Did some real brush hogging this PM

   / Did some real brush hogging this PM #1  

RalphVa

Super Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2003
Messages
7,873
Location
Charlottesville, VA, USA
Tractor
JD 2025R, previously Gravely 5650 & JD 4010 & JD 1025R
No snow yet, and I've finished grinding leaves and brush with my MacKissis chipper/shredder. So, I put a newly ground ($5 only) chipper blade onto the Mac, parked it and mounted the ole LX4 brush hog again before servicing its blades.

This was my first brush-hog-only work. I just cranked the top link up short so the LX4 would lift fairly high and just lowered it over some brush and small trees. One autumn olive had to be attacked by the FEL first to make it go under the LX4, but I got er done.

It's a good time to brush hog. Can see stuff much more plainly now, even taller rocks among the brush to know not to lower too much at that spot, etc.

Getting some brush taken out that has persisted since I bought the property.

Ordered 80 small trees to go along the tree bank. Will be brush hogging that area tomorrow to get it clear to put the seedlings in when they come in March. That's a back-up, turn a bit and back-up again operation. Don't want to get close to the edge of the bank with the tractor.

Ralph
 
   / Did some real brush hogging this PM
  • Thread Starter
#2  
Finished the brush hogging. So, I removed the tail wheel on the LX4 and took the blades off. Both nuts were not that tight. I reused the old nuts (the originals) last year when I sharpened the blades. JD's manual says to recheck tightness after 10 hours if doing this. I did and retightened them. I've concluded that I need new nuts this year.

Do you guys replace your nuts when putting your blades back on?

Ralph
 
   / Did some real brush hogging this PM #3  
I've never replaced the nuts on mine. Just the blades twice now.

Why would you replce the nuts? Mine are torqued down to 400 lbs and have always remained very tight, even when I break off a blade, the nuts and bolts have held.

Eddie
 
   / Did some real brush hogging this PM
  • Thread Starter
#4  
These nuts are similar to Nyloc, but without any teflon areas. They came off and go on (new) rather tight. A pair of new nuts costed $14.50 at JD today.

The problem with tightening them, short of buying a very expensive torque wrench that goes up to 450 ft lb, is knowing how tight you're getting them. I use a 6' piece of pipe and therefore should be applying about 70-75 lb of pressure on the end of it. I basically pushed until the nut didn't seem to move any more under a fair bit of push. Rechecked it after 10 hours of operation. Were not very tight when I took them off this time.

I've an air torque wrench that goes up to 550 ft lb, but I don't know what the graduations are on the "clicker" that controls the torque. It's a 1/2" drive Farmhand. (My 1 1/2" socket I'm using is 3/4" drive, and I have a 1/2-3/4 converter.)

Ralph
 
   / Did some real brush hogging this PM #5  
I recently replaced my blades after breaking one in an unfortunate incident involving a hidden 20 gallon propane tank. I torqued the nuts with a hand powered breaker bar as tight as I safely could. I checked after a half day of work and needed to torque them again, then I checked them at the end of the day and they needed only a little more tightening. I check ed them again after the next half day and they hadn't budged. I concluded that the nuts were either compressing something or just needed to be tight for awhile to become locked in place. Who knows, maybe the bolts were stretching.

I would expect to retighten the nuts a couple of times and then never again until you need to remove the blades. If after a half dozen tightenings the nuts kept loosening then I'd consider a change.
 
 
 
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