Once or twice a year I need to trim overgrown tree branches in our wood trails. Doing this task manually is a pain. So in order to make the work easier, I had to come up with a tractor attachment, not too expensive, that would do an acceptable job in cutting 1/2" or smaller vines and tree branches.
My version of a side-sickle edge trimmer consists of a 42" sickle head from a walk-behind Gravely mower. It is mounted vertically on the tractor loader arms in place of the bucket. ( I don't have any need but if desired, it could easily be transformed with minor fabrication from a vertical to horizontal orientation). As shown in the pics, the adapter is dropped in the home-built bucket QA and with two pins, she is in. When off the tractor, the head with the sickle bar (125 lb.) is resting on a platform two feet off the floor. Lifting and placing the unit with a come-along to mount on 2x2 tubing, is a snap.
To build this project, I had pretty much all the material available in my personal junk yard with exception of one 4' of 2-1/2" tubing, a pair of love-joy couplings, hydraulic hoses and fittings. So it cost me less than $150. Originally I wanted to use a 30" side deck as a trimmer, but after digesting the project for few days, I realized that I did not have the right hydraulic motor nor the available GPM to drive the deck.
The available motor I used is a 15 GPM, 750 RPM. The internal tractor pump which supplies the fluid to this motor is 5 GPM. With this ratio the motor turns 300 RPM at 1500 engine RPM, which is perfect for this project.
Since the loader runs from a PTO pump, the tractor internal pump is used solely for the sickle motor. (In this configuration I do not use any 3PT implements). The hoses are connected to a selector valve by the seat, routed to two QDs and I use the tractor position lever to control the fluid to the motor. When the sickle unit is removed from the tractor, the QDs are disconnected and the hoses remain attached to the motor.
After pestering the hydraulic forum several times (especially J.J., He is always a dependable stand-by), I ended up with this workable configuration. I wasn't really sure, if the pump and the motor would be compatible for this project, but it did and I am happy the way it turned out. I was inspired by Samurai sickle trimmer Cutthat.com | Sabre Samurai which attaches to the bucket. It is sold in Canada for $1300. It is a sweet machine but for my occasional use, would not be a justifiable expense.
My version of a side-sickle edge trimmer consists of a 42" sickle head from a walk-behind Gravely mower. It is mounted vertically on the tractor loader arms in place of the bucket. ( I don't have any need but if desired, it could easily be transformed with minor fabrication from a vertical to horizontal orientation). As shown in the pics, the adapter is dropped in the home-built bucket QA and with two pins, she is in. When off the tractor, the head with the sickle bar (125 lb.) is resting on a platform two feet off the floor. Lifting and placing the unit with a come-along to mount on 2x2 tubing, is a snap.
To build this project, I had pretty much all the material available in my personal junk yard with exception of one 4' of 2-1/2" tubing, a pair of love-joy couplings, hydraulic hoses and fittings. So it cost me less than $150. Originally I wanted to use a 30" side deck as a trimmer, but after digesting the project for few days, I realized that I did not have the right hydraulic motor nor the available GPM to drive the deck.
The available motor I used is a 15 GPM, 750 RPM. The internal tractor pump which supplies the fluid to this motor is 5 GPM. With this ratio the motor turns 300 RPM at 1500 engine RPM, which is perfect for this project.
Since the loader runs from a PTO pump, the tractor internal pump is used solely for the sickle motor. (In this configuration I do not use any 3PT implements). The hoses are connected to a selector valve by the seat, routed to two QDs and I use the tractor position lever to control the fluid to the motor. When the sickle unit is removed from the tractor, the QDs are disconnected and the hoses remain attached to the motor.
After pestering the hydraulic forum several times (especially J.J., He is always a dependable stand-by), I ended up with this workable configuration. I wasn't really sure, if the pump and the motor would be compatible for this project, but it did and I am happy the way it turned out. I was inspired by Samurai sickle trimmer Cutthat.com | Sabre Samurai which attaches to the bucket. It is sold in Canada for $1300. It is a sweet machine but for my occasional use, would not be a justifiable expense.
