Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[leonz]

Tried this before with no luck. I have a Mott 5 ' flail mower with a square gear box. Looking for the two gears in side, or the whole box.

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First try Flailmaster then Boston Gear then Alamo.

 

[leonz]

Tried this before with no luck. I have a Mott 5 ' flail mower with a square gear box. Looking for the two gears in side, or the whole box.

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First try Flailmaster then Boston Gear then Alamo.

 

[glm1965]

After reading all these threads on flail mowers, decided I needed one. Was pretty well set on the Caroni 1900. However, found a used JD370 in excellent shape for about the same money. Drove 300 miles to pick it up. Got it home ,checked it out, greased and away I went to mow the tallest grass on the farm I could find. All I can say is "WOW !".Amazing how this thing cuts, And so quiet . Of all my attachments .
,this is by far my favorite. Never see me using my rotary finish mower again . Going to try flush cut knives next but can`t imagine any better cut than what I get now. Short story , I love this mower!

 

[leonz]

After reading all these threads on flail mowers, decided I needed one. Was pretty well set on the Caroni 1900. However, found a used JD370 in excellent shape for about the same money. Drove 300 miles to pick it up. Got it home ,checked it out, greased and away I went to mow the tallest grass on the farm I could find. All I can say is "WOW !".Amazing how this thing cuts, And so quiet . Of all my attachments .
,this is by far my favorite. Never see me using my rotary finish mower again . Going to try flush cut knives next but can`t imagine any better cut than what I get now. Short story , I love this mower!

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I want to welcome you as the newest member of the Flail Mower Nation.
We ran 7 foot 25A for years reclaiming pasture down to a two inch cut.
If you have any questions pleae3 post them here and we wil be a happy
to answer them for you.

Do you have the scoop knives or the side slicers knives? It sounds like you have the side slicers
they will last you a very long time. I have 26 year old side slicer knives on my flail mower.


If you can purchase a wet well kitchen knive grinder from northern tool invest in one as the
wet grinding willprevetn losing the temper on the cutting edges.

NOW be sure to check under the V belt guard and dig out all the rubber dust and be sure to
grease the fittings you find there with a coouple of shots of grease.


If you have not done it already change the gear oil in the gearbox.

If you changed the V belt great-if not check to make sure it is not rotting pull the
palm of your hand along the v belt and if rubber is falling off the belt it is time to change it.

If the belt is frayed on the sides it is time to change it.

The Kevlar green belts give the best shock resistance and longest wear.

 

[glm1965]

Just got my shipment of new heavy duty "y" knives from flail master. I was expecting them to be sharp like a rotary mower blade, they are not. They have a very small radius edge. Is this the norm or do I need to sharpen them . Fail mowers are new to me, so I would like your advice. Guess the ones already on my used JD 370 are not that dull after all. Just thought new blades would have a sharp edge. For future reference, would flush cut knives be better if mainly cutting grass and pasture land. It is all pretty well rock free. Thanks to all for the info.

 

[IslandTractor]

Just got my shipment of new heavy duty "y" knives from flail master. I was expecting them to be sharp like a rotary mower blade, they are not. They have a very small radius edge. Is this the norm or do I need to sharpen them . Fail mowers are new to me, so I would like your advice. Guess the ones already on my used JD 370 are not that dull after all. Just thought new blades would have a sharp edge. For future reference, would flush cut knives be better if mainly cutting grass and pasture land. It is all pretty well rock free. Thanks to all for the info.

No need to sharpen them. I use the same Flailmaster knives. I am not sure about finish mowers but the flail blades are definitely sharper than a typical bush hog blade. The flailmaster blades are just as sharp as the factory Caroni blades.

I don't recall the comparative feet per second of blade speed compared to a rotary mower but that certainly is a factor in how well flails cut. Maybe Leonz will enlighten us. I believe he has a direct 800 line to the flail Gods.

 

[leonz]

2,000 plus revolutions per minute depending on the V Belt pulley size and rotor diameter.

the rotary mower comparison is almost 13,000 feet per minute and that tears the grass and brush.

 

[Thomabear]

I'm spinning the scoop knives which were also blunt at the edge when new. In agreement with Island Tractor and leonz there is no requirement or need to sharpen them. My Vrisimo drum turns at 1850 RPM and the blade tip speed is 10212 FPM. I keep up a 5 acre lawn and the cut is near that of a golf coarse. The scoop knives are only rated to 1" saplings but it will do all of that and then some, turning brush into mulch. Although not as aggressive as the Y knives the scoop knives leave a better finish. The only draw back is that with the added lift they tend to stir up more dust in bare ground areas.

 

[IslandTractor]

2,000 plus revolutions per minute depending on the V Belt pulley size and rotor diameter.

the rotary comparison is almost 13,000 rpm and that tears the grass and brush.

I think your rotary estimate of 13,000 rpm should be feet per minute at the blade tip. 13,000 RPM in a grossly balanced mower blade is a very scary thought.

I'm guessing here but it seems the speed of the blade is probably about the same for finish but and flail. I'm guessing the bush hogs have slightly lower blade speed given the heft of those blades and that they don't really cut but mangle whatever they contact.

 

[leonz]

Your right, that was scary. I was tired,I will fix it.