txslowpoke
Bronze Member
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2007
- Messages
- 54
This is total redneck, but I think it will work for my needs. Would Like opinions good or bad. I need some sort of weed cutter for approx 2-300 acres we recreationly use. A tractor is not in our budget.
I have access to large metal reels that wire rope is sold on. These reels vary from 4' to 6' in diameter and 5-6' in width, empty weight in the 700lb range. They are built to hold 20,000 lbs plus of wire rope(steel cable) when full.My idea is to take reel and weld 3"x3" angle iron every 14-16"s across the flange of the reel( from side to side), In effect building large diameter stalk cutter, hopefuly with out the major Jarring effect. Like the one I used this yr, it had 4 blades that my grandfather pulled behind a poppin johnny many moons ago. The reel I am thinking about using has a roughly 2'hollow steel core with a 4" center hole. So if I need more weight I can add sand,cement etc. for extra weight to increase cutting depth/ground pressure.
At the 4" center hole I will use trailer spindles,bearings,hubs etc and build the trailer style tongue off that to hook to tow vehicle which is an old 4x4 truck. like a field packer of sorts but larger diameter. Each 3x3 angle iron section will be ground to a sharp edge, by grinder. Mainly rolling over cactus and weeds and a few small trees. Basically whatever I can pull it over without tearing my ranch truck up.
Reason for this idea is that this past year we have weeds over 5' tall with the rains we had, no way to cut them with out spending big$$. I have a big piece I-beam I can and have dragged to knock the weeds down, plus the old stalk cutter which beats the snot out of ya. The stalk cutter yielded the best results since new grass is growing and the drag area by I-Beam has less grass growing. The soil varies from soft sand to red dirt.
I have access to large metal reels that wire rope is sold on. These reels vary from 4' to 6' in diameter and 5-6' in width, empty weight in the 700lb range. They are built to hold 20,000 lbs plus of wire rope(steel cable) when full.My idea is to take reel and weld 3"x3" angle iron every 14-16"s across the flange of the reel( from side to side), In effect building large diameter stalk cutter, hopefuly with out the major Jarring effect. Like the one I used this yr, it had 4 blades that my grandfather pulled behind a poppin johnny many moons ago. The reel I am thinking about using has a roughly 2'hollow steel core with a 4" center hole. So if I need more weight I can add sand,cement etc. for extra weight to increase cutting depth/ground pressure.
At the 4" center hole I will use trailer spindles,bearings,hubs etc and build the trailer style tongue off that to hook to tow vehicle which is an old 4x4 truck. like a field packer of sorts but larger diameter. Each 3x3 angle iron section will be ground to a sharp edge, by grinder. Mainly rolling over cactus and weeds and a few small trees. Basically whatever I can pull it over without tearing my ranch truck up.
Reason for this idea is that this past year we have weeds over 5' tall with the rains we had, no way to cut them with out spending big$$. I have a big piece I-beam I can and have dragged to knock the weeds down, plus the old stalk cutter which beats the snot out of ya. The stalk cutter yielded the best results since new grass is growing and the drag area by I-Beam has less grass growing. The soil varies from soft sand to red dirt.