What to look at in a used bush hog

   / What to look at in a used bush hog
  • Thread Starter
#11  
Should fit. Thanks Bruce.
 
   / What to look at in a used bush hog #12  
QBH said:
...will a 4' bush hog fit in the back of my wife's F-250?

Larry
Click to expand...

I carried a 60" Landpride cutter in the bed of a Ford Ranger years ago...not a pleasant drive since the cutter had to lie on an angle with one side skirt on the bed's top rail...and the cutter was longer then the bed. However, it was doable for a 25 mile drive.
A 4' cutter in an F-250 should be no problem.
 
   / What to look at in a used bush hog #13  
RoyJackson said:
If at all possible, have the seller rig it to his tractor so you can see how well it works or if there are any unexpected noises....if you're no familiar with rotary cutters, they all make some racket initially.
Click to expand...
X2. You beat me to it.
 
   / What to look at in a used bush hog #14  
I bought a used cutter last summer. Here are a couple of other pointers:

If you can't see it work on a tractor, spin the blades by hand and listen for grinding or chattering noises from the gear box. Look for wobble in the blades or shaft that might indicate bends. The blades should spin on their own after you start them rotating, with a soft whirring noise and no wobble.

Sight down all four sides to see if the deck is warped, indicating that it got torqued either by having it jacknife with the tractor down in a gully, or because it hit something too fast. Grab the gear box with both hands and wrench it from side to side, looking for looseness and listening for thumps, which might indicate worn out bearings or mounting bolts that have stripped holes to bang around in. Inspect for stress cracks around the base of the gearbox. Some of the light duty cutters have pretty flimsy decks and light bracing, and they can get bent or broken.

Make sure the tailwheel swivel mount is not worn out from lack of grease.

I bought my King Kutter from a retired engineer who said he greased it before every use. He felt the deck flexed too much so he welded a brace on the front of it (like a bumper on a car), and welded square plates around the gear box mounting area, both above and below deck, making the deck triple-thick in that area. The net result is a medium duty cutter for the price of a used light duty model, and I'm very pleased with it. You can also tell a lot from the demeanor and character of the seller. Does he look fly-by-night, or does he look like he takes care of his stuff? In what kind of shape is his other equipment?
 
   / What to look at in a used bush hog #15  
coss said:
I bought a used cutter last summer. Here are a couple of other pointers:

If you can't see it work on a tractor, spin the blades by hand and listen for grinding or chattering noises from the gear box. Look for wobble in the blades or shaft that might indicate bends. The blades should spin on their own after you start them rotating, with a soft whirring noise and no wobble.

Sight down all four sides to see if the deck is warped, indicating that it got torqued either by having it jacknife with the tractor down in a gully, or because it hit something too fast. Grab the gear box with both hands and wrench it from side to side, looking for looseness and listening for thumps, which might indicate worn out bearings or mounting bolts that have stripped holes to bang around in. Inspect for stress cracks around the base of the gearbox. Some of the light duty cutters have pretty flimsy decks and light bracing, and they can get bent or broken.

Make sure the tailwheel swivel mount is not worn out from lack of grease.

I bought my King Kutter from a retired engineer who said he greased it before every use. He felt the deck flexed too much so he welded a brace on the front of it (like a bumper on a car), and welded square plates around the gear box mounting area, both above and below deck, making the deck triple-thick in that area. The net result is a medium duty cutter for the price of a used light duty model, and I'm very pleased with it. You can also tell a lot from the demeanor and character of the seller. Does he look fly-by-night, or does he look like he takes care of his stuff? In what kind of shape is his other equipment?
Click to expand...

These sound like very good points I hadn't thought about. Thanks for posting.

James K0UA
 
   / What to look at in a used bush hog #16  
Oh, one more thing that you probably already know about: when you spin the blades by hand, the drive shaft must also turn freely, and if it doesn't, you are looking at a stripped-out gearbox. Folklore has it that some sellers will palm off their cutters with dead gearboxes on unsuspecting buyers who check to see that the shaft and blades turn, but forget to make sure they turn at the same time.
 
   / What to look at in a used bush hog
  • Thread Starter
#17  
I am really glad I posted the question. I was talking with wifey, and said that I really didn't know what to look for. She said "post a question on that tractor forum that you are always locking at, they will know."

She was right (this time, don't tell her I said so!).

Larry
 
   / What to look at in a used bush hog #18  
Safety chain shields, rubber or steel deflectors on the front and rear of the cutting chamber are really good to have if you will be cutting near people/animals/houses, etc.
 
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