Big ride on mower

AndyUK · Aug 26, 2012

94BULLITT said:
I think you will be happier with a manual but a auto would be just about as easy to put in it. Is it a hydraulic clutch?

hello Roger

its a cable operated clutch as it comes, l am in 2 minds here, l could run the cable forward as far as it reaches which is about 2' short of the pedal and then have a rod from the pedal back to join up with the cable, the benifit of that would be that it keeps it a standard cable available from any auto parts store
or l might fit a slave cylinder and convert to hydraulic and then the distance to the pedal wont matter ??

Andy

jenkinsph · Aug 26, 2012

Andy,
Nice project keep up the good work.

94BULLITT · Aug 26, 2012

AndyUK said:
hello Roger

its a cable operated clutch as it comes, l am in 2 minds here, l could run the cable forward as far as it reaches which is about 2' short of the pedal and then have a rod from the pedal back to join up with the cable, the benifit of that would be that it keeps it a standard cable available from any auto parts store
or l might fit a slave cylinder and convert to hydraulic and then the distance to the pedal wont matter ??

Andy

You might be best off with the cable, it would be more reliable.

AndyUK · Aug 30, 2012

cable seems the way to go since l just found one 2' longer that might just reach, and as you say it wont play up,

took the axles down to the shot blasters and had the cases cleaned up, man l do like cleaning things lol,
l cant be doing with rusty axle casings,

certainly gives a good surface for the paint to stick to after a couple of coats of red oxide primer

the chassis also had the same treatment

while l was waiting for the paint to dry on the axles l started getting the fuel tank prepped

think l will do another one for the hydraulic tank, might even weld some cooling fins down the side

94BULLITT · Aug 30, 2012

Looks good. Are you going to go with automotive brakes on all 4 wheels? Have you thought about using it for anything other than a mower like a snow blower or plow?

AndyUK · Aug 30, 2012

94BULLITT said:
Looks good. Are you going to go with automotive brakes on all 4 wheels? Have you thought about using it for anything other than a mower like a snow blower or plow?

hello Roger

funny that l was thinking about the brakes today, the short answer is yes automotive brakes all round, l was pondering switching the front brakes to discs from drums( was a sidekick rear axle) but as it has a hand brake already built in perhaps l will stay with the drums on the front and discs on the rear, a bit arse about face l know but its only a slow moving mower
l also think l will have 2 brake pedals one for the front and one for the back as l want to try the mower with out welding up the centre diff, l have different scrub radiuses at each end and welding the diff up might impose quite a bit of strain on the drive train so l think l will just use the brakes at each end to shut down any spinning wheel if this dosent work l will have to hunt down an LSD for it, but its a mower for flat ground not a rockcrawler so l expect it to work with out welding the diff up, maybe,

not enough snow over here to warrent a blower but l was thinking about a powered sweeper/brush for the yard and l would also like to be able to tow a big roller around possibly a powered roller

Andy

94BULLITT · Aug 30, 2012

AndyUK said:
hello Roger

funny that l was thinking about the brakes today, the short answer is yes automotive brakes all round, l was pondering switching the front brakes to discs from drums( was a sidekick rear axle) but as it has a hand brake already built in perhaps l will stay with the drums on the front and discs on the rear, a bit arse about face l know but its only a slow moving mower
l also think l will have 2 brake pedals one for the front and one for the back as l want to try the mower with out welding up the centre diff, l have different scrub radiuses at each end and welding the diff up might impose quite a bit of strain on the drive train so l think l will just use the brakes at each end to shut down any spinning wheel if this dosent work l will have to hunt down an LSD for it, but its a mower for flat ground not a rockcrawler so l expect it to work with out welding the diff up, maybe,

not enough snow over here to warrent a blower but l was thinking about a powered sweeper/brush for the yard and l would also like to be able to tow a big roller around possibly a powered roller

Andy

Andy,

Drum brakes should fine but disc look cooler. Another thing you could do is run pinion brakes. I think it should function good without welding the center diff. With having your independent brakes front and rear you can transfer the power to the front or rear. If you weld it it may tear up the grass a little when you turn. I did not know how much snow you got, I was just curious if you where going to have any other attachments. Keep the pictures coming and Keep up the good work.:thumbsup: Do you have a long mowing season?

AndyUK · Aug 31, 2012

94BULLITT said:
Andy,

Drum brakes should fine but disc look cooler. Another thing you could do is run pinion brakes. I think it should function good without welding the center diff. With having your independent brakes front and rear you can transfer the power to the front or rear. If you weld it it may tear up the grass a little when you turn. I did not know how much snow you got, I was just curious if you where going to have any other attachments. Keep the pictures coming and Keep up the good work.:thumbsup: Do you have a long mowing season?

lol l agree discs look cooler but with such deep dish wheels the drums will never be seen again, l think having the handbrake already built in is enough reason for the drums to stay, sure l could fit some discs of the rear of a car so as l have a handbrake but it seems a lot of work for no gain

well normally we dont get much snow but who knows whats in store,
this year has been all screwed up we started with warnings of drought and water shortages as we have had 2 winters with below average rain fall, and then the heavens opened 6 months ago and it hasent stopped raining since.
some weeks we get a years rainfall, crops are rotting in the fields all over the uk, if this level of rain continues into the winter months then we will have some proper snow

l would like to make as many attachments as l can find a use for, certainly a driven brush for the front, and a big flail, maybe buy some thing like this that wants repairs and make a new deck for it

Flail Mower/Topper. 5'6" cut. Restoration Project. | eBay

we have a reasonably long cutting season and could be longer if it wasent so wet before and after it, and during it now lol,
part of the reason for the for the wide wheels was to let me get out on the ground earlier and later in the season while its wet without causing to much damage to the ground,
l dont have a commercial use for the mower its just for my own use, l have a buggy track l have mown out and like to keep it cut short, you can see the track l want to use this mower on in this vid from much earlier in the season, was wet then as well

gopro on bonnet - YouTube

l sectioned off 4 or 5 acres at the bottom of the main field and each year l plant a few hundred trees around the track, one day it will be a wood lol, l have also been working on a pond/lake as and when l can afford diesel for the excavator :laughing:

l will get some upto date vid next week as the rain is forecast to run out, grass and trees are much taller now

edit: found a better vid showing the area l want to use the mower on, camera mount fails halfway through and drops off though

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmMGUCmSPQ4&feature=plcp