How do I get clean cut with Brush Hog?

   / How do I get clean cut with Brush Hog? #1  

granteck

New member
Joined
Jul 7, 2012
Messages
7
Location
Waterbury Center, Vermont
Tractor
Kubota B9200
I have a Kubota 9200 and was running an old Dorsey 5" Brush hog (probably made back in 1950's) and was getting a nice clean cut, but last year the gear box seal went. Looking at repairing it but the stump jumper is welded to the shaft, no nut. Going to take sometime to get it apart and to find the parts. In the meantime I picked up a 54" Woods Heritage and no matter how I try to set it up I get a poor cut. I have the front slightly lower than the rear, but it tends to leave a row that looks like I ran it over and did not cut it. It takes multiple pases to get the field cut consistently. Running PTO at 540 and engine at high throttle and tranny in low gear so I am not going fast. At first I thought that maybe the blades were on backwards or the rotation was backwards. Blades have a good edge on them.

I am not looking for a mowed field like i would get with a regular mower. I am just looking to get a consistent cut and not leave the stragglers behind. Any ideas on why I am getting such a poor cut would be appreciated.
 
   / How do I get clean cut with Brush Hog? #2  
My guess is that with the Woods Heritage series being an economy cutter it has a low blade tip speed. The cutters with a higher blade tip speed make a cleaner cut and pick up more of the grass the wheels run over. One trick to try is mow the first round clockwise, then the next round counterclockwise, back and forth This will help to pick up that strip that the outside wheels mash down.
 
   / How do I get clean cut with Brush Hog? #3  
Blade speed is 14,657 fpm @ 540 rpm. While there are certainly faster cutters out there, it seems to be in line with many others in the 60" range. Certainly not the slowest. Of course, when cutting grass, blade speed is king. My HC54 does what I need it to do as long as I keep the speed low in the tall grass. If I'm just tending to the trails, which never get too high, I can cruise along at a pretty good clip.

Verticaltrx has a good idea to try picking up the mashed, driven over grass. I've never tried it, as I've been satisfied with the results I've had, but the OP may want to give it a try.

Joe
 
   / How do I get clean cut with Brush Hog? #4  
I don't know about a woods mower but I have seen some that the cut was improved by closing off the hole in the deck os as to get better a better suck on the grass. lay something over the hole and see if it helps. Its a cheep try and if it helps you can do it right
 
   / How do I get clean cut with Brush Hog? #5  
Is your deck level? Get on a smooth level surface and measure from the bottom of the deck skirt to the ground on both sides and use you're leveling box to get them the same. When I used to mow with a rotary mower I could get a pretty nice job this way. Not finish mower quality, but close. Are you saying that high idle gets you 540 RPM?
 
   / How do I get clean cut with Brush Hog?
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Thanks to everyone who replied. I have the front about 1" lower than the rear which is what Woods and all the writeups recommend. When I said 540 that was the PTO setting. I run the rpms at a high setting. I didn't look at the tach. The strip that it leaves is not in line with the wheels. It appears to more right down the center. do other brush hogs do a better job. I can't switch to a real mower until I get the fields leveled out. Right now I keep flipping up rocks and logs so it is too rough.

Any other feedback would be appreciated.
 
   / How do I get clean cut with Brush Hog? #7  
Just for grins, try raising the whole deck up or down and see if it makes a difference. I've got a feeling you may be cutting too high. You may have to lower the tail wheel. Having the front of the deck 3"s lower than the rear won't hurt either.
I still don't understand your pto speed. Are you saying you san run the PTO speed and the tractor speed independantly? No matter what, you want that pto speed at 540 or more, for me that works out to about 2,000 RPM. Adjust the tractor speed with the gears. You may want to go down a gear. Is your pto live or independant?
If it's set up right there's no reason you shouldn't get a nice cut.
 
   / How do I get clean cut with Brush Hog? #8  
you might want to check the ratio on the bushog just to make sure its right
cheers stuart
 
   / How do I get clean cut with Brush Hog? #9  
Is the woods a brush hog or a finishing mower? sounds like the woods mower has 2 blades and is leaving a streak where the two blades over lap. Does the woods have belts on it?
 
   / How do I get clean cut with Brush Hog? #10  
Did your old cutter have a stump jump or just a blade bar? Normally a cutter with a large round blade carrier will not cut as clean as one with just a bar. Also lots of old cutters used shorter blades vs. newer cutters 2ft. long blades.
 
 
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