brush blades on finish mower

[Eric_Phillips]

I am needing to keep about 10 acres of field mowed. I will only be doing this several times a year so doing something like changing blades wont be a problem. So is it possible to put brush hog blades on a finish mower deck? I am not trying mulch down three inch saplings, just keep a field mowed. I was just thinking of saving the finish blades for doing the lawn around the house and the brush blades for the field. Any thoughts?

Eric

 

[kensfarm]

If it's just a field w/ grass, weeds etc.. mowing the field won't hurt your blades. Get a second set of finish blades if you'd want to switch them out.

 

[hobbyfarm]

Eric_Phillips,

You could try these, get your checkbook ready though!

<font color="teal">Meg-Mo</font>

Personally, I'd just mow the property twice, first at the highest setting, then with a finish cut. Just do it often enough to keep it groomed.

More seat time.

 

[beenthere]

Probably not many 'choices' for blades for your rfm. Which one is it?

 

[have_blue]

Naaah, won't work. Much different setup.

Even if you could cobble up something to fit, the belts would not like starting a big heavy blade.

 

[BB_TX]

Sounds like you just want to maintain the 10 acres, not turn it into lawn. I would buy an inexpensive light duty rotary cutter. Then if you let it go for several weeks before mowing, or want to cut some brush, then no problem. 10 acres several times a year would add a lot of wear on your expensive finish mower. And unexpected things that could damage your mower love to hide in taller grass.

 

[rbargeron]

In the event you are still shopping, I keep about 10 acres at "semi lawn quality" using a Woods RM-990 finish mower. It has three spindles, each with 2 heavy swing-back blades. The mower and blades are rugged enough to cut brush without difficulty but they do a nice smooth job on grass too. There's a review here .
I think the current price is arount $3500. Pricey, but built like a tank to last a long time.

 

[Tom_H]

Have Blue is right, they are totally different. The rc has a spindle pan to which two massive "meat cleaver" like blades are attached by pivot pins. The high mass builds up tremendous inertia which simply breaks whatever the blades hit. It they hit a stump or imbedded rock, the blade can slide off at an angle and then whiplash back into position without any loss of rpm. No way you can hybridize this with a finish mower.

Hobbyfarm's idea of two passes is a good idea. BB TX (Bill)'s suggestion of just getting a light duty rotary cutter is a good one too.

 

[bigtractor]

Woods RM990

 

[Tom_H]

Eric's original question was whether he could take a standard RFM with a straight blade, use it for cutting lawn, then change the blade for a spindle pan with free pivoting blades when it was time to cut the hayfield. My answer to him was, "No, you cannot simply take the straight blade off a standard RFM and stick on a RC blade and make your own hybrid." He wants something like that vehicle that changes back and forth from SUV to pickup truck. The Woods RM990 seems like a great compromise, but my point is that you cannot change blade types back and forth.

I like this model. It will meet the needs of people who cannot afford a finish mower and a rough cutter (although I think most people who can afford a tractor with enough hp to drive this thing could afford 2 cutters). A disadvantage I would see is that weed seeds picked up while cutting in the rough could be dropped into the lawn unless you power washed the underside after each use in the rough. It's also very wide to maneuver between trees and shrubs in the lawn.

 

[Eric_Phillips]

Thank you for the information. I actually just bought a used Farris Pro Cut 32 with a 72" deck. I know this is not a tractor implement but it has more horse power going to the blades than my 270DTC can put to the PTO. My neighbor offered to let me barrow his father-in-law brush hog while he has it, so I might try that to do the section that has not been plowed for about two years. That section has some small saplings. Then set the Pro Cut 32 to 4" and mow the back stuff that has only been growing since last years corn harvest. The blades already have about 500 hours on them so I can use those for the nasty stuff and buy some new blades when I finally get some grass to mow. Yes I bought a big mower before I planted the grass at our new house. Thank you for the help.

Eric

 

[Pks]

So tell us how it went using the Pro Cut 32.

 

[Eric_Phillips]

I was able to knock down some of the tall weeds around the house but the back 10 acres is just too rough. I am swaping my neighbor brush hog time for box blade time to get the rest of the tall weeds around the house down. He came though with his part last night. This weekend I am going to run the box blade around part of his land. The farmer had corn in the back last year so the farrows are killer to the mower. I am now looking to see how long someone that would like to use the land for hay would need to make it advantageous for him to plant it. I would be willing to let someone use the land for free for a couple of years if they came in and disked and planted the hay. I just don't know how long it would take for the farmer to make enough money on it. Hopefully after that the ground will be level enough to take the Pro Cut 32 over it. I would expect it could mow that field in about 4 hrs or less. This thing had the meanest mulching blades I have ever seen. On the back side of each blade end there are 4 or 5 sharpened teeth pointing up. Ouch!!

Eric