kohler's we are tossing the balance gears out on) I figured I would build the shaft, spin it up (without the knives) and see how bad it is and go from there...

Jon

I'm not sure these things are all that well balanced. I know my bush hog shakes when it get's some buildup on the blades. I think your being overly negative towards the OP. :biggrin2:

So, what about adding some sort of harmonic balancer...:bigthink:

Those don't balance. They absorb shock load to keep the shaft from breaking.

Sam, I assure you, they have been designed with balance in mind. Whether they are actually balanced or not, I doubt. But the center shaft and the smaller shafts on the end the bearings ride on, are centered. All the weld on pieces are very close to the same weight as they are manufactured, not individually made by hand. They likely are robot welded, so the weld is almost the same every time. Hand welding, you may put more weld on one bracket, and less on another. That affects balance.

Yes, when it gets stuff on it, it will throw the balance off. But that is different than say, not getting the bearing shaft centered.


I have no idea how to communicate the reality of this. No example I can think of would be something everyone can understand.

*Chopper in a combine is similar in size to what a small flail mower would be, and roughly the same speed. They have to be balanced. If you lose a knife or two, you can feel it shaking in the cab. Run it too long, and you will lose the bearings in it. Keep doing it and it will start breaking the super structure around the bearing.

*Driveshaft in a truck. Smaller in diameter, and quite a bit longer. But go out and knock the balance weights off of it and tell me you can't feel it. Drive it for a while and it will eat the tailshaft bushing out of the trans, and throw the pinion bearing out.

*Balance weight on a tire. Yes, a tire is larger, but spins relatively slow. At 60 MPH, a 33" tall tire turns at around 611 RPM. Take the (tiny) balance weight off and drive it. You'll feel it. Other than ride, it likely won't affect any bearings or anything.

Point is.... at the speed that drum needs to turn, it has to be pretty close. Balanced on a machine would be better.... but if the bearing shaft isn't welded on the same on both sides, it is going to take a lot to balance it. If the bearing shaft isn't true, even with a self aligning bearing, it will wobble the bearing and it will wear out the flange/block it is in.


Overly negative??? Nah. Overly realistic.... probably.
I'm not saying it can't be done. If you have a lathe to chuck the drum in to put the shafts on, and weld the brackets on. Something you can accurately space them. (If they aren't accurate, it will throw the balance off big time.) Then a way to equally make the end plates to ensure that the drum is in the housing straight. Yeah... it can be done. I mean, they do mass produce them. But the OP already posted pics of his welds with a welder he stated "Struggles with 1/4" steel"..... I'm not buying that the 25yr old mechanic has the tooling and knowledge to make one. Sorry if that offends him, or anyone.


When I was around 25, I thought I was smart enough to shorten a driveshaft myself without a lathe, or a MIG welder. I did it. It worked..... but it shook my ass like you wouldn't believe. I took it out 2 or 3 times trying to get it right. Never did. I didn't own it long enough or drive far enough to tear it up. But it wasn't good on things. I had the trans out several times with different issues. Now that I have more experience under my belt, I'm pretty sure that vibration was part of the issue. (Main issue was it had a blue oval on the grille.) Lesson learned. Now trying to pass it on. But, as usual, I'm just grouchy.

I’ll agree with Jon on his 2 arguments. Our family business bought the early 90s GMCs for fleet trucks and we got one with an extra long frame to put a box body on. Specifically ordered it with a manual trans (I believe it was an nv4500 with auxiliary pto) so we could run a rear 15k winch to get up those not made yet steep NY driveways that everyone had to have to get the best view from their new modular :biggrin2: Anyway, we welded in the old tow truck winch and my uncles were sure they could make a long drive shaft from that trans to the winch. Wel, they did, but it vibrated like crazy and they tried to balance it about 10 Times, straighten it, everything, no dice. They got it “kind of” balanced and after using it as much as we always did, it took out that pto and that was expensive.

I will say though that Cadet Mike looks like he’s becoming/already good fabricator though with that buggy build. If he wants to try it then have at it, if it turns out there’s no vibes then he’s better than most of us. It does look like he has a Hobart handler maybe 140 or so. That machine does struggle with 1/4 inch and if you’re going to use it for 1-4 the metal needs to be preheated and then it will do it on the highest heat setting. Cadet Mike are you using flux core wire with that or solid core? Good luck anyway.

I know you asked him, but it's solid wire with gas. You can tell by the weld it makes.

I apparently also missed the bottle and regulator behind it too.

I was thinking the same thing about comparing to a combine straw shopper. JMech is not exaggerating about shaking the entire combine, been there done that myself. Maybe a combine chopper turns faster--after all its designed to funnel 12-16 feet of matl into a 3-4 ft chopper. I think he's just being cautious and realistic about what could happen on a build your own machine.

thanks to everyone for the good conversation and help(?)!!... It turns out I had an issue with the welder I was not aware of when I complained of it not handling 1/4", pics are of some 1/4" I welded on the buggy with that same welder.

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I have access to a metal shear and hole punch for making the brackets to be welded on the tube, so uniformity is an easy thing to accomplish. I am also planning on running a solid shaft through the tube the entire length to eliminate the issue of shaft alignment. Centering it in the tube can be done with a caliper, v-blocks and some shims on a flat surface. self aligning pillow-block bearings at both ends will also increase my chances of success.

Welding the brackets on the tube evenly is a simple matter of building a jig to hold them uniformly, and yes I will need a steady hand with the welder and even beads to have a chance of having something close to balanced, but therein lies the challenge and I like challenges.

Jon is right, I am welding with gas. If I need to weld something thick I have access to a Hobart 240 as well as a 250 amp stick welder.

Jon. I appreciate your concern(?) and insight, and it may amaze you to know that nothing you have been telling me is new news.
I routinely find myself trying not to be offended when you are speaking with me, by now I am pretty used to it so... whatever. Again I say, you do not know me so I ask you not judge my capabilities based on age, or occupation, or tools for that matter. There are things I can do and things I can't and I am well aware of my limitations. Maybe eventually you will understand that.