Are Woods Implements worth the extra $$$?

[napabavarian]

The slipclutch is better in the way you have described, but also takes maintnence, you gotta make sure it slips, if it rusts up solid and hit a rock your mower or tractor gear box might cry like a 24 month old just stubed his toe so you gotta loosten it up and let it spin every once in a while.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Jerry, there are many posts about slip clutches vs. shear bolt systems, just search the attachments forum.

 

[john_bud]

The slipclutch is better in the way you have described, but also takes maintnence, you gotta make sure it slips, if it rusts up solid and hit a rock your mower or tractor gear box might cry like a 24 month old just stubed his toe so you gotta loosten it up and let it spin every once in a while.

EXACTLY!

Most of the time, if you have to ask the question, the shear bolt is better as it takes no looking after. If you are in humid areas, mowed in the rain, park outside, or haven't used the machine in 2+ weeks, you need to slip the clutch. Most folks don't want to mess with it that much, so they don't and when they hit that un-movable object with the irresistable force of the rotating mass, bad things happen in the PTO drive line.

jb

 

[jarbill]

Thanks for the replies. I think I'll go with the shear bolts. I'll just stock up

 

[SPYDERLK]

EXACTLY!

Most of the time, if you have to ask the question, the shear bolt is better as it takes no looking after. If you are in humid areas, mowed in the rain, park outside, or haven't used the machine in 2+ weeks, you need to slip the clutch. Most folks don't want to mess with it that much, so they don't and when they hit that un-movable object with the irresistable force of the rotating mass, bad things happen in the PTO drive line.

jb

I have been hearing this repeated on the forum with seeming agreement that scrupulous care of a slip clutch is an absolute necessity. There must be some situation that this comes out to be true, but my 45yr experience with slip clutches tells me that the only attention they need is to tighten them up when they slip. Perhaps it is that my JD bushogs are used hard and I get a bit of incremental slipping that prevents them from locking up. Their use is quite intermittent tho and they still break loose when needed. I literally do nothing except grease the fitting and tighten them anytime I note the clutch being hot after a hard work situation. I have never damaged a gearbox and all my clutches are original. My experience with shear bolts is bad. Shaft and socket wear resulting in more play, more wear, more shearing. I wont use them in any case where shock loads are present because it drastically limits what you can do. Extremely frustrating.
larry

 

[john_bud]

Larry, you must be a lucky guy! (Buy me a lotter ticket, will ya?)


I have the same luck with lottery as with slip clutches. Last fall, the tiller was banging around more than normal. Checked and yep, the slip clutch wasn't slipping. It had been used 5 days prior for about 20 hours and there was no rain in those 5 days. The stuff is all stored in the shed. Dirt floor, but dry dirt.

Who knows why one acts one way and not the other? Not me. But I have seen busted PTO housings due to a cutter hitting a rock or stump. Slip clutch sitting there smiling, not slipping. Those issues are sort of spendy to correct. While I fully believe your experience is acurate and true, I don't think it's the common situation. Like they say, better to be lucky! Unfortunately, I'm neither lucky nor good . Sigh, it's like mom used to tell me, "Son, you might be slow and dumb, but you're not good looking".

jb

 

[bbirder]

I also have owned a Woods M5 cutter and was satisfied even tho a little light duty. I purchased a 6 ft Brushbull 2 years ago and it is a piece of junk. The tailwheel does not pivot and just plows the ground on a turn. The dealer installed a new tail assy and it does the same thing. The top links do not float properly and the cut is never level. I have emailed the factory and after a long wait their response was that I don't have it set correctly. I have been operating tractors and machinery for 40 years.I think I should be able to set a rotary cutter. So much for customer service. I have tried every hole on that thing to adjust it. My next cutter will be a Bushhog brand.
I also have a Woods boxblade that I am satisfied with, but a box is a box.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Larry, you must be a lucky guy! (Buy me a lotter ticket, will ya?)


I have the same luck with lottery as with slip clutches. Last fall, the tiller was banging around more than normal. Checked and yep, the slip clutch wasn't slipping. It had been used 5 days prior for about 20 hours and there was no rain in those 5 days. The stuff is all stored in the shed. Dirt floor, but dry dirt.

Who knows why one acts one way and not the other? Not me. But I have [[[seen]]] busted PTO housings due to a cutter hitting a rock or stump.
jb

Seen or did it happen to you? If it happened to you I have many questions for you. If it didnt, your observation of the situation is bound to be incomplete in some way important to the failure.

Your slip clutch on the tiller may have slipped a quarter turn or less - or not. Do you know? The tiller didnt break. Mine jumps around too. I kinda expect it. If I were real diligent Id stop and mark the clutch when it was doing it and maybe tune it in the field to get incremental slips. Match between clutch and implement is very important. Once established Ive always, inthis type of case, found that the equipment tolerance of high short term overload is sufficient to break free w/o damage. Everbody is lucky some. I just dont seem to be unlucky a lot.
larry

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Some people make their own luck.

 

[john_bud]

Larry,

Seen it. Thankfully, didn't experience it. 2 tractors -1955 Ford 640 and a JD 4300. Both with rotary cutters. The Ford hit a rock or stump, my best friend was running it at the time so I have no reason to doubt it. The JD was one that was getting repaired when I went thru the shop, the service tech told me the owner failed to maintain the slip clutch. He even showed me the clutch and the rust on it. Tractor was winched onto the trailer with the cutter in place. It was green, but I don't recall the model. Don't know the particulars on what all was broke, but they were doing a fairly major disassembly. It made a strong impression having the rusty clutch pointed out and being told that 5 min of maintenance would have solved a very expensive repair. Especially coupled with an older similar occurance.

I think that your suggestion of marking the disks and determining if it is slipping is a good one. Never did that, nor even thought to do it. I don't know that you can tell a 1/4 rotation from a 4 & 1/4 rotation though. Probably a smart person here could ....

The tiller did break though. Just not catastrophically, my assumption is that most of it was accumulated damage. One of the 3pt lift pins sheared off, 3-4 tines snapped and there are sheet metal cracks in numerous locations. It is rocky ground and it was run hard for a day and a half in that condition. I also am assuming that between the KK tiller and the Kubota that the tiller is weaker and would nearly always come out on the short end of the stick.

I don't know at what point tractor damage occurs, I do follow the procedure to varify that the clutch can slip. Maybe it's not needed at all, dunno.

jb

 

[SPYDERLK]

Larry,

Seen it. Thankfully, didn't experience it. 2 tractors -1955 Ford 640 and a JD 4300. Both with rotary cutters. The Ford hit a rock or stump, my best friend was running it at the time so I have no reason to doubt it. The JD was one that was getting repaired when I went thru the shop, the service tech told me the owner failed to maintain the slip clutch. He even showed me the clutch and the rust on it. [SNIP]
I don't know at what point tractor damage occurs, I do follow the procedure to varify that the clutch can slip. Maybe it's not needed at all, dunno.
jb

Id be pretty disappointed in the tractor PTO clutch. It gets exercised every time its engaged and so be should working nomimally and be sized to protect the tractor gears. That seems a tractor design problem. Really scary what might happen if a little tractor with an improperly designed pto system is running a big implement. One of the 1st times I put the JD bushog on the L2550 Kubota I hit a stump that stopped it dead. The engine bogged but held. I looked back and saw the stationary pto and declutched right away. Everything still works fine - a prompt graceful stop stalls the engine, a hard smack breaks loose the PTO clutch. Slip clutch a bit tight for that tractor. - - My wife smoked the slip clutch on that same BHog the other day using the L3450 we got when we sold the smaller Kub. She was trying to spread out a big pile of leaves to mulch an area. She caught it quick and came to me saying she thot she burned up its transmission cuz it had smoked. Clutch was not terribly hot so I know it didnt slip long. Good catch Baby! In 5 yrs this is the 1st time Ive adjusted it. It must have been slipping incrementally and kept itself in shape. Its multi plate - not like the ones I see these days. Maybe they really knew how to make them in 1960 and somebody retired and they forgot how. Maybe its that grease fitting on the hub.
larry

 

[john_bud]

Maybe they really knew how to make them in 1960 and somebody retired and they forgot how.

You probably are more accurate than funny with that comment. Lost and gone for ever - it isn't just a line from a song.

jb

 

[NuBota]

NuBota, When I got my JD 2210 I got the Frontier RB1060 blade as part of a deal at that time. It had the tilt which I thought would be neat! After I looked at it at home I found it to be useless. There are 3 settings, level, extreme left, and extreme right. It tilts way too much, if you had a cylinder or a turn buckle on there it would work better. I have learned on this site someone else takes the pin out for snow removal so the blade floats. I tried it and it works! So now I have a use for the tilt. I now have a RB1072 since I jumped to the JD 2520. Also if you are using a quick hitch, some brands you will have to modify the top point to work. If you want pictures of the tilting let me know and I will take some.

Dennis

Thanks Dennis, good info. Sorry to bump the thread, but I lost track of it. The "float" option actually makes it even more of a reason to go with the tilt capability since parts of my driveway/pad slope. In my case my property is nothing but steep slopes (15-20 degrees, some up to 30). So for me to make use I need to bring in fill, build retaining walls etc. Depending on the RB, I believe you can get 15 and/or 30 degree tilt angles from most. This could be useful to me when leveling fill on the side of a slope, digging drainage ditches, etc. Wouldn't need it most of the time, but enough where it might be worth the extra $$