Why not use a finish mower

[eds01]

Adjusting the top link also will help eliminate windrows.

What adjustment do you recommend? I set the mower with the rear an inch or two higher than front. Once cut height is set on 3pt I put tail wheel on ground then loosen the top link for float. If I tighten top link I lose the float.

 

[LD1]

What adjustment do you recommend? I set the mower with the rear an inch or two higher than front. Once cut height is set on 3pt I put tail wheel on ground then loosen the top link for float. If I tighten top link I lose the float.

If you set it up level instead of the tailwheel high, it will give less windrows, but require more power and/or going slower to give a clean cut.

And I dont recommend it that often because they are high maintenance and slower and require way more power, but you should look into a flail mower vs the RFM.

Flails are slower than a rotary cutter, probabally about as slow as a finish mower in similar conditions.

 

[onceacop]

I starting using a finish mower for my hayfield and it turned out better and better every year so I made it a runway.

 

[k0ua]

Not the best photo, but a shot of our old place taken of the turkey at about 100 yards away. from the house. But you get the idea of what it looked like after a few years of finish mowing of just a rough field.

James K0UA

 

[Zork]

I've got a KK rear discharge too and I love it so much better than a side discharge.

 

[Jamming]

Just mowed about 4 acres with a John Deere 261 side discharge mower and worked really well and the field was damp and about 3 feet tall in spots. My tractor is a 3005 JD and it has plenty of power for the 5 foot mower i just bought. Newbie by the way, first mower and tractor. Besides you cant mow in reverse on a rear discharge, made my decision on a side discharge because of that fact.

 

[DK35vince]

Besides you cant mow in reverse on a rear discharge, made my decision on a side discharge because of that fact.

I do it all the time with my rear discharge. No problem.
I have a 6' side discharge rear finish mower and a 7' rear discharge rear finish mower.
Personally I prefer the rear discharge.

 

[LD1]

Just mowed about 4 acres with a John Deere 261 side discharge mower and worked really well and the field was damp and about 3 feet tall in spots. My tractor is a 3005 JD and it has plenty of power for the 5 foot mower i just bought. Newbie by the way, first mower and tractor. Besides you cant mow in reverse on a rear discharge, made my decision on a side discharge because of that fact.

I had a 261 mower. Sold it to my brother because I have a ZTR now. It was a good mower and would handle thick stuff on occasion, but I wouldnt make a habbit of it. Being belt driven, small blades, and small gearbox, they are not meant for that kind of abuse for long. It you plan on mowing 3 feet tall stuff often, you better consider a rotary cutter IMO.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Being lazy?

Most of my mowing could be handled with a finish mower just fine and with marking some of the hill side and unlevel places.

I keep about 3 miles or road shoulders clipped that a finish mower would be great for but with the 7' rotor cutter I do not have to get off and move dead limbs and other stuff that can be found on the side of the road.

Light blades and belts is not something I have to think about with the rotor cutter. When do run up on a 3" tree I just keep going if I do not want it.

A wheel on each corner would be nice but they really need to be kept out of the dirt where as the bush hog actually will level old ruts, etc. :laughing:

 

[Jamming]

I had a 261 mower. Sold it to my brother because I have a ZTR now. It was a good mower and would handle thick stuff on occasion, but I wouldnt make a habbit of it. Being belt driven, small blades, and small gearbox, they are not meant for that kind of abuse for long. It you plan on mowing 3 feet tall stuff often, you better consider a rotary cutter IMO.

Just bought it so the grass was tall as He@$ but its not considered a small gear box for its size, really small ones i saw where on new ones in the same price range, The gears look Huge compared to the landpride 5 footer i looked at. But your right i am sure its not meant to cut tall grass, but now its knocked down i can maintain it. Its difficult to find info on the 261 JD but older folks have told me there pretty tough, so well see.

 

[LD1]

Just bought it so the grass was tall as He@$ but its not considered a small gear box for its size, really small ones i saw where on new ones in the same price range, The gears look Huge compared to the landpride 5 footer i looked at. But your right i am sure its not meant to cut tall grass, but now its knocked down i can maintain it. Its difficult to find info on the 261 JD but older folks have told me there pretty tough, so well see.

Your right, its not a "small" gear box....but compaired to a bushhog........

 

[eds01]

Here's the update. Dealer is bringing a flail mower this weekend for me to try out. I admit to being curious. It's a 2009 model sold as used but with full warranty so a good deal and priced less than a new finish mower. Thanks for all the good advice.

 

[LD1]

Let us know how it works out

 

[rbargeron]

Here's the update. Dealer is bringing a flail mower this weekend for me to try out. I admit to being curious. It's a 2009 model sold as used but with full warranty so a good deal and priced less than a new finish mower. Thanks for all the good advice.

I'm surprised this thread has not gotten over to the subject of "not all RFM's are created equal". There are RFM's and then there is the Woods RM990, a heavy-duty commercial-quality unit with swing-back blades. If you search TBN for RM990 you'll find lots to read. I've used RM990's for many years on my old orchard land which has evolved to look quite good. I set the height to 5-1/2" which makes a good job without making the mower do earthwork.

 

[pacerron]

I'm surprised this thread has not gotten over to the subject of "not all RFM's are created equal". There are RFM's and then there is the Woods RM990, a heavy-duty commercial-quality unit with swing-back blades. If you search TBN for RM990 you'll find lots to read. I've used RM990's for many years on my old orchard land which has evolved to look quite good. I set the height to 5-1/2" which makes a good job without making the mower do earthwork.

rbargeron
That's the one I have used for 20 years and described earlier in this thread.
Others on here argue, "look at the name, Finish Mower" and other reasons not too use one, based just on their own limited experiences or equipment.
As I recall the OP has both a finish mower and a bushog and I urged him to try a couple acres with each to see what can be done with his equipment.
Some don't seem to realize that finish mowers would not have height adjustments of up to 8" for cutting lawn grass. I recently cut a field that had hay grass 36" high that had gone too much past prime down to 6" with my Woods and will cut it again to 3.5" if we ever get any rain. It will rot in well and disappear after 2 cuts and some rain. With a bushog it would look lousy all summer regardless of how many more times it is cut. I used to do it that way, so know from experience. Bushog blades are dull and have no suction so they do not recut the stuff already except for the windrows that are created in strips. Even then it is mostly just spread around like a tedder would do.
We keep a fenced horse pasture cut to 3.5" starting in early spring to avoid
green grass colic of the pig eating horses and to keep the weeds gone. The blades spread the horse apples at the same time.
But as you said, the Woods is built tuff with a wide B belt and sheaves that have large tapered roller bearings. It weighs 1,000 pounds.
I'm really surprised to see this thread grinding on and on. If the equipment is built to take it, use common sense and listen to the tractor and mower, try both ways and see. Or do a bushog first and follow with a finish mower. If you want it to look good continue with the finish mower every couple weeks depending on the rain and growth.

 

[rbargeron]

pacerron - nice post. The RM990 cuts 7-1/2' - your earlier post mentioned an 8-foot so I thought it might be a different model.

I've used RM990's for 15 years. I got a fresh one a few years ago - the older one is semi-retired but still works fine. The 990's do it all - with low maintenance cost.

 

[eds01]

Let us know how it works out

The flail worked out really well. In a couple pastures that I had mowed 3 weeks ago, the grass was only 6-7" tall and the flail did a great job. Even distribution of clippings, and broke up a lot of the residual windrows left over from the last 2 rotary cuttings. On the pasture with the tallest grass (about 24") it didn't do as nice a job (finish look) but if definitely handled the tall stuff without much effort. I will probably go over it a 2nd time in the next week or so.

The deal was too good to pass up on the flail - 2 year old, new on the pallet, sold for used price. Dealer took my rotary in trade so even better.

 

[LD1]

The flail worked out really well. In a couple pastures that I had mowed 3 weeks ago, the grass was only 6-7" tall and the flail did a great job. Even distribution of clippings, and broke up a lot of the residual windrows left over from the last 2 rotary cuttings. On the pasture with the tallest grass (about 24") it didn't do as nice a job (finish look) but if definitely handled the tall stuff without much effort. I will probably go over it a 2nd time in the next week or so.

The deal was too good to pass up on the flail - 2 year old, new on the pallet, sold for used price. Dealer took my rotary in trade so even better.

awesome :thumbsup: