Rotary Cutter Bush Hog Safety Guards

[wolfweb]

Hello All, short time lurker, first time poster.

I'm getting a new CUT tractor - and it comes with a free Bush hog (we call them slashers or Rotoslashers here in Australia)

I like that my tractor includes a "free" slasher. Trouble is the safety guards are optional and the dealer thinks they aren't too important. But after some research I think it might be more important than he thinks. I'm brand new to the world of Tractors, so I thought a second opinion from the knowledable people here on this forum might be a good idea.

Here's a flyer with a picture of the slasher and info:

http://www.howard-australia.com/products/pdf/nug0709.pdf

Notice how it has a wide opening on both ends and has holes for the conveyor belt safety guard to be bolted on. Also notice that at the bottom of page that it's required by law to have these guards if used in western Australia. (I'm not in WA but wow if it's law there it's got to be important surely?)

So I say to the dealer who thinks they're optional and not that important, it looks like those guards might be useful and what do they cost? The reply is that they're about $300 and he'd ask them to throw them in free or a discount but since I'm getting the slasher "free" he couldn't.

I wasn't too impressed by his answer or the price. I'm happy with everything else about this deal, but this safety guard thing is making be feel a bit like that an important safety requirement has been left off, at the expense of my safety, to keep the sticker price down.

So, after viewing the photo of the slasher, do the members here think that these guards are "optional" or are they really required for safe operation of that particular Bush hog / slasher as I suspect?

Does $300 sound right? How hard would it be to make these things myself?

 

[Opti-Mist]

First, welcome.

Next, safety. I have run these machines seemingly forever. I had one experience some 40 years agoe where the cutter threw a rock of about 6 - 8 inches diameter. I hit the driver's side A pillar of a car, broke the windshield and made quite a dent in the A pillar, not to say anything about the effect it had on the driver who had just opened the drivers door and stepped out and was standing just behind the open door. I've never had anything anywhere remotely like that happen since.

As an expedient, you could consider just making shields out of appropriately sized belting if you have access to some. A lot of older farms still have some laying about. Any similar flexible material would work as well. The idea is only to deflect thown material earthward as well as slow it down.

Good luck with your aquisition and enjoy.

 

[JoeinTX]

Agree with the dealer.

Don't know the figures, but if tractor/shredder deal seams a good deal to you then just go the extra on your own to get the guards.

I bought my shredder for $500..........then bought the chain guards/mounts from a dealer later for $165 and I was perfectly happy to find them at that price.


If you've got a gift horse staring you in the face, don't ask it to do tricks as part of the deal.....

 

[cityfarma]

I live in West Australia and have a slasher with guards. I would not be without them. At rated PTO speed the blades are moving at great speed and have a lot of energy in them. Any rock etc struck by the blades will be sent out at very high speed. If you are the only person within a couple of hundred metres, you may be able to do without the rear guards. The front guards are for YOUR protection as it is just as likely to throw forward and bounce off parts of your tractor and possibly hit you.

Get the guards!!!

Cityfarma

 

[jmc]

Interesting slasher design- no tail wheel. I don't know what to think about that, dragging the skids on the ground, remembering to pick the slasher up on every turn.

John

 

[Jeeper]

look under safety site on this form you will fine where the tractor opp has been killed by flying rocks and sticks. " I have to make some for mind " Jeep

 

[beenthere]

Interesting slasher design- no tail wheel. I don't know what to think about that, dragging the skids on the ground, remembering to pick the slasher up on every turn.

John

I see that the wheel is another option.
I'd replace the solid steel straps that attach to the rear of the deck with chains too, as well as add the rear gauge wheel.

 

[Soundguy]

the pto shield guard is the non negotiable one.. front an rear chain or belting guards would be a nice option, if available... though you can make them out of belting or mud flaps for next to nothing, etc...

soundguy

 

[mjncad]

To me the guards are a necessity. I've seen the dents in my deck from small rocks being flung against it by the blades. My Bush Hog uses belting type in front, and replaceable sheet metal in back. That's odd that a tail wheel is optional.

Guards are cheap, injuries are not.

 

[JoeinTX]

"Interesting slasher design- no tail wheel. I don't know what to think about that, dragging the skids on the ground, remembering to pick the slasher up on every turn..."

It is to us here in N.A.................all shredders have tail/guide wheels. But I've noticed the "slashers" in ANZAC-lands and some other parts of the world don't necessarily include tail wheels with the mower itself. Seems odd, I know, and would look to simply put greater stress on machine, linkage, and tractor...........but.

Why? If any of the Middle Earthers can shed light on that I'd love to know myself.

 

[RalphVa]

You need some guards in the front just to protect you and the tractor tires. Chains or very heavy, reinforced rubbery material is what is used by many. My bush hog has hanging chains.

You only need protection in the back if you're using it around the public, a house, a car, etc. because stuff can be slung quite a long ways a high force. I don't have any at the back because I only use it in down the hill from my house. I'd NEVER take it to do the sides of the road where I saw a neighbor doing so (and stopped to tell him that he could kill someone).

I once had about a 50 caliber hole made in the door of my Benz while crossing alligator alley in Florida. The hole was only about a foot below the window. Turned out the bush hogs they were using in the median were missing some chains and even had a pretty good sized hole in the top of the deck. Highway patrol sent both rigs back to the shop.

Someone was mowing in the front yard of a church building where we were working one day. That mowing machine slung something through the side window of a passing pickup trunk simply because the lawn was sloping away from the road. The trajectory of anything slung was above the roadway. Rotary machines are VERY dangerous.

Ralph

 

[NIdaho]

I have a small (48") LandPride that I used to use behind my B7100. One of the first times I used it I got nailed in the back with a couple of small stones -- they were large enough and sharp enough that they drew blood thru my tee-Shirt. I made a gaurd out of rubber belting before the next use.

Similar note -- about 20 years ago I was mowing the back yard with a push behind Snapper mower with a side chute. I wasn't bagging as it was the hot time of year when the grass grows alot slower and I was just sort of evening it up. Anyway the backyard sloped down away from the house. When I finished mowing I kept hearing this tinkling sound and couldn't figure out what it was. When I got over by the sliding glass door into the dining room the outer pane of glass was dropping into about 1/8" cubes (the tinkling sound I was hearing). The mower had picked up a rock and spilt it out the chute. With the slope of the yard, the trajectory was to the sliding glass door. Tempered Glass in sliding glass doors is pretty strong but if you hit it just right it goes to 1/8" cubes!

Ask a fireman or EMT what a small spring loaded center punch does to a car windshield.

 

[3RRL]

I used my Howse rotary cutter one season without chain guards or other type of guard.
I was mowing the meadow in front of our camp when my wife told me a big rock came flying by her. She was about 100 yards away (yes, approx 300 feet). The rock was about 3 or 4 inches in diameter. I couldn't believe it until she showed me the rock where it hit a bank near her.

After that incident. I decided to buy chain guards for the cutter.
The guards were reasonably priced, but the shipping was almost as much as the guards! I ended up making my own with remnant chain and other scrap metals I had lying around the garage. I turned out a lot less expensive than purchasing them from the dealer. They are still on the rotary cutter and I have lost only one string which I have replaced.
Here is a thread about it if you are considering making your own.
Adding Chain Guards to Rotary Cutter
There are lots of other ways and good ideas shared by other posters in the thread. Lots of photos too.

 

[Dead Horse]

I took the chain guards off my two JD bush hogs. they were nothing but a pain in the *** and cause me more trouble than thay were worth.... same thing with the shutes on the mid mount mowers..........

I just pay attention and don't mow around people or vehicles. Sometimes some funny stuff happens though...........

INCOMMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Soundguy]

I added rubber belt guards to mine after I sold my nice CUT diesel and high back seat and started using old fords with pan seats and open backs, and started getting pelted with debri now and then..

soundguy

 

[SPYDERLK]

I took the chain guards off my two JD bush hogs. they were nothing but a pain in the *** and cause me more trouble than thay were worth.... same thing with the shutes on the mid mount mowers..........

I just pay attention and don't mow around people or vehicles. Sometimes some funny stuff happens though...........

INCOMMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The knives on my JD cutter swing close to the front and back edges of the mower and only about an inch up from the bottom of the side skirts. This ensures good entry and exit of cuttings. Guards get in the way of this, particularly stiff rubber ones. I dont favor the rubber ones at all, but chains hanging down to just above the swing plane seem applicable. I am curious as to the trouble they caused. Was the setup fragile in ruf going or did they get in the way otherwise?
larry