Rotary Cutter Need advice on 6' rotary cutter

[Farmwithjunk]

Well, before you told me that my idea of a heavy duty cutter was over-kill.

And for the specific needs of an individual who isn't mowing in "battlefield conditions", a mower in the price range of what Brown offers IS overkill. Carefully, WORD FOR WORD, re-read that post of mine you quoted. It explains EXACTLY what we're talking about. A mower SPECIFICALLY created for a niche market. One where average mowers just don't "cut it". Thank you for including that quote. It only serves to further emphasize the point I'm making.


At the point in this thread where you originally brought the Brown line of mowers into the discussion, (and where I replied, in that quoted post) we were still on the original posters question. "Why spend more for a premium grade mower from a name brand"? He's asking about cutting long grass, weeds, and some small saplings. For his needs, a mower of the price range, weight, and duty rating of what Brown has to offer IS overkill. The point where the subject morphed into a discussion of heavy duty and extreme duty mowers was after Chris mentioned mowing in conditions that destroy light to medium duty mowers, REGARDLESS of brand or price. His arguement is that it's cheaper to repeatedly replace cheap throw-away mowers than it is to buy ONE mower that will withstand the extreme use and abuse that goes with certain jobs. His reasoning against the "one mower theory" is based upon poor results from a grade and price range that doesn't include mowers capable of withstanding abusive use. When things are kept IN CONTEXT, the Brown mowers, or ANY EXTREME DUTY mowers are the right choice. It's that "keeping in context" where you tend to stray in your most recent post.

The SPECIFIC uses Chris has mentioned shows a need for a mower in that super duty niche. If he's destroying cheap bargain brand mowers to the tune of several per year, he might just be able to justify the initial cost. Or, at the very least, a BETTER grade of "heavy duty" than a $1200 fleet & farm store "heavy duty" wannabe.

You may build a stout mower out of scrap steel, found parts, ebay booty, and unmentioned hours of "sweat equity", but try to BUY a NEW FACTORY BUILT mower of that caliper for $1200. There just isn't such a critter.

Specifically, the "heavy duty" 6' single spindle mower I have in mind as a typical industrial grade HEAVY DUTY is the Bush Hog 406. I've got one that spends hours upon hours on the back of a 60 hp tractor, typically in conditions that would send most operators running to mommy. It doesn't flinch. It's up to date with saftey features that please my insurance underwriter. While your "frankenstien" home-made mower MIGHT pass the close scrutinization of an OSHA inspector or an insurance agent, Bush Hog has taken the guesswork out of that. It'll also live through day after day after daily torture and abuse. Try that with a $600 King Kutter dept store mower.....Or even a DOZEN KK lightweights.

So, by spending a few more bucks on a much more substancial mower, I get the job done LONG TERM, don't have to keep running back to TSC or where ever the cheap-o's come from, my crew isn't parked waiting for a replacement mower to show up, AND, in the long run, I spend LESS than buying cheap-o's by the dozen.

The $1200 "heavy duty mower" Chris has in mind would most likely be, based on the price range, a mower along the lines of a "heavy duty" King Kutter, possibly an SQ series Bush Hog, or some other "heavier duty than the lightest of duty mowers" on the market. Bottom line IS the bottom line. You just CAN'T buy a REAL true heavy duty industrial grade mower for $1200.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

May I step in and mediate between two what I would call "respected" members and ask for some specifics as to what each is calling a "heavy" duty mower. A brand and model of what each would consider heavy duty would be nice then we would all know what quality we are talking about.

I believe everyone will agree on what is considered "light" duty models so we don't have to go there.

Also in this post I am going to make a comment that may or may not be true in this case. Accidents happen, everyone hits hidden obstacles on occasion, we all know this; we also know that some people that work for others don't really care about the equipment they are using therefore in the mowing profession some items that could have been avoided were not. So the quality of the employee can also make a difference.

Specifically, the exact model I'm basing my views on is a Bush Hog 406. There are numerous models from brands such as Brown, Rhino/Shulte/Alamo, as well as other that fit in this same niche. These mower are built to operate in extreme conditions and live to fight another day. They're typically found in the $3500+ price range. (with emphasis on the "+")

I'll let Chris speak for himself as to what "heavy duty" mower he knows of in the $1200 price range. All I'm aware of in that range is light duty, or mowers that are only marginally stronger than light duty and touted as "heavy duty" by discount brand manufacturers, simply because they're a little more substancial than their light duty models.

 

[Soundguy]

Well.. i wouldn't call it 'fly in the ointment'.. it's just numbers.. Ok.. there may be some semantics problems here.. so maybee we are compairing economy mowers.. and medium duty mowers... the numbers didn't change any. 4-500$ mowers came out better than 1200$ mowers on a cost anylisis. We never got to mess with any nice mowers in the 4000$ range.. boss wouldn't let us look at anything much higher than 1200$ or so.

soundguy

The fly in the ointment in your "clinical test" is what you term a "heavy duty mower". There is no such animal even close to the $1000 to $1200 range. Buying a more expensive light duty (even if the manufacurer refers to it as medium/heavy duty), you're still talking about something that's essentially a "toy" compared to a real genuine heavy duty mower. $1200 won't TOUCH a true heavy duty mower, and that's been the case for 20 years or more. Some manufacturers call their mowers "heavy duty" just because it's a little bit more substancial than their light duty. I've seen plenty of those "pretend" heavy duty mowers. To get into the genuine heavy duty realm, you're looking at $3000+ (and closer to $4000) for a simple 6' single spindle mower. Even a GOOD medium duty mower will cost north of $2000 now. But that $3000 to $4000 mower will outlast and outperform a dozen $600 mowers in rough conditions, and do it without the downtime and effort chasing several light duty mowers. Seen it too often to even consider the possibility of any other option.

We mow in all sorts of conditions. Highway roadsides, constructions sites, abandon property, and a good bit of plain ol' mowin' clean fields to boot. Just yesterday we mowed over 135 acres on 2 jobs. By the end of the day today, the total acreage for the year will be over 10,000. The scale on which I've compared mowers and mower life goes beyond an occasional cutting a roadside. The ability of a quality HEAVY DUTY mower to withstand abuse is undeniable. The likelyhood of "exploding" cheap and/or light duty mowers by the dozens in conditions where the heavy duty mowers don't even whimper is just as undeniable once you've actually seen what a true heavy duty mower is capable of.


So, by your "figures", you AREN'T comparing the use of cheap throw-away mowers vs. heavy duty. You're comparing cheaper vs cheap, which in the end, isn't really that cheap if you're having to buy multiple mowers to do an occasional job.

 

[Soundguy]

we also know that some people that work for others don't really care about the equipment they are using therefore in the mowing profession some items that could have been avoided were not. So the quality of the employee can also make a difference.

Ditto that big time. I've had to replace the IND pto media plates and bearing carrier a couple times on one of our JD 2240's due to careless employees running a tiller on it and not trimming the pto shaft, and then lifting it as high as it would go, till the pto mechanism came apart internally when all the snap rings went...

'Use it like you didn't pay for it' .. that's how most people treat others equipment.

soundguy

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Well.. i wouldn't call it 'fly in the ointment'.. it's just numbers.. Ok.. there may be some semantics problems here.. so maybee we are compairing economy mowers.. and medium duty mowers... the numbers didn't change any. 4-500$ mowers came out better than 1200$ mowers on a cost anylisis. We never got to mess with any nice mowers in the 4000$ range.. boss wouldn't let us look at anything much higher than 1200$ or so.

soundguy

Well, if all you're going to be using is a mower that won't do the job and live for another day, you might as well use whatever is the cheapest. Personally, I prefer buying equipment that will continue to do the job I ask and still be intact at the end of the day.

To me, wasting a LITTLE money isn't much better than wasting a LOT of money. It's still WASTING money.

 

[Soundguy]

I actually did once get the boss to demo a 'hydro-axe' mower for a skidsteer.. that thing was nice... but.. we were only renting the skidsteer for the job.. so we didn't buy any attachments.. just what we needed to rent for the job..

soundguy

I'll let Chris speak for himself as to what "heavy duty" mower he knows of in the $1200 price range. All I'm aware of in that range is light duty, or mowers that are only marginally stronger than light duty and touted as "heavy duty" by discount brand manufacturers, simply because they're a little more substancial than their light duty models.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I actually did once get the boss to demo a 'hydro-axe' mower for a skidsteer.. that thing was nice... but.. we were only renting the skidsteer for the job.. so we didn't buy any attachments.. just what we needed to rent for the job..

soundguy

We (day job w/general contractor!) frequently use a sub (excavator) on our jobs that doesn't own anything more than a pick-up truck and a cell phone. He has a knack for getting vendors/rental companies and the like to let him "demo" equipment. Every once in a while, he'll actually rent something for a week or two just to keep 'em interested.

I've worked with a Bush Hog rep on a product development project and got a few weeks use of a batwing, and had one dealer to let me demo a couple tractors, but nothing like this guy!

 

[Soundguy]

We all have to work within our constraints. When I'm writing checks out of somebodie else's check book vs my own.. it's usually 2 different things that happen.. ( while I know my jd batwing and howse hd mower aren't nearly as HD as some other models.. I do like them, and so far thay have turned out to be pretty good investments.. though.. i wish whoever built those 1517's for JD would have made a better wing hinge. I 'fixed' mine and it works better than before being 'fixed'.. the hinge was -seriously- underbuilt.. or at least underdesigned...

soundguy

Well, if all you're going to be using is a mower that won't do the job and live for another day, you might as well use whatever is the cheapest. Personally, I prefer buying equipment that will continue to do the job I ask and still be intact at the end of the day.

To me, wasting a LITTLE money isn't much better than wasting a LOT of money. It's still WASTING money.

 

[Dargo]

While your "frankenstien" home-made mower...

Oh, I'm hurt (feigning heart failure). You call my Ugly Red 'frankenstein'?! Oh, the pain!! Ah well, shall I call it Frankie?

Other than having removed the chains from each end due to the fact they kept getting clogged with wood splinters, I assure you that everything on Frankie is far, far more durable than your beloved Bush Hog 406. Oh, but I stray from the point; sorry. The point is that I do own a rotary cutter that cost me less than $1200 that is far stronger than your Bush Hog. I stress that point because not everybody on here can afford to go out and buy a relatively expensive rotary cutter but many of those same guys are likely rather handy with metal work and prudent with spending their dollars. I looked at the very top end cutters, in a class far removed from a Bush Hog 406, and simply decided that I didn't want to spend that much money but had a use for that type of cutter. So, no problem, I made one from readily available parts. Trust me, a rotary cutter isn't that complicated.

So, rather than argue with someone that 'my mower is better than your mower', I opted to simply show how an extreme duty cutter can be had for not a lot of bucks. Isn't that the idea? It bothers me nil that you refer to it as a "frankenstein" cutter. I've abused the heck out of it with relatively high hp tractors and have loaned it to people capable of totally destroying an anvil with a rubber mallet and they have not damaged it. In my book, that is all that matters; a reasonable price for a severe duty cutter. Sorry if I offended you by painting it MF red. Nothing on it is made by MF and that just happened to be the only implement paint I had in my shop when I first finished it.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Oh, I'm hurt (feigning heart failure). You call my Ugly Red 'frankenstein'?! Oh, the pain!! Ah well, shall I call it Frankie?

Other than having removed the chains from each end due to the fact they kept getting clogged with wood splinters, I assure you that everything on Frankie is far, far more durable than your beloved Bush Hog 406. Oh, but I stray from the point; sorry. The point is that I do own a rotary cutter that cost me less than $1200 that is far stronger than your Bush Hog. I stress that point because not everybody on here can afford to go out and buy a relatively expensive rotary cutter but many of those same guys are likely rather handy with metal work and prudent with spending their dollars. I looked at the very top end cutters, in a class far removed from a Bush Hog 406, and simply decided that I didn't want to spend that much money but had a use for that type of cutter. So, no problem, I made one from readily available parts. Trust me, a rotary cutter isn't that complicated.

So, rather than argue with someone that 'my mower is better than your mower', I opted to simply show how an extreme duty cutter can be had for not a lot of bucks. Isn't that the idea? It bothers me nil that you refer to it as a "frankenstein" cutter. I've abused the heck out of it with relatively high hp tractors and have loaned it to people capable of totally destroying an anvil with a rubber mallet and they have not damaged it. In my book, that is all that matters; a reasonable price for a severe duty cutter. Sorry if I offended you by painting it MF red. Nothing on it is made by MF and that just happened to be the only implement paint I had in my shop when I first finished it.

For whatever it may be worth, the "FRANKENSTIEN" tag was hung on it in HONOR of what it is, not as an insult.

The MF red is PROBABLY why it's so tough!

While your mower is HEAVIER, (and uglier ) it's yet to be determined as to it's being "far stronger". So far the 406 has withstood abuse that's occasionally surpassed the limits of the tractors it's been hitched to. Strength is not always determined by sheer mass, weight, or measurments.