Flail Mower Considering Flail Mower

[BoylermanCT]

I am looking at the Caroni flails, TM1600 and TM1900. They come with either grass blades or brush blades. Agri-Supply seems to only carry the mower with type B brush blades. Would these blades give me a smooth cut or do I want the type P blades? The B blades are Y blades. Won't they result in a "bumpy" finish since the blades are not horizontal to the ground? I just mowed the field again with my trusty Craftsman. Takes 2 hours, and would love to reduce that to 1 hour or less. Sure looks nice when done!

 

[GManBart]

I am looking at the Caroni flails, TM1600 and TM1900. They come with either grass blades or brush blades. Agri-Supply seems to only carry the mower with type B brush blades. Would these blades give me a smooth cut or do I want the type P blades? The B blades are Y blades. Won't they result in a "bumpy" finish since the blades are not horizontal to the ground? I just mowed the field again with my trusty Craftsman. Takes 2 hours, and would love to reduce that to 1 hour or less. Sure looks nice when done!

Typically the Y shaped blades give the finest cut, and you shouldn't notice anything unusual when you're done.

Edit: I was confused and thought the Caroni P blades were hammer style rather than scoop style. The P should give a more even cut, but I still don't think the B blade will give an unacceptable cut.

 

[TractorToolsDirect]

P will give a smoother cut. Yes, the B blades will give more of a zigzag surface on a lawn.

 

[leonz]

I am looking at the Caroni flails, TM1600 and TM1900. They come with either grass blades or brush blades. Agri-Supply seems to only carry the mower with type B brush blades. Would these blades give me a smooth cut or do I want the type P blades? The B blades are Y blades. Won't they result in a "bumpy" finish since the blades are not horizontal to the ground? I just mowed the field again with my trusty Craftsman. Takes 2 hours, and would love to reduce that to 1 hour or less. Sure looks nice when done!

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Good morning,

As you have come one day further with your inquiry;

Rotary cutters and rotary mower only provide the end user with
half the actual width of cut Per Blade so if you have a 4 foot brush
mower you have only 2 foot of cutting edge available to do work.

The quality of cut with the side slicers far exceeds any of the rotary
cutter or mower cut as the horizontal cut tears the grass or brush to
accomplish the same task and the side slicers are much sharper.

The other issue is that a flail mower has many many more inches of
slicing edge exposed to the work making the clippings much smaller
in length per foot of cut.


EDIT:

The scoop/duckfoot/shovel type of flail mower knives are a dual use blade for sod and brush where in they leave fine sod with a waffle mower pattern and require the end user to mow at right angles to obtain a more finished look as the total cutting edge length per foot of cut is smaller.

The clippings are also longer and the scoop knife does not have the ability to slice the clippings a second time very well as the blade tends to lift them rather than lift and slice them each time- hence its ability cut brush quickly as well.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

==================================================================================

Good morning,

As you have come one day further with your inquiry;

Rotary cutters and rotary mower only provide the end user with
half the actual width of cut Per Blade so if you have a 4 foot brush
mower you have only 2 foot of cutting edge available to do work.

The quality of cut with the side slicers far exceeds any of the rotary
cutter or mower cut as the horizontal cut tears the grass or brush to
accomplish the same task and the side slicers are much sharper.

The other issue is that a flail mower has many many more inches of
slicing edge exposed to the work making the clippings much smaller
in length per foot of cut.


EDIT:

The scoop/duckfoot/shovel type of flail mower knives are a dual use blade for sod and brush where in they leave fine sod with a waffle mower pattern and require the end user to mow at right angles to obtain a more finished look as the total cutting edge length per foot of cut is smaller.

The clippings are also longer and the scoop knife does not have the ability to slice the clippings a second time very well as the blade tends to lift them rather than lift and slice them each time- hence its ability cut brush quickly as well.

Leon, if I understand your post correctly, I think you are saying the "B" knives in TractorToolsDirect's post would leave a better finish, and the "P" knives would be what you are calling "duck foot/scoop" shaped knives. Correct? If so, that is the opposite of what TractorToolsDirect is saying. Maybe I'm just confused.

 

[leonz]

No, you not confused my friend.
The scoop knives can be used for both, but to get a better finish with the scoop knives and
the rotor with the two rows of side slicer knives would require you to mow at right angles to
get a better finish with good sod.

The greater the knife count the better the cut.

 

[BoylermanCT]

Leonz, thank you for your input. To add to your point, my 5' rotary bush hog cutter blades are 24" long each, but the cutting surface is only 5" at the end. So in reality you don't get 24" of cutting surface. So it makes sense the flail cuts much better since you have cutting blades all along the length of the mower. If I were to sharpen by Bush Hog blades to lawn mower sharpness, would it cut reasonably? I just bought new blades for it, and will be installing them in the next couple of weeks. It would not take too long to sharpen them to give them a sharp edge. Or is the tip speed too slow on a bush hog?

Back to the flail mower.. So since I don't want to mow my field twice to get the best cut, you are saying the Y blades would give me a better cut than a single pass of the scoop knives? Will the Y blades leave a smooth flat surface, or will it be bumpy due to the Y shape? Or am I confusing my field with a golf course? Will it be noticeable?

Is there a loaner program anywhere in CT that I can try before I buy? That would be the best!

 

[leonz]

Leonz, thank you for your input. To add to your point, my 5' rotary bush hog cutter blades are 24" long each, but the cutting surface is only 5" at the end. So in reality you don't get 24" of cutting surface. So it makes sense the flail cuts much better since you have cutting blades all along the length of the mower. If I were to sharpen by Bush Hog blades to lawn mower sharpness, would it cut reasonably? I just bought new blades for it, and will be installing them in the next couple of weeks. It would not take too long to sharpen them to give them a sharp edge. Or is the tip speed too slow on a bush hog?

Back to the flail mower.. So since I don't want to mow my field twice to get the best cut, you are saying the Y blades would give me a better cut than a single pass of the scoop knives? Will the Y blades leave a smooth flat surface, or will it be bumpy due to the Y shape? Or am I confusing my field with a golf course? Will it be noticeable?

Is there a loaner program anywhere in CT that I can try before I buy? That would be the best!

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You are not confusing anything,

1. The turf/sod/brush density
2. the travel speed
3.The mowers height

4. rotary mowers and rotary cutters tear the grass blade/brush to cut it.

5. The Verticut method using the side slicer and scoop knives slices the grass
blade with much more precision and efficiency in my opinion.

a. you will not have a bumpy surface unless you mow too closely- this only occurs
when using the dethatching blades and the Y blades together at the same time.

6. The scoop knives are a dual purpose knife blade and always will be and you may be required to
mow over an area a second time BUT in saying that you have to decide HOW OFTEN YOU NEED TO MOW,
how often you mow will determine the condition of the sod and its ability to sprout grass seed if you
want to improve your sod and reduce invading plants like poison ivy with a close cut every week or so.

I mowed my dads place of 6 acres every four days or so with the finish flail mower(that I now own)
and had no issues as there was never any dead grass.

You are going to create the end result with the mower you buy and you will have to decide if that is what
you want.

A finish flail with four rows of knives will always, always, give the best cut with sharp knives.
the more often you mow, that much more grass and brush will be shredded/sliced and turn to mulch
that will rot away quickly and dissolve.

The rotary brush mower blades are not ment to be sharpened to a lawn mower
sharpness with a hot grind sharpening anyway.

They are ment to be sharpened only slightly with a slightly blunt edge due to the
thickness of the steel used to make them.

I would chat with a local dealer and do not pay any attention to the crap of "you do not want a flail mower"
and ask for the name of a mower owner in the area to talk to. you can also call a highway department and
ask about their flail mowers.

The more you mow with a flail mower the smoother the turf will become as it eliminates the brush clumps.

The secret to mowing is overlap when dealing with areas mowed less frequently NOT a higher cutting height.