Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[thewalnutguy]

What brand is your kick-wheel? It would be great for trimming underneath fences.

made by rears manufacturing, web address for the mower is SIDE CUTTER -- Rear's Manufacturing I've been impressed by Rears' customer service, they actually respond promptly to customer inquiries.
A lower cost option might be Country Home Products DR PRO XLP 3-Point Hitch Trimmer Mower | DR Power Equipment
The DR trimmer mower uses a string line rather than rotary mower blade. The DR uses a rub rail to retract the mower when it encounters an obstruction (tree, fence post) whereas the Rears mower has a wheel with a cushioned rim to roll around the obstruction. For fence line application this wouldn't make any difference, but for trimming around my trees I didn't want the rubbing action against the bark of the tree.

 

[leonz]

I've got a Mott (now owned by Alamo) 88" wide flail mower that I use for mowing 7 acres of rows of black walnuts three times a summer. The flails are double-sided. In 37 years I've purchased one new set of flails. I've turned them over, never tried sharpening them since unless that was done with a calibrated holding jig balance might be an issue. I'm using the mower with a Kubota L3600 which handles the mower just fine. Even when clearing areas of 3' or higher grass. When Mowing the rows of walnuts I use a kick-wheel rotary on the end of the mower, power coming from tractor's hydraulics. The kick-wheel runs in the row of trees and rolls around the trunk when it encounters a tree. I do this to help control wild grape.

Good morning walnutguy,

I want to welcome you as the newest resident member of the "Flail Mower Nations".

The best way to sharpen your flail mowers side slicer knives is to use a wet well grinder.

Using a low speed wet well grinder prevents damaging the side slicer knives from the heat
and friction of a high speed carborundum grinding wheel.

A wet well grinder uses a low speed grinding wheel that is bathed in a water bath that
cools the grinding wheel and prevents overheating the edge of the hand tool or
flail mower knife from overheating and losing its temper from heat treating.

You can purchase a wet well grinder from www.MicroMark.com at a very reasonable price.

It is currently on sale through an internet purchase for $99.95 plus tax and shipping cost to your door.

 

[TheFarmerInAdell]

Long time no talk flail fellas...been too busy working.

Someone sell me on a ditch bank mower.

My little 4ft Ford flail has been doing a bang up job with my Yanmar 2420D but I'm getting into projects where I need a bigger tractor. A 48" cutter has worked great on a 50" wide tractor but all my potential replacements I'm considering are 60"+, one pushing 72".

Add in that I have an 1100 ft long terrace line that's a royal pain to keep cleaned up. Towards the back of my property the terrace is nearly a 10ft drop steep enough that my only option has been roundup and forget it.

Make some suggestions for me. I'm looking at new equipment this time around. I'm tired of working on stuff before I can work on stuff....

My solution for my ditch bank ended up being a three point mounted disk mower. I got a heck of a deal on a used one. I use it for making hay and mowing my ditch. It's designed from the start to hang off to the side and only requires 1 remote (to lift it). It weighs less than a comparable flail, and cuts as fast as you can drive. Granted it won't take down brush like a flail will, but it maintains grass very well. It also uses a bit of horsepower, so keep that in mind. A drum mower would likely do the same with less HP, but I don't have much experience with those. And, from what I remember, most drum mowers swing to the rear for transport instead of lifting up. A good option if you don't have a remote to use. But from what I can remember, drum mowers tend to be shorter in length than disc mowers.

When looking for a disc mower with intentions of running it at an angle look for one with individual pods and grease instead of oil. I have an older New Idea mower that has these features. The oil filled ones will lose oil from the more elevated areas and wear prematurely when run at an incline for extended periods.

 

[nova3930]

My solution for my ditch bank ended up being a three point mounted disk mower. I got a heck of a deal on a used one. I use it for making hay and mowing my ditch. It's designed from the start to hang off to the side and only requires 1 remote (to lift it). It weighs less than a comparable flail, and cuts as fast as you can drive. Granted it won't take down brush like a flail will, but it maintains grass very well. It also uses a bit of horsepower, so keep that in mind. A drum mower would likely do the same with less HP, but I don't have much experience with those. And, from what I remember, most drum mowers swing to the rear for transport instead of lifting up. A good option if you don't have a remote to use. But from what I can remember, drum mowers tend to be shorter in length than disc mowers.

When looking for a disc mower with intentions of running it at an angle look for one with individual pods and grease instead of oil. I have an older New Idea mower that has these features. The oil filled ones will lose oil from the more elevated areas and wear prematurely when run at an incline for extended periods.

New tractor will be here this week, so I think I'm going to see if I can run it down that slope. New one is 2ft+ wider than the old one and not much taller so it may be stable enough. If it is I may just get a bigger normal mower, or possibly one with hydraulic offset....

 

[nova3930]

Anybody know anything about chambers American flails? 90" for fairly cheap nearby. I can't find a whole lot googling though

 

[nova3930]

Local dealer said they didn't know when or if they'd get another shipment of Del Morino anything and couldn't guarantee they'd get me a flail. They showed me some Titans when I initially thought were the chicom units but now that I'm looking online, it appears they have some pre-name change Ironcraft. My understanding is those are Italian as well correct? Cosmo? In stock FL-165 was quoted as around $3600. Really need a 6ft unit though.

sigh, may just end up getting another used one. As much as I'd like to have a whiz bang new one, not sure I can justify it....

 

[leonz]

I would check with another Del Morino dealer or the nearest Maschio implement dealer as the
usual turn around is 6 weeks between order placement and a container coming from Europe.

 

[nova3930]

I would check with another Del Morino dealer or the nearest Maschio implement dealer as the
usual turn around is 6 weeks between order placement and a container coming from Europe.

What's your opinion of the Ironcraft/Cosmo? They did say they could probably get one of those fairly readily.

 

[leonz]

What's your opinion of the Ironcraft/Cosmo? They did say they could probably get one of those fairly readily.

Hello and good morning nova3930,

I ask that you bear with me as I had 5 teeth pulled yesterday and it takes longer to do chores.

The COSMO implements are made in Italy and come under the European Unions safety and
construction standards.

The propain people are here and I have to go.

 

[nova3930]

Hello and good morning nova3930,

I ask that you bear with me as I had 5 teeth pulled yesterday and it takes longer to do chores.

The COSMO implements are made in Italy and come under the European Unions safety and
construction standards.

The propain people are here and I have to go.

No worries man. Take care of yourself. Don't kill yourself correcting my ignorance lol