Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[jonsstihl]

nice work, do you have another hydraulic outlet so you can move the cylinder in and out on your telescoping boom you are going to build

how did you mount the hydraulic motor to resist the torque motion. Assuming it is on some kind of plate between the A frame.

 

[jthibodeau89]

We've got a Haas VF2ss. Mostly I run Aluminum, and Stainless, so getting feeds and speeds right for the PH was a little annoying, plus we just moved to a full 3d software from 2.5, so I was using this as a learning experience. These parts have a lot of play when installed, so this was the perfect part to learn the various 3d strategies on. If I ended up with something even reasonably close it would have worked... Second piece wasn't quite as good. I must have been off by .005 when I flipped it on X, so I've kinda got a parting line look on that one. Oh well, that buffed right out... Now I just have to get those bloody magnetic chips out of the machine...

Gotcha, Haas VF2ss. I would like to get a surplus VF1 or VF2 for my retirement plan. May also look at a Fadal. Maybe early 2000 vintage.

 

[Lnk]

Liked my import flail so much that I finally finished modding it to fit on the front of my skidsteer. Now if only I had a telescopic boom to reach farther under ,,,,,View attachment 714421

How do you keep it from nose diving? Do you just lower the skids all the way down? Just curious if you have had any problems.

 

[workinonit]

It looks like he has it mounted with rigid brackets so that he can curl and lift/lower it with the SS. With that setup he doesn't have to run it on the skids.

 

[ddbackhoe]

Welded tabs to a frame uprights, then bolted a piece of channel to the tabs, motor is a 2 bolt a and the motor mount is bolted to the channel. Relief valve bracket has 2 bolts. By removing 4 bolts (relief and channel) I can be back to regular pto shaft. I used a 6 spline pto shaft motor, 6 spline coupler and a dual relief valve. Standard flow on the farm SS is 25 gpm.

nice work, do you have another hydraulic outlet so you can move the cylinder in and out on your telescoping boom you are going to build

how did you mount the hydraulic motor to resist the torque motion. Assuming it is on some kind of plate between the A frame.

 

[ddbackhoe]

It looks like he has it mounted with rigid brackets so that he can curl and lift/lower it with the SS. With that setup he doesn't have to run it on the skids.

Close, the mower is actually mounted on two hinges (pins) to allow it to float (a little) on the rear roller. I may need to add something like snow plow shoes or front rollers to augment, we”ll see

 

[workinonit]

Nice. I like that idea. I would like to put mine on my loader frame but it's just too heavy. That's the real advantage of a SS. It can handle the weight and the hydraulics. I'm working on gage wheels for mine now. My one beef with a flail is not being able to easily duplicate the cutting height.

 

[Lnk]

It looks like he has it mounted with rigid brackets so that he can curl and lift/lower it with the SS. With that setup he doesn't have to run it on the skids.

Which will work wonderfully on a flat surface. Which I don't have, that's why I was wondering how he controls the front height. I think he is going to need gage wheels on the front. I am thinking about a similar setup for my pt.

 

[toolslinger]

Well, all my parts are in hand currently, except a few shims for the gearbox. Those are on the way.
So on to the repair of the rotor...

I've got 8 tabs that were either missing, or gouged from previous poor welding to the point I wanted to replace them. After I do those, I have another dozen or so that need grinding, and rewelding due to cracks...

So far, things are behaving nicely. I'm glad I have TIG at work, as I imagine this might be more challenging with MIG since it really needs some heat on the shaft, and the tabs are so thin comparatively... Probably why the other tabs were gouged so badly. This rotor has really been through the wringer over the last 50 years or so...

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

Well, all my parts are in hand currently, except a few shims for the gearbox. Those are on the way.
So on to the repair of the rotor...
View attachment 715875

I've got 8 tabs that were either missing, or gouged from previous poor welding to the point I wanted to replace them. After I do those, I have another dozen or so that need grinding, and rewelding due to cracks...

So far, things are behaving nicely. I'm glad I have TIG at work, as I imagine this might be more challenging with MIG since it really needs some heat on the shaft, and the tabs are so thin comparatively... Probably why the other tabs were gouged so badly. This rotor has really been through the wringer over the last 50 years or so...

View attachment 715876

This is really interesting and I appreciate all the time you are taking to upload pictures and document the restoration process but I have a question. You spent $250 to purchase this old, worn out Mott flail mower plus parts which you are now up to $2000. This does not include all the time in research and labor you are having to put into this. At this point the flail is needing MAJOR SURGERY to bring it back to working condition. I am not sure how valuable your time is but I would guess if you are a machinist that would come out to be about $20 an hour at entry level and based on some of the things you are saying you sound like you are at a senior level or a journeyman in your trade so you have to be making somewhere around at least $60-100K a year. For another $2000 more you could purchase a brand new flail mower that would be superior in design and quality to the old Mott flail mower and be done with it. So why are you going to all the trouble to do this?