Flail Mower Flail mower overhang/offset- how important is it?

[A J C]

Hey All,

I have decided on a flail mower over a finish or brush hog but now my questions are more specific. I have a few trees and some landscaping and will be mowing the 4 acres with a ford NAA and am wondering if I need the mower to go past my tire or how important/handy that feature is? I am looking at the wood max 50 and wood max 62 with Y blades, the 50 is in stock but would virtually line up with my rear tire on the right side and it sounds like the 62 is back ordered at least a month and obviously more expensive but would stick out at least 6 inches or so. Let me know your thoughts.

 

[Hay Dude]

Great question AJC. I been running these machines for a long time and I can tell you that 6" past the tire wont feel like much of anything once youre in the operators seat. In fact, your wouldnt gain ability to even start getting under trees or fences until youre about 24" past the tire. Its harder to explain than demonstrate.
At the end of the day, the model that sticks out 6" would be very minimally " usable " for mowing out past the back tire.
If you have a crapton of trees and fences to mow under (like I do), get a hydraulic swing flail that swings out farther, or buy a sickle type mower and the smaller flail for general mowing. The old saying " the right tool for the right job "
Is the 50" enough cheaper than the 62" that you could find a used sickle bar mower?

 

[John0829]

My limited experience using a Ford 850 with a New Holland 917 flail is with it set to follow the tractor like a bush hog that is exactly what it felt like. With it offset I can get VERY close to many things and mowing the county road ditch, since they don't, is much easier than it has ever been. IMHO offset is the only way to go and I really don't notice any real difference while mowing the pasture since the flail is a 6' and with it offset the left side follows directly behind the tire.

 

[A J C]

Woodmaxx has a 62” with hydraulic offset (Seems like a great feature) but the 1954 NAA is fairly basic
So I don’t have any hydraulic controls. I would also have concerns over weight as my lift rear lift is 800lbs and I have 30hp coming from the PTO.

 

[Hay Dude]

Woodmaxx has a 62” with hydraulic offset (Seems like a great feature) but the 1954 NAA is fairly basic
So I don’t have any hydraulic controls. I would also have concerns over weight as my lift rear lift is 800lbs and I have 30hp coming from the PTO.

I have a JD 390 non off set and a Ferri hydraulic adjust offset. Offset fully, it reaches far, but affects tractor stability. If you really want reach on a small tractor, like 2-3’ of reach, you need a sickle.