Dent Disappointment

[Sonlite Kid]

Greetings from the Great PNW.
My wife and I just acquired 8 acres of riverfront property here in Washington State...very blessed. After being treated exceptionally well at the nearby Kubota dealer, and after being sold on the all-around quality/versatility on the B Series, we chose a B2920 as our first tractor. Utterly impressed with the capability of this thing; with the differential lock this piece of machinery is literally unstoppable. My buddy has a commercial dive company and, needless to say, has quite the love affair w/ heavy equipment. He and I (last weekend, the day after the tractor was delivered) were using the FEL to clear a walkway through the brush down to the river, taking the path of least resistance and clearing/filling/leveling along the way, with the rotary cutter attached but fully raised. Well, the cutter ended up with a inward dent in the rear (along the curvature) which, luckily, doesn't interfere with the path of the blades. My questions are (...and remember, go easy- I'm a total newbie confused2:

-Is it necessary to leave the rotary cutter attached (as counter-weight) when doing this type of work, especially since the tires were loaded with Bio-Tire Ballast? (I'm guessing no, and in case you were wondering, yes, we were pretty giddy and probably not mindful enough to have considered taking the extra two minutes to unattach the implement from the hitch).

-What, exactly, is the type of metal of the rotary cutter housing (i.e. the main 'orange' portion)...Land Pride RCR1548 (couldn't find that info on website and don't have the manual handy)...and what is the best process for pounding out the dent? (I figure different metals merit different methods of pounding out.)

I do realize it's to be expected, getting a few dents along the way...but I was kind of bummed out, it being so shiny new and all. Want to pound it out so it can have that 'newness' for a while longer.

Thanks so much. Before making the purchase of our new Kubota, I spent literally hours sifting through threads on this website and was hugely aided in my decision for tractor and implements from your input!

So, a big and hearty thank you to you all. :thumbsup:

 

[Treemonkey1000]

Congrats on the new tractor (and the dent sort of). What part of Washington or you in?
As far as the tin and dent I doubt if it is big enough to "oil can" back out. You might take a ballpeen hammer and give it a few whacks along the edges of the dent to force it back outwards. Kubota sells it's flavor of orange I am sure.
Next thing is get them pictures on here so that we can oooh and aahhhh

 

[brandoro]

-Is it necessary to leave the rotary cutter attached (as counter-weight) when doing this type of work, especially since the tires were loaded with Bio-Tire Ballast? (I'm guessing no, and in case you were wondering, yes, we were pretty giddy and probably not mindful enough to have considered taking the extra two minutes to unattach the implement from the hitch).

-What, exactly, is the type of metal of the rotary cutter housing (i.e. the main 'orange' portion)...Land Pride RCR1548 (couldn't find that info on website and don't have the manual handy)...and what is the best process for pounding out the dent? (I figure different metals merit different methods of pounding out.)

You really should have something on the 3 point for extra ballast when doing FEL work. Helps a lot with traction and stability. There are numerous threads about ballast in tires, on the 3pt, both tht discuss this question at some length.
I filled a Kubota ballast box with scrap steel and concrete, makes a really compact counterweight and is great for FEL work. I put a hitch receiver on it too so I can move trailers around with it or just pull hard on stuff. Numerous threads about making your own multi-function ballast box too.
The housing should be mild steel, depending on the size and nature of the dent I would look at using a block of wood between the hammer and the housing so as not to beat up the paint too much. Or a block of wood and hydraulic jack if you can line the jack up on something solid enough to push against. Or some combination of wood, hammer and jack.

 

[rus_geek]

...might take a ballpeen hammer and give it a few whacks along the edges of the dent to force it back outwards...

If that rotary cutter is built anything like mine, a ballpeen hammer wouldn't do more than make noise. I used a six pound sledge with full swings to straighten some dents on my 5' Howse.

As brandoro mentioned, fixing the dent might to more to damage the paint, so why not leave the dent? The first one is always the hardest, but now that it has a dent, you won't feel so bad about actually *using* it :thumbsup:

-r-

 

[ninefinger]

I understand how you feel, however just wait until you ding the tractor.:mur:

 

[beenthere]

I agree with rus geek.....get the big maul out and have at it...or leave it and keep it as a reminder of a great day.

But, get a ballast box to replace for weight. Much easier to maneuver around without the wide attachment on the rear.

 

[slan]

Or buy a box blade and have another tool?:thumbsup:

 

[IslandTractor]

If the dent doesn't interfer with the blades, just sign and date it as a memento. A bush hog isn't a bush hog until it has a few dents.