Mid-Mower destruction of the 3rd kind

[greg_g]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I figure that I got away very cheaply this time. Those hardened blades do work nicely also. )</font>
Next time you might get away cheaper yet, if you buy breakaway blade bolts. I paid 8 bucks each for them at an area farm store, they perform like shear bolts on a PTO drive shaft (which it seems you didn't have either). Both times I hit an unmoveable snag with the MMM on my Yanmar, it dropped the blade right on the spot. No damage to anything at all except the bolt. What was left of it turned out by hand, no bother with extractors or anything. Just grabbed another bolt/washer from the spare box, and went right back to mowing.

//greg//

 

[JimR]

I got the blades thru my local Cub dealer. They are hardened for sure. I took out a couple rocks the other day with very minor nicks to the blades. They did however cost $74.00 for the set of 3 with washers. I feel they are worth it and will be buying another set to have for a spare ready to go in case I do something stupid. I cut down a large section of rasberry bushes withthese the other day. They didn't even loose their sharpness on them. My rider would have dulled down real quick in that stuff.

As for having sheer pins on the blades. That is a good idea. However it would not have stoopped me from destroying what I did. My deck caught the stump first and ripped the fron bracket off and the rest is history now. I am now making a new front bracket that will not tear off. I have it almost done now. Pictures will follow when it is completed.

 

[KubotaSteve]

I always bushhog unfamiliar territory first and then take the landscape rake through it. It you here the tines on the rake pinging you know it might be an area you want to check. Maybe I do all of the extra work because I can't weld!!
Nice job on the welding.

 

[greg_g]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I feel they are worth it and will be buying another set to have for a spare ready to go in case I do something stupid. )</font>
The blades on my 60" Yanmar MMM were $125 for a set of 3, and they didn't even throw in the washers. But from personal experience, these hardened blades will break - before they bend. And I've never broken one. Perhaps you'd be better off spending $24 on blade bolts, than $74 on more blades.

//greg//