Mowing Ditch Banks

[gwstang]

Woah! That thing looks like a little beast of a cutter! Good find :thumbsup:

 

[like2wheel]

I think I've found the solution to my ditch mowing conundrum. It's a K model Jari. Believe it's their "Chief" model.

Picked it up at a church rummage sale for $100. Fixed a couple of minor issues with the engine and it runs very well.

The keyway on the main driveshaft is pretty much trashed so the pulley won't stay on (which I imagine is why it ended up in a yard sale) but I have a cutter coming and I'll weld it up and re-cut the keyway.

I got the pulley to stay on long enough to test drive it and it works great, whacking through hardtack brush and multiflora rose with ease.

Cool machine, but I dont see how that solves the problem of the banks of the ditch. Seems like it might be even more top heavy than a push mower.

 

[pmsmechanic]

I'm not sure how to get the pictures to sit right side up but this is how I mow ditches, The last picture is of a rod poked into the ground to give an idea of how steep a slope that can be safely mowed.

It works quite well and wasn't expensive. With freight the duals were about $600.

Every couple of years I get paid to mow about 5 miles of ditch with this setup.

 

[PHPaul]

Cool machine, but I dont see how that solves the problem of the banks of the ditch. Seems like it might be even more top heavy than a push mower.

The main advantage is that the mower sickle sticks out far enough in front that I can mow down the bank a ways while standing on the lawn and the sickle will cut cleanly through woody stuff where a regular mower just chowders it up and a string trimmer gets all wrapped up in it.

The large diameter wheels make it easy to manage too.

Perfect it's not, but it's WAY better than nothing and the price was right.

 

[PHPaul]

View attachment 433533View attachment 433534View attachment 433535

I'm not sure how to get the pictures to sit right side up but this is how I mow ditches, The last picture is of a rod poked into the ground to give an idea of how steep a slope that can be safely mowed.

It works quite well and wasn't expensive. With freight the duals were about $600.

Every couple of years I get paid to mow about 5 miles of ditch with this setup.

Nice Rig!

Around here, we wouldn't call that a ditch tho. That's a swale.

My ditch banks are all well over 50% grade and near vertical in spots.

 

[bigtiller]

It works quite well and wasn't expensive. With freight the duals were about $600.

Interesting, where did you buy them?

 

[pmsmechanic]

Interesting, where did you buy them?

I bought the tires and rims on eBay. The spacers were metal I had bought for something else and never used. The bolts to hold them on were about $75. I just use a large one inch bolt in the center to hold them on. I did have to eventually go to a reverse thread bolt on the right side as it was difficult to keep tight.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

View attachment 433533View attachment 433534View attachment 433535

I'm not sure how to get the pictures to sit right side up but this is how I mow ditches, The last picture is of a rod poked into the ground to give an idea of how steep a slope that can be safely mowed.

It works quite well and wasn't expensive. With freight the duals were about $600.

Every couple of years I get paid to mow about 5 miles of ditch with this setup.

Please describe your setup. From the pics, I can't tell what the machine is.

 

[pmsmechanic]

Please describe your setup. From the pics, I can't tell what the machine is.

John Deere 4410 with a 506 rough cut mower.