Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[gbw]

You wouldn't believe it , after I made that statement yesterday , I nearly step on this Eastern Brown in my yard today . One this size can kill a stadium full of people with it's venom supply . I don't like killing anything , but I draw the line at these things in the yard . He got relocated to Heaven .

Good call. Pretty shotgun.

[kiotidk45SE]

I got a 88 Alamo flail from a State auction in Virginia for $400. I put $144 worth of hammer, springs, etc on it, lubed it and it cuts very nice. I will not go back to a RC after running this flail.

[gtrippleb]

I've been reading through this thread for most of the day and I've pretty much made up my mind that I'm going to get a flail mower vs a rotary cutter. My question is, depending on what a used flail mower needs, what would you guess would be an average cost in bringing a used one up to a good working condition? The reason I ask is that I've found a few used ones for a pretty cheap price, a Motts and a Ford. I would assume the Motts probably has better parts availability than the ford, but the ford is cheaper. I'm looking at a 60" mower that I'll be pulling with a CCY Sc2400 that has 24 hp. I'm thinking I'll be ok with the size after reading some of the posts.

[J_J]

This is a good site for parts.

Flail-Master - Mower Replacement Parts, Commercial Riding Mower Parts, Rotary Cutter Parts, Blade grinders, Trimmer Line, Mowing Accessories - Flail Master - Flailmaster -

[Reg]

I've been reading through this thread for most of the day and I've pretty much made up my mind that I'm going to get a flail mower vs a rotary cutter. My question is, depending on what a used flail mower needs, what would you guess would be an average cost in bringing a used one up to a good working condition? The reason I ask is that I've found a few used ones for a pretty cheap price, a Motts and a Ford. I would assume the Motts probably has better parts availability than the ford, but the ford is cheaper. I'm looking at a 60" mower that I'll be pulling with a CCY Sc2400 that has 24 hp. I'm thinking I'll be ok with the size after reading some of the posts.

Kinda depends what it needs (-:
A set of hammers is easy enough to price and that is regular maintenance anyway.
Bearings ? again probably not a lot of money and they are standardized parts, but could be a hassle to change.
Then there is the manufacturer specific and perhaps hard to get stuff, like a rear roller.
I think I would price out the usual stuff for the mowers you are considering and take it from there.
That little price shopping expedition should give you all the info you need on parts availability too, after all if you can't get it then cheap doesn't count.

[gtrippleb]

Thanks for the answers. I pretty much figured it would depend on the items that need to be changed. Talking with the person that has the motts, the blades have about 75% life left and he has replaced the bearings. So even though it's more money, it might be cheaper in the long run as I wouldn't have to replace the blades after I bought it. I haven't been able to get in touch with the person with ford flail mower so I don't know what the condition of it is in.

[Iron Horse]

So I said to the guy today , is there anything laying in that long grass I should know about ? No mate , shes all good . 1/2 hour later , sorry mate , I forgot about that old truck axle .

[GinNB]

Got any "after" pix of the flail?

[jmfox]

So I said to the guy today , is there anything laying in that long grass I should know about ? No mate , shes all good . 1/2 hour later , sorry mate , I forgot about that old truck axle .

Does sorry mean he's responsible?

jmf

[Iron Horse]

GinNB , no damage to the flail , it's built like a tank .

jmfox , that'll be the day .


It's easy to do when the tractor is travelling at a couple of feet a second and it takes two seconds to get your clutch in and the brake on AFTER you are alerted by feel or sound . The grass was about 5 feet tall and I had the rake down , feeling my way but the protruding right side of the flail found the axle .