Brushhogging 101

[bxowner]

I've brushhogged with a DR-walk behind mower for years. Hands-down, it is my very favorite piece of mechanized equipment. If you haven't ever used one, they're the slickest device, as they're balanced nicely, geared perfectly and unstoppable no matter the slope. Problem for me is, I've developed an intolerance to poison ivy in the last year. So, trapsing through the woods has gotten more challenging.

I'm thinking about borrowing a friend's 4' brush hog and trying it out, but don't want to damage the thing. My question is: can brush hogs sustain frequent knicks with rocks? I have plenty of rocks in the woods and would do my best to keep the blade elevated, but am sure I'll hit a few.

 

[WayneB]

Your going to hit a few rocks now and then and in most cases it will just ride over them. With that siad it all depends upon where the rock and blade meet, I guess.

I've run my bush hog for a number of years, go in low gear and just enjoy the ride. Usually the blade pan will ride up onto the rock or object and over it. The blades will normally slip enough not to damage themselves.

A 4' bush hog is normally a light duty rotary cutter and care should be taken when using them.

That is my 2 cents...

 

[TripleR]

How big of rocks are you talking about and are they firmly anchored?

I run a four foot "bush hog" as well as two ten foot ones and the four foot is pretty light duty and therefore much easier to damage, but the worse you should get is some nicks in the blades which can be fixed with a 4" angle grinder.

 

[DmansPadge]

If you get a hold of a big one you can ding a blade up pretty good... but look at the blades before you start... most cutters that have been used much probably have some pretty rough looking blades on them anyway and you'll have a frame of reference in your mind if you hit something you think might have hurt them.

I agree a lot of 4' cutters are fairly light duty but it will vary by make and model. I have had 2 different Modern cutters. The one I have now is the "XL" series (I think) and although their lightest model it is still built quite a bit heavier than an old 5' Bush Hog (brand) I had been using. And the first Modern cutter I had (sold with another tractor) was the "Competitor" series and was very well built. Made with the same construction of the 5 and 6 footers and was galvanized dipped.

 

[AMR]

I run a DR a lot in the club I belong to, I have to say that I love to get on my tractor and run my rotary cutter after about 3 minutes of running the DR, you will never look back in my opinion.

Relative to toughness I probably have the cheapest rotary cutter ever produced on the planet, it is a 4' farm force from TSC, I paid like $350 for it about 6 years ago.

I have hammered some crazy stuff with that thing, surveying monuments, rocks, stumps, fence posts, you name it and I have gotten on it pretty good. She keeps on cutting like a champ with no visible sign of damage other than some good nicks in the blades. The blades are not made to be razor sharp anyway. As others note the cutter rides up over stuff pretty well. I am yet to break the shear pin. I am also quick to get the PTO off the ground.

Getting to know where you're cutting takes time but I find that you develop a routine and over time you run over less stuff, probably becuase you either move it, trim it or level it.

I also cut a lot of poison ivy, I am careful to where gloves when I touch the cutter and I wash it with soap and a scrubber when I am done.

 

[bxowner]

Thanks for the tip, AMR. And the encouragement. I'm going to go check out TSC and see if my dealer has anything used. The market on craisglist these days is pretty soft, but bet it will pick up as spring approaches.

 

[Gas Man]

You may also want to look at the brand Howse it is far from heavy duty but I have hit more rocks than I can count and the things keeps cutting I even hit one rock ledge that is firmly anchored in the ground it stalled the tractor the blades formed a 45 degree angle not a straight line I pushed the blade back into place started up the tractor engaged the PTO let the brush hog wind up and off I went cutting some more.

 

[Denwa]

I'm thinking about borrowing a friend's 4' brush hog and trying it out, but don't want to damage the thing. My question is: can brush hogs sustain frequent knicks with rocks? I have plenty of rocks in the woods and would do my best to keep the blade elevated, but am sure I'll hit a few.[/QUOTE]

BXOwner,
A note of caution from someone who just bought a tractor with a busted PTO, because the previous owner ran over a rock with the brush cutter. The caution is that you might not just mess up the cutter.

I've seen two things mentioned in other posts around this general subject. One is to ensure that the "shear pin" is actually something that will shear. There are stories of "butter bolts" being replaced with case hardened unbreakem bolts that resulted in something much more expensive breaking.

The other recommend is that one install a slip clutch between the PTO (I'm gonna' when I get mine fixed!) and the mower or other equipment that might short stop.

FWIW,
Dennis

 

[taborekle]

I don't think you have much to worry about. There are a number of features built into most bushhogs to try to protect them from rocks and debris.

First off, the blades on my 4 ft bush hog have a swivel attachment to the blade spinner, so if they strike a object, the blade will pivot back and around the object. The blades are only held extended by centrifical force, so once it clears the object it can and will pivot back.

Next is that there is usually a stump jumper built into the hub assembly that allows it to pass over stumps or other debris.

Finally, they all have a shear bolt in the PTO shaft assembly, if you just really wack something, it should break the shear bolt and not damage the tractor transmission.

Larry

 

[Ken45101]

Another term for a brush hog is a "rock buster" or "gravel maker" ;-) Mine is a medium duty one and many unseen rocks have been turned into gravel. I have to sharpen my blades every few years

I've done many miles of forest trails with a DR Mower. They are wonderful machines, however I much prefer when the trail is wide enough to get the tractor through!

However, if you are highly susceptible to posion ivy, please realize that a brush hog will throw up dust and debris that you might contact or breathe.

Ken

 

[Tom_H]

A BX has plenty of power for a 36" to 48" rotary cutter. At the 36" width, I am only aware of light duty models. At 42" and 48" widths, there are light and medium duty models. I have a 40" heavy duty Gearmore. It is the only small HD brush cutter that I am aware of. I can cut clusters of saplings over 2" thick. If you have rocks, it would be beneficial to have guards, unless there is nothing they can hit. These machines can launch a baseball sized rock like a missile. Rough cutters, especially HD models, do not rely on torque and a sharp blade to cut. Instead, the massive blades build very high inertia. They are mounted on free pivoting spindle pans aka stump jumpers. When a blade hits a stump or the tip of a buried boulder, it just glances off, as opposed to stalling the engine. The inertia in the blade breaks or pulverizes the material that it hits, rather than cutting it. For this reason, most Rough cutters, especially heavy duty models, do not really need to have blades sharpened; sharpness makes almost no difference.

If you were to use a 40" Gearmore HD rough cutter on a BX, the DR will no longer be your favorite piece of equipment, it won't even come close.

As others have said, be very careful of even breathing the poison ivy dust. And especially, don't burn it. Several guys on here have reported spending 4 to 6 months in the hospital after breathing the smoke. A couple of guys reported the deaths of friends or neighbors after breathing it.

 

[savageactor7]

My question is: can brush hogs sustain frequent knicks with rocks?

Our brush hog has the blades that fold back when they hit an immovable object like a hidden stump or large protruding rock. That model will hold up better than a 'fix blade' brush hog.

What you can do to minimize those hits is keep the bucket close to the ground so you can feel the rocks out first.

Also take you time, go slow with a hand always ready to lift the cutter quickly.

 

[radioman]

As others have said, be very careful of even breathing the poison ivy dust. And especially, don't burn it. Several guys on here have reported spending 4 to 6 months in the hospital after breathing the smoke. A couple of guys reported the deaths of friends or neighbors after breathing it.

Then hire people like me who are poison ivy resistant to do the dirty mowing in those areas for you. I'll be happy to come down to where you are to mow for the day .:thumbsup:

 

[Ken45101]

Our brush hog has the blades that fold back when they hit an immovable object like a hidden stump or large protruding rock. That model will hold up better than a 'fix blade' brush hog.

By definition, a "brush hog" has the swinging blades. If it has "fixed blades" it's not a brush mower, it's more likely a finish mower.

Ken

 

[First one]

I've seen a guy using the bush hog once and came back an hour later with it so messed up it had a round circle cut almost though the deck and would just shake all over when you engaged the pto. He said he hit a couple of rocks hard, after looking up under it, the stump jumper was dam near cut into and the shaft was bent. $1500 later and it was as good as new.I guess he didn't take the time to walk around to see where the rocks are before he started and didn't pick it up fast enough when he hit something.

 

[Denwa]

My question is: can brush hogs sustain frequent knicks with rocks?

Our brush hog has the blades that fold back when they hit an immovable object like a hidden stump or large protruding rock. That model will hold up better than a 'fix blade' brush hog.

What you can do to minimize those hits is keep the bucket close to the ground so you can feel the rocks out first.

Also take you time, go slow with a hand always ready to lift the cutter quickly.

All Y'all,
I love his list. GREAT pointers and information to help a newbie keep out of trouble. One just needs to dig around in the threads for the wisdom.

The idea of running the bucket close to the ground is so simple and logical, but not necessarily a strategy that one would come to before something evil happened.

Thanks!,
Dennis