Flail Mower at Auction

[drjay9051]

Once again, Leonz the mack daddy of all things flail comes up with the correct answer.

" Alex, I'll take flail mowers for $1,000"

 

[namelocbob]

Here is one that looks exactly like the knife pattern as mine, it also has the gear box on the same side. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/210811-help-id-flail-mower-value.html

 

[namelocbob]

Thank you! ....now to find the roller assembly....

BTW I only paid $400 at auction.

 

[greg_g]

FWIW, my 74" Ford 917H was purchased at a farm auction as well. $150, and it had both a rear roller and a belt guard. You're going to be unpleasantly surprised what a (new) replacement rear roller, bearings, and bearing cover/brackets are going to cost. It will make the cost of a belt cover and fasteners look like chump change. Whoever pocketed your $400 went home with a big smile on his face.

//greg//

 

[drjay9051]

FWIW, my 74" Ford 917H was purchased at a farm auction as well. $150, and it had both a rear roller and a belt guard. You're going to be unpleasantly surprised what a (new) replacement rear roller, bearings, and bearing cover/brackets are going to cost. It will make the cost of a belt cover and fasteners look like chump change. Whoever pocketed your $400 went home with a big smile on his face.

//greg//

Well now that is encouraging. Supportive as well.

 

[namelocbob]

Ran it today through the fields. Kept it off the ground with the 3 point and cleared some rocks on the first pass. The second pass worked marvelously with the skids riding slightly on the ground. Thank goodness Its flat where I am at... Thanks for all your encouragement...(sarcasm all mine) lol....

 

[greg_g]

Don't care what you call it, I'm just trying to prepare you for sticker shock. But to make that mower whole again, the $400 you spent up front could eventually seem like chump change. Perhaps if you saw the Alamo Hammer Knife 88 price list you'd consider my comments in a different light. From my viewpoint, you're looking at an either/or proposition here; gauge wheels or rear roller. Having both would seem redundant, but right now you have neither. All you can do is to tally the installed cost of each, and decide from there.

//greg//

 

[Arc weld]

You need the rear roller regardless. Gauge wheels help smooth out a rougher field but aren't needed for most applications. In the link with all the Mott pictures, there isn't one that looks like the mower purchased. There is another link of a mower that looks similar but that isn't listed as a Mott either. It's possible it's a very early Mott or a copy of a Mott. None of the Mott pictures show the same type of 3 pt. mounts or the plates coming up at the back to hold the pipe that goes across the mower. I think the Mott knives were called hammer knives because they swing like a hammer. Similar to a hammer mill? When developing the flail mower the knives were run in pig manure to test the self cleaning properties. There are a lot of IH tractors in the older brochures and even special models made for IH tractors. This isn't by coincidence. Mr. Mott was an engineer at IH when he developed the flail mower. IH wasn't that interested so Mott went off on his own and the rest is history.

 

[greg_g]

I'm curious why some folks don't follow hyperlinks before responding. I've provided two: one attempting to narrow down manufacturer, another with an actual parts source with prices

//greg//

 

[Arc weld]

The mower in question IS NOT a SHD (Super Heavy Duty) model Mott. The Super Heavy Duty is a much heavier mower and uses a 4 1/2" diameter cutter shaft. The SHD would also be a lot newer. By design all flail mowers look similar but there is not one conclusive picture identifying it as a Mott. It may be a very early Mott but when you look at some of the details, they are different from what are for sure Mott flails.