Convert bush hog to finish mower???

[greeneggsandham]

Any one know if I can swap bush hog blades for lighter ones. Its too much momentum for finish cutting around the house. I would not be using these blades for bush work.

 

[LD1]

Any one know if I can swap bush hog blades for lighter ones. Its too much momentum for finish cutting around the house. I would not be using these blades for bush work.

What do you mean by too much momentum around the house?

I cannot see how less momentum/lighter blades are going to make any difference in the quality of cut. All the momentum does is help the bushhog power through heavy stuff better and keep the RPM's up.

But lighter stuff, it is going to turn the SAME rpm do matter how heavy the blades are.

And I also question the use of a bushhog as a finish mower alltogether. The quality isnt going to be any way near what a finish mower is. Unless your lawn is perfectally FLAT, trying to mow it down to "finish mewer" height with a bushhog is probabally going to tear the heck out of your yard.

 

[greeneggsandham]

It was a badly asked question by me. Never mind the momentum business, just can the blades be swapped for lighter ones?

 

[KTurner]

Any one know if I can swap bush hog blades for lighter ones. Its too much momentum for finish cutting around the house. I would not be using these blades for bush work.

Don't take this the wrong way, but its like using an adjustable wrench as a hammer. Good results? No. Would it work in a pinch? Sure.

Rotary cutter blades spin freely and just utterly beat the crap out of anything they come across until it submits to the beating and falls apart. They don't really cut and they don't have a sharp edge. Finishing mowers are made to cut the grass nicely and neatly into small pieces that fall back into the yard.

I've found you can improve the look of rotary cutter cut yard by slowing down and you can put a bit of an edge on the blades. But you're not going to get finish mower quality cut. The large pieces of grass will pile up in a row. You're going to have issues with the rotary cutter body digging into your yard when you take turns because it doesn't have gauge wheels like a finish mower. It's also difficult to get an even cut for the same reason. You can lift the cutter when you need to turn, but then you have to lower it to the same height again.

With all of that said, I use the rotary cutter occasionally if I let the grass get too tall/thick for the finish mower. But, I don't do it near the house due to safety concerns (no safety chains). If I use the rotary, I go over it again soon with the finish mower as it just looks much much better

Keith

 

[mwb]

I think the questions is why lighter blades? If the BH (PTO) is pushing your tractor around then maybe a one way clutch would be what you are looking for. Loosing blade mass would help but if yours has a stump-jumper then that will continue to push you around.

I use a bush hog (rotary cutter actually ) to cut some not-quite-lawn and I think you will find that it won't lift very well (lawn blades have much better lift) and the discharge might not be very good either. Mine tends to leave clumps everywhere. You would probably also want to add double tail wheels and anti-scalp wheels to the front. Maybe a used finishing mower would be a better solution? You can probably sell your current cutter for half the cost of a decent used finishing mower, might be a better investment.

If you decide to sell your cutter let me know the size, model, etc.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I dont have a finish mower, however, I think the blade height on them is closer to the bottom of the housing than a bushhog. With a bushhog frame dragging the ground, I think the lowest it will cut is about 4" which is much too high for a yard grass mow. You could put 4 gauge wheels on it like a finish mower and sharpen the blades but you still wont get the quality of cut and due to the weight you would need some hefty gauge wheels to hold it up.

I think the blade tip speed will be much higher on a finish mower than a bush hog also which gives a more crisp cut to the grass. You would end up spending as much modifying your BH as you would to just buy a used finish mower.

 

[LD1]

I think the questions is why lighter blades?

That is exactally what I was getting at.

What do you expect to gain by going to a ligher blade VS a heavy blade.

Because in my experience, a lighter blade is going to do the exact same thing your heavy blades will do.

 

[Soundguy]

if I wanted to 'finish cut' with a hog, I'd simple sharpen the blades like a lawnmowers blades instead of a 1/16 blut edge that a brush mower likes. might also pay attention to the front skids, and build a set of depth limit chains and stabilizer bars so i could mow as close to the ground as possible without dragging the front edge.

BTDT.. works ok.. not as great as a finish mower.. but if you do it correctly and the mower cooperates.. you can get real close to a 2-3 day growth after a rider mower..

soundguy

 

[greeneggsandham]

I think I'll just get a mower when I can afford one. I find the hog cut grass just fine ( not fussy about perfect lawn , just need it cut) but requires too much time to engage and disengage due to the momentum of the massive blades plus my tractor has an old fashioned clutch. I have alot of tight spaces and require alot of backing up starting and stopping and can do the job almost as fast with a push mower.

 

[GPintheMitten]

It sounds like you don't have an overrunning clutch on your pto. When you step on the clutch, does your tractor keep moving? If so, that is very dangerous and you should get the overruning clutch. Last time I bought one, they were around $65.
Available at TSC.

Then, with Sharp blades and chains and stablizers like soundguy mentioned, you can get by with the hog.

 

[GPintheMitten]

Also, I mowed with a hog for a few years, relunctant to spend money on a 3pt grooming mower. Eventually I bought a mower and it was a good investment. It not only did a much better job, but it was much less stress on me and the tractor.

 

[Soundguy]

ditto what GP said. ORC's can be had in the 35-65$ range and cut out all of that 'momentum' issue. if you have a non live pto and single stage clutch AND are cutting with a brush mower.. you SHOULD already have an ORC anyway...


soundguy

 

[jinman]

When I think of lawnmower blades attached to a stump jumper, I also think of how it would be to put a claw hammer on the end of a 36" sledge hammer handle and try to drive nails with it. It's not going to be pretty and you'll use much more energy than it is worth.

Finish mowers spin at much higher rpm than a rotary cutter. They produce much more vacuum lift of the grass and produce a relatively flat cut all the way across their width, chopping up grass into fine pieces that quickly decompose and add nutrients back to the soil. A shredder's cut can be pretty good, but the surface will be less flat and you'll get big chunks of grass/weeds. Anytime you try to turn sharply, you'll also have level problems because the cutter doesn't have gage wheels. That rear tire will leave massive ruts in soft/wet soil because the cutter weighs probably twice the weight of a finish mower and it's weight is on one pivoting rear wheel.

The best advice I've heard is to sharpen your cutter's standard blades as sharp as they can be sharpened and give the cutter a try. If it does a satisfactory job, then you know what to expect. Somewhere along the line, you'll probably want to buy a finish mower and you'll be glad you did.

EDIT: Rotary cutters are known for throwing things whether it be chunks of wood or rocks. If you use your RC around your home, make sure it has safety chains and send everyone inside. Finish mowers have much better deflector shields than most rotary cutters. In general, mowing is not a good spectator sport.:thumbdown:

 

[Soundguy]

using depth limit chains that attach at the top link rocker and run to the implement pins REALY helps when turning.. keeps the mower pretty level and generally keeps it from gouging ont he front corners.

I use a ford trike 950 and a 5' cutter to mow a couple ac of ROW between me and a neighbor.. it's 'lawn' style grass, not brush.. I've been doing it like this a while with the limit chains.. that and a well greased and maintained tail wheel, and it does a decent job. as for mowing in the rain? I'll pasture mow in the rain.. bit not anything like finish or lawn mowing..

soundguy

 

[kebo]

if I wanted to 'finish cut' with a hog, I'd simple sharpen the blades like a lawnmowers blades instead of a 1/16 blut edge that a brush mower likes. might also pay attention to the front skids, and build a set of depth limit chains and stabilizer bars so i could mow as close to the ground as possible without dragging the front edge.

BTDT.. works ok.. not as great as a finish mower.. but if you do it correctly and the mower cooperates.. you can get real close to a 2-3 day growth after a rider mower..

soundguy

I used to have a 4ft Landpride bush hog and with new (or sharp) blades, it would cut a lawn surpisingly well, almost like a finish cut quality, and it didn't tear the yard up unless you started making a lot of really sharp turns. When you made sharp turns, that Landpride BH had a lip on the bottom of the sidewalls and it would tend to dig in some.

 

[Soundguy]

the depth limit chains help with the dig in as they keep the corners from going down so far on a turn.

soundguy

 

[Down South]

Back in the early 60's my father got 3 wheel assembles from bush hogs and remounted them on each corner or ours, with spacers got 1/2" height adjustments. Sharpen the blades.

Well I spent hours under the bush hog with a 7" grinder sharping the blades.
you wouldn't believe the great job it did on 20 acres. Flattening high spots too.

Not a finish mower but wow!

The only problem was a 8n with out ORC or brakes, you kiss a lot of trees.
We eventually got a ORC, what a difference!

DS

 

[gilbertmsg]

I think it will do fine, just sharpen your blades, if old and beat up, buy new and then sharpen, will make a very good cut. By the way, 4 inches is not to high for a good yard look. Plenty of people in the south who are in the know mow their grass that high in the summer, it makes for deeper roots and healthier grass.

Eddie

 

[quicksandfarmer]

I put 6" steel wheels on the front corners of my mower. Like these:
Steel 6" Rigid Caster | eBay

They are just through-bolted to the deck, inside the skids. I left about 2" between the skid and the wheel to try to keep debris from building up. They sit about 3/4" lower than the skid. It really helps keep the skid from digging in, although occasionally a stick or something gets caught and they clog up. They also make hitching up the mower a lot easier, on a concrete floor the whole thing rolls and I can move it with one hand.

I was worried about durability. At first I had rubber wheels from Harbor Freight, and while they worked they gave up after a few months. The steel wheels have been on for 18 months now and have given no trouble.

 

[murphy1244]

That was smart, Are they fixed wheels????