Rotary Cutters Fling Hazard

[vvanders]

I look at the construction of a flail cutter and wonder just how badly those blades will fare against a 4 stone? For rough work, I still think a rotary cutter is best.

I've hit everything from 1"-8" rocks with our flair mower and the blades just bound off of it since they weight almost nothing. Just sounds like running over something with a dremel tool :laughing:.

 

[DieselBound]

Flail mower and rocks kind of depends on the type of fastener used on the rotor. The shackle type of fasteners allow the blades to fold back a lot better than the fasteners that have the blades bolt directly: the bolted-on blades cannot fold back as far.

As suggested, pay someone to mow it several times (put the liability on them) and then once things are exposed (and likely leveled out some) do it yourself.

 

[crashz]

I've been doing a lot of brush hogging lately, on many different properties. None very close to homes or vehicles, but occasionally near roads. When cars go by or pedestrians walk by, I simply stop and drop or raise the cutter. I always ask the property owners to stay indoors or safely away.

Dieselbound - your suggestion explains why I'm so busy working for people with their own tractors!

 

[DieselBound]

I've been doing a lot of brush hogging lately, on many different properties. None very close to homes or vehicles, but occasionally near roads. When cars go by or pedestrians walk by, I simply stop and drop or raise the cutter. I always ask the property owners to stay indoors or safely away.

Dieselbound - your suggestion explains why I'm so busy working for people with their own tractors!

Yup! If one isn't comfortable doing something then best to have someone who is do it. I do this with cutting trees: many I can/will do, but there are some that I will not do (ones close to the house or to the road and require climbing up in the tree(s)) so I hire it out.

If one IS going to do this themselves then a quick check of one's homeowners insurance policy might be in order. (give some peace of mind- if you're too nervous you're more inclined to mess up)

 

[AVIVIII]

You can research blade velocity of various width Rotary Cutters. Wider cutters have much higher blade velocity.

A BX will likely have 48" width R/C.

Blades within a BX Rotary Cutter will not be nearly as heavy, therefore will not store nearly as much energy, as thicker, wider blades on wider cutters.

In short, throw damage from a Rotary Cutter behind a BX is minimal.

The 3 blade 60" (~20" blades) finish deck on my JD430 Garden Tractor will throw a baseball-sized piece of riprap 15 yards easy, through the chute.

If you are worried, add some rubber skirts or short chain pieces to the sides to slow down anything that gets thrown. Pick up as much as you can before you mow and make sure your blades are on tight and the bolts and bushings are in good shape.

 

[AVIVIII]

I look at the construction of a flail cutter and wonder just how badly those blades will fare against a 4 stone? For rough work, I still think a rotary cutter is best.

The duck foot/hammer/forestry cutter style, would probably take a beating, but still be contained and safe. The knife style has such a low mass, they just bounce off.

 

[DieselBound]

The duck foot/hammer/forestry cutter style, would probably take a beating, but still be contained and safe. The knife style has such a low mass, they just bounce off.

View attachment 564767

Those are attached with shackles, which, from my limited understanding, are going to give way a lot better than those that bolt directly to the rotor. But, it doesn't take a lot to dull a more fine-edged blade, one that's spinning at a fairly high rate of speed: kind of like a chain saw chain (though not quite that extreme). Regardless, I have no doubts that a flail offers greater safety: whether it would be essential in the OP's case is hard to say (it all comes down to risk mitigation).

 

[Liquidsilver]

You should see the rotary cutters we use over here to realize what fling hazard is.

We use chains instead of blades. It will eat more HP but will also deal with pretty much anything you throw at it and handles rocks better than blades, so less maintenance. The chains also spreads the shredded stuff better and doesn't get clogged up.

I remember old-timers doing this back in the 70s. Do the chains do a decent job on grass, too? Or is this cutter mostly for ripping heavy brush?

 

[TripleR]

You can research blade velocity of various width Rotary Cutters. Wider cutters have much higher blade velocity.

A BX will likely have 48" width R/C.

Blades within a BX Rotary Cutter will not be nearly as heavy, therefore will not store nearly as much energy, as thicker, wider blades on wider cutters.

In short, throw damage from a Rotary Cutter behind a BX is minimal.

Yep, we have 4', 5', 6' and 10' and heavier, faster blades are going to throw heavier, faster objects...

 

[DieselBound]

But, it doesn't take much to crack a window/glass (which is one of the primary concerns).