brush hog cutting question

[kubota4me]

Thank you all for some very informative and helpful answers. Now I have to decide whether to spend more money for a Woods brush hog or somewhat less for a TSC mower. Thanks again!

 

[jbrumberg]

kubota4me:

There are quite a few competitive RC's in the marketplace. IMHO the Woods and the TSC RC's reflect the continuum of RC's. If you compare brands make sure you are looking at the same service ranges- light, medium, and/or heavy duty mowers. There are differences in plating thickness, side plate protection, weight, and gear box ratings. Jay

 

[MarkV]

It has been mentioned but is worth repeating. When you are raising the bush hog and lowering it into brush do not let anyone, including pets, in the area you are working. Things will go flying and can do some major damage.

Also bush hog blades are by design not sharp. They are made to shatter what they hit rather than cut. If you sharpen your blades you will leave little spears in the ground that are looking for tires to eat.

For what it is worth I find the King Kutter mowers from TSC a good deal. They have lousy paint, not so pretty of welds and sometimes need some adjustments to the mounting points for smaller tractors but mine is still cutting well after 5 years of hard work.

MarkV

 

[acohen100]

Noob brush hog question. I didn't realize that a brush hog was stout enough to rip down trees (dogwood and sumac as stated in the original post). Exactly how big of a plant will these things take down? I have a acres of brushy land clearing to do and hadn't considered this an appropriate tool to do that job. Mostly its honeysuckle and dogwood but they can get up to 3-4 inches around per trunk.

 

[Bird]

Exactly how big of a plant will these things take down?

Most, if not all, the manufacturers make at least 3 grades of rotary cutters; light, medium, and heavy duty, so you just need to be sure you're getting the right one for what you want to do. Naturally, as you got up from light to medium to heavy duty, the price goes up also. Just as one example: the Bush Hog Squealer series is light duty, rated to cut material up to 1", while the Bush Hog Model 406 is their heavy duty model, rated to cut material up to 4". Now for "occasional" use, you can probably get away with cutting more than the machine is rated for. As one example: when the dealer delivered my cousin's Bush Hog squealer, he promptly drove right through a grove of saplings that were 2" to 3" thick with a machine rated for only 1". Frankly I thought he might damage it, but after he left, I inspected the bottom side of that machine and found no damage. I still would not recommend over doing it that much.

 

[ihookem]

I bought a 4' Howse for 585 dollars. I could have gotten a King Kutter at Fleet Farm for 500 on sale. I got the Howse cause 4 mi. away I have a Farmtrac dealer and bought it there.he is a darn good guy to have around. He already rewelded the wheel spline cause he weld broke and he fixed it right there. Howse MIGHT be better but who knows. Don't buy an expensive one cause if you relly need a cutter you will beat the crap out of it anyhow and in 10 hrs. of running time it will look five years old. I think mine has a 45horse gear box so 7510 Kubota (17 horse pto is plenty) If you ever wear out even a cheap one you will have so much use out of it you'll be glad to get two cheap ones for the price of an expensive one.

 

[ihookem]

Also, I sharpened my blades to try to cut two foot high alfalfa and hope it helps cut it easier. I never thought of keeping them dull for brush so you don't have sharp points all over and flat tires. P.S. did anyone ever sharpen blades for this purpose? P.S.S, My blades are on a pivot so it gives away when it hits something.

 

[kubota4me]

Most, if not all, the manufacturers make at least 3 grades of rotary cutters; light, medium, and heavy duty, so you just need to be sure you're getting the right one for what you want to do. Naturally, as you got up from light to medium to heavy duty, the price goes up also. Just as one example: the Bush Hog Squealer series is light duty, rated to cut material up to 1", while the Bush Hog Model 406 is their heavy duty model, rated to cut material up to 4". Now for "occasional" use, you can probably get away with cutting more than the machine is rated for. As one example: when the dealer delivered my cousin's Bush Hog squealer, he promptly drove right through a grove of saplings that were 2" to 3" thick with a machine rated for only 1". Frankly I thought he might damage it, but after he left, I inspected the bottom side of that machine and found no damage. I still would not recommend over doing it that much.

Bird, I think the limiting factor for me will be the weight that my three point can safely lift. In my example, I will be using a L4400 with a FEL on it. I'm not sure exactly what the specs are on the 4400 on the three point, but I'll probably go with the heaviest RC that I can safely lift.

 

[MarkV]

Also, I sharpened my blades to try to cut two foot high alfalfa and hope it helps cut it easier. I never thought of keeping them dull for brush so you don't have sharp points all over and flat tires. P.S. did anyone ever sharpen blades for this purpose? P.S.S, My blades are on a pivot so it gives away when it hits something.

Yes some people have put more of an edge on RC blades to give more of a finish cut on field grass. For cutting heavy brush the sharpened blades will leave tire getters and will chip the blades metal easier. All rotary mowers have the pivoting blades and depend on the momentum created by the stump jumpers weight to shred woody brush.

Also thick grass fields can be much harder to cut than brush many times. That thick grass can eat up the horse power and many times require taking less of a cut with each pass or cutting more often.

MarkV

 

[riptides]

Bird, I think the limiting factor for me will be the weight that my three point can safely lift. In my example, I will be using a L4400 with a FEL on it. I'm not sure exactly what the specs are on the 4400 on the three point, but I'll probably go with the heaviest RC that I can safely lift.

It's not how big your blade is, but how big your b**** are when your cutting.

Man, you hit some stuff and it e x p l o d e s. I am in an open station, and I don't like that feeling.

When clearing fields, I use to walk 'rm first with a hand cutter.

-Mike Z.