Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[1 Old Man]

Has anyone here owned an ACMA brand flail? Out of Iowa. In researching mowers, they had no pricing listed on their site, so I emailed them. They came back with pricing on par with the Italian units ($$$!) charged for shipping, and refused credit cards, insisting on wire transfer or check payment only.

To me, this smells very fishy. Out of curiosity, anyone done business with them?

ETA- They are also a Peruzzo dealer- Looks like it may be just a repainted peruzzo. Identical websites, same physical address/phone number- AKA Iowa Farm Equipment in Tipton, IA.

Yes, I own a Acma flail. Bought it from Iowa Farm Equipment. (during Covid) It's made in Italy.
You will be pleased with the build quality.
Yes. I paid for shipping to my farm, and the truck driver even helped with the unload etc.
After using it a couple of years I had a problem with the roller assembly. It was out of warranty.
However, the bottom line is, IFE contacted the manufacturer and got it all covered.
They could have given me the "song and dance" but they didn't. They returned my calls or texts
promptly. I believe they treated me fair.
After looking at some of the other, cheaper flails folks have purchased, I'm satisfied I bought
a unit that was suited for my needs. Btw, it comes greased, oil in gear box, and ready to use.
Pic of my unit when brand new.

 

[leonz]

I have a Caroni TM1900 with the Y type blades. If I want to sharpen them, is it best to try to do on the machine (seems difficult) or better to take them off and do in a shop vise or something? They look like they might be difficult to remove as well, so neither seems attractive. Thanks

Hello and good morning Foozle,

I am going to suggest to you that you invest in a wet well grinder to
sharpen the side slicer knives on your beautiful flail mower.
If you try to sharpen them with a hand held grinder you will ruin
the temper/heat treating and the metal will weaken.

Home despot has the WEN 8 inch wet well grinder for $98.00.
The three piece woodworkers sharpening accessory kit for the
WEN 8 inch grinder will let you sharpen your side slicer knives
without damaging the heat treating in them and they will last
much longer.

The 8 inch accessory kit is $45.87

I still have the wen wet well grinder I bought 30+ years ago and
I have not needed to resharpen my flail mower knives since 1992.

 

[scootr]

Years ago I had a little MOTT mower with about 100 knives. First time sharpening I removed the knives. The second time I saved a lot of time sharpening them in place.

 

[John0829]

Flap disc on an angle grinder takes very little time and unless you get stupid with it no heat build up.

 

[Foozle]

Years ago I had a little MOTT mower with about 100 knives. First time sharpening I removed the knives. The second time I saved a lot of time sharpening them in place.

Was it difficult to hold the knives in place while sharpening since they aren't fixed in place, but flop around on the clevis?

 

[Halftrack]

I suggest a good set of visegrips or slip joint pliers to hold those knives.

 

[JWR]

I have a Caroni TM1900 with the Y type blades. If I want to sharpen them, is it best to try to do on the machine (seems difficult) or better to take them off and do in a shop vise or something? They look like they might be difficult to remove as well, so neither seems attractive. Thanks

I do not see sharpening flail mower blades in the sense of going through all of them. There are several reasons and a suggestion:
1) The Y blades on my 78" Alamo are not top of the line heavy but they are also cheap. Stocked in quantity by shops for State Road machines. If your time is worth anything you are better off buying replacement blades when inspection says it is time to do so.
2) The Y blades can be reversed, essentially doubling their life. Another reason it makes no economic sense to sharpen them.
3) Any flail owner who covers some variety of pastures, meadows, etc. will have to replace a blade here and there over time (talking Y, not hammer.) So just take the old blades (you removed when replacing all of them) and stock them as spares -- sharpen a few when you have time, need a break, get bored...etc.
Overall I think it makes sense to look at the cost of blades vs the value of your time.

 

[dieselscout80]

When I use the Y blades I don’t typically sharpen them but I will reverse them.

I have been using the heavy duty forged Y blades and they last good for me and they are reversible. That said if they are damaged I replace them.

I have a set of the duck foot knives and in the past I have sharpened them. I use a 4.5” angle grinder. The duck foot blades are one per station vs the Ys which are two per station.

 

[JethroB]

I found it was far easier to just cut the bolts off with an angle grinder and replace along with new nylocks. Caroni TM1900

 

[mikester]

Am I being realistic? Spring clean up is a PITA with tons of fallen branches during winter snow and ice storms. I want a flail to do the following using my M59 for clean up around the farm fields:
* chip fallen branches up to 2"
* be able to side shift on flat ground while cutting to get close to fences to cut tree suckers and fallen branches
* be able to operate vertically to chip small new growth branches along fence lines
* use hammer blades to handle dirt clump (ant mounds), wood and occasional rock and stump strikes
* ideally I'd want to get something between 60 and 72 inch cut width
* I'd probably use this 5-6 times a year, early spring then once a month in the growing season

Here's the three models I'm looking at

61" Gold Ditch Bank Flail Mower, VL-AGFN160 | Betstco Sales, Parts, and Service:

AGFN takes our AGF mower and adds an openable rear deck for faster mowing when you do not need fine mulching (it is also nice for changing blades) a holder for your hoses when not attached and a floating right side 3-point connection to allow the mower greater flex when following the contours of...

betstco.com

Flipper Super | Del Morino

Resistant, flexible and versatile. It allows an excellent maintenance of slopes and embankments.

delmorino.it

https://www.maschiogaspardo.com/en/web/usa/giraffa-xl

The Betstco claims up to 4" diameter chipping and shredding vs 2" on the Delmorino and Maschio. Is this wishful thinking?

Will I be destroying these 3 units based on what I want to shred? I've been using forestry mulcher rentals over the years to get things under control, I would like something I could use with my CUT to keep new growth under control and aid in spring clean up.