Flail Mower Flail mower, blades

   / Flail mower, blades #1  

Hookblock

Silver Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2007
Messages
201
Location
WI
Tractor
JD 4310
I have a alamo hd 88, it has the light blades on it. Alot are missing so I am looking to replace with what I have, or go to heavier blades if it would make a differance. I have a JD 4310 and it handles it just fine, it would be mostly used for brush up to 1.5'', fire lanes, and ditch banks. The mower works good now even with the the missing blades, I some times have to make 2 passes in opposite directions to get every thing. If I went with heavier blades do I trade alot of HP? And with the heavier blade do I get better results in 1 pass? Thanks for any info.
 
   / Flail mower, blades #2  
Lighter blades will give a better finish cut, finer cut.
Larger heavier knives are for a rougher cut, heavier brush either will chew up about anything you run over but the heavy knives will stand up to a lot of abuse without bending or breaking.
I have both types on different mowers I do not think you will notice much difference HP wise with either, unless you are about maxed out now with some blades missing. With a full set of new blades, either type, you will get a clean cut, But if you are going to be cutting heavy brush I would get the heavier knives, they will last longer KennyV.
 
   / Flail mower, blades #3  
If you plan on cutting brush that is 1.5" I would definitely get the heavy duty knifes for it, if you use the lighter ones you will be breaking and bending the knifes. I have heavy duty knifes on my flail and I occasionally mow some of the grass that I use the finish mower for and heavy duty knifes mow just as well on the light stuff as they do heavy brush. Sometimes I have a hard time getting all the heavy brush also, all you need to do is slow down and let the mower creep along and chew all the brush up. As for trading HP for heavier knifes, I do not see any reason why the heavier knifes would require more HP to spin them.
 
   / Flail mower, blades #4  
Hookblock, with the missing blades does it not throw your cutter out of balance? I thought with the RPMS of the flail mower that would be a major negative impact? Am I wrong?

As to different blades, no idea on your mower but some do not have options or very basic options to the blades. I used a mower with heavy grass blades it did good on grass and light brush other than oak, which it just debarked. It would cut most hardwood up to about 2 inch and pine maybe 3 inches. That mower did not use the cheap bent blades some do. Changed it to a chipper type blade and it did some better. kt
 
   / Flail mower, blades #5  
   / Flail mower, blades #6  
if you're mowing heavy brush, i'd put nothing but the best/heaviest i could...i've ripped off way more than i though i would in the thick stuff i've been working int.....

i even twisted my driveshaft on saturday.......

1.5" is pretty big....do baby bites, or set it down slowly...

i'll tell you, a bush hog may be better for saplings, etc, but if it's just heavy briars, brush, etc. the fail will flat out chew it up and grind it until there is almost nothing left.......i love my super hd 88"!
 
   / Flail mower, blades #7  
How old is the 88? The oldest models won't be balanced if you change the knives to heavier ones. I've got two Mott SHD 88s (both ancient with the old-style cuttershaft bearings) and they can both take the heavier rock-knives with no troubles though. Other than that, it's a win-win situation. The knives cut heavier stuff better and last longer. I can't see how they'd produce a worse cut than the light-duty rock knives.

edit: just reread the original post and you said Alamo 88, not Mott 88, so you've automatically got the "good" cuttershaft AFAIK. It's the earliest models of Mott (before they got bought by Alamo) that are limited to the original knives.
 
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   / Flail mower, blades
  • Thread Starter
#8  
Thanks for all the advice, I am sold on the heavy blades. So now the next question after looking at flail master (thank you :)) is the HD, Extreme svc, or the forged blades. and what sets the forged apart? If the forged is the best blade I don't mind spending the money. What I am cutting is a mix of honeysuckle, wild raspberry, buckthorn, prickly ash, and some light grass on fire lanes (stumps and rocks will be an issue). I got the mower used its not pretty to look at, but it did exceed my expectations. With 22 blades missing, it is out of balance, so I have only made 2 test runs with it. Flatheadyoungin on your 88 on the belt end of the gear box shaft I have a hole that looks like it might be for a grease fitting?(3rd pic) Thanks again for the help
 

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   / Flail mower, blades #9  
yes, that's for a grease fitting........i ripped mine out the other day before i realized you can adjust the grease fitting tip.....the threads seem smaller than any other replacement zerk i have......

you'll be simply amazed how much smoother it runs when you replace the blades........mine shakes when i lose one.......

be sure to order extra pins and, i call them horse shoes......i've lost several of both when i get in to heavy rocks, hit a stump, etc......and losing them will shut your job down......don't forget extra blades......buy a few more than what it takes replace what is missing......

my idler pulley was jumping around a LOT when i brought it up to pto speed...i inspected the belt and it looked absolutely fine.....but i put a new belt and spring on it and the jumping went away.....i wish i had an extra belt, now.....some times in very heavy vines, briars, etc it will wrap around the drum and bring it to a halt, smoking the belt.....i'm sure it can only take that a few times and i don't want to have any down time, i love my flail over my bush hog (both have their dis/advantages)......i can't find the belt at any local supply even the industrial places...

i ordered flailmaster's box of cotter keys.......they aren't what they have pictured in the book.....their's is the next size smaller in diameter and too long (they get ripped out easily when their too long)........a neighbor brought me a short, fatter style that fit the hole in the pin better.........

i try to grease mine alot because, like your's, it looks like it may have a million hours on it.......there is one on each end, of the main large bearings, the one you have missing, one next to that for the idler and one down by the gearbox in the driveshaft tube....you have to roll the drum around to get to it....there's no bearing or anything, it's just a driveshaft coupler that connect the solid drivshaft to the output shaft of the gearbox......the one behind the the pulley is way back in there and hard to find the first couple of times and if dirt is built up, it's hard to see...

well, that's more than you wanted to know!:rolleyes:

Thanks for all the advice, I am sold on the heavy blades. So now the next question after looking at flail master (thank you :)) is the HD, Extreme svc, or the forged blades. and what sets the forged apart? If the forged is the best blade I don't mind spending the money. What I am cutting is a mix of honeysuckle, wild raspberry, buckthorn, prickly ash, and some light grass on fire lanes (stumps and rocks will be an issue). I got the mower used its not pretty to look at, but it did exceed my expectations. With 22 blades missing, it is out of balance, so I have only made 2 test runs with it. Flatheadyoungin on your 88 on the belt end of the gear box shaft I have a hole that looks like it might be for a grease fitting?(3rd pic) Thanks again for the help
 
   / Flail mower, blades #10  
do you have the large housing guard for covering the belt? when you back in to stuff or cut through heavy stuff sticks like to get in to the belt.........

Thanks for all the advice, I am sold on the heavy blades. So now the next question after looking at flail master (thank you :)) is the HD, Extreme svc, or the forged blades. and what sets the forged apart? If the forged is the best blade I don't mind spending the money. What I am cutting is a mix of honeysuckle, wild raspberry, buckthorn, prickly ash, and some light grass on fire lanes (stumps and rocks will be an issue). I got the mower used its not pretty to look at, but it did exceed my expectations. With 22 blades missing, it is out of balance, so I have only made 2 test runs with it. Flatheadyoungin on your 88 on the belt end of the gear box shaft I have a hole that looks like it might be for a grease fitting?(3rd pic) Thanks again for the help
 
 
 
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