Flail Mower New (to me at least) Alamo flail

[RHughes]

I finally got around to posting some pics of my "new" mower. I think I got a pretty good deal on it eventhough I've had to replace a couple of minor parts.
I've added a new PTO guard and rock guard on the back, replaced the skid shoes, and replaced a couple of bolts.
Left Side
Right Side
Back

The only repair, aside from a new coat of paint, is to fix the UPPER LINK.
The previous owner replaced the bolt and space with a hitch pin which, obviously, was not a tight fit. This resulted in excessive wear on the A-frame. I'm going to weld on some 1/4" steel and recut the holes.
I'll post new pics when I get that done. For the last week, I've been a bit side tracked with another new addition /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[RobS]

Hey, that's pretty cool RHughes. Flail mowers are not that common on this site. Any chance you could post a picture of the underside to show the knives, or whatever is under there?

And congratulations on your new addition. No photos of the underside needed there, I've had my share of experience cleaning up a couple of those /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[kljunior]

I used an 8' flail on a 4610 ford for several years. It would be a big advantage to obtain or make a set of guage wheels for your unit as it will like to gouge and scalp on uneven ground. What will you be mowing with it?

 

[RHughes]

I'll be using it to mow near my house. We have a "lawn" of sorts that gets cut with a riding mower and push mower. Around that I've got about 5 acres that are more like an extended yard; too much for a lawn mower but a rotary doesn't cut it smoothe enough for my taste. I probably could have gone with a finish mower but like the flail better; got a better deal on it too. I'll also use it to mow along my drive, which is pretty long, and along the road frontage in front of my fields; the county only does that once or twice a year which isn't enough.

I'll try to get some pics of the underside of the mower. It has a pretty good set of HD knives installed. They have a bit of wear, but I can always turn them over.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

RHughes, how wide of a cut does your mower make? I just bought 2 a couple of weeks ago myself. Sort of a package deal I guess. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gifOne is a 90"cut, standard duty I think. It needs some work. The other one is 102"cut, very heavy duty, almost like new. Still has paint on the knives. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Anyway, just curious.
Brian

 

[RHughes]

WOW! What a deal!
Mine isn't that wide. It's a 74" model (Alamo SHD 74 ) so it basically results in a 6' cut that covers the width of the tractor. I passed up a couple of flails a while back because they were 5' models and just too narrow.
I think the ideal mower for my use would be an 8 foot model, but in three years of looking I have not seen a single one that size for sale around here; at least not in "useable" condition and in my price range. I can't justify $4500+ for a new mower.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Ralph, I'm not sure that I got a great deal or not, but I know that I could not really afford a new one either. I had to pay $2450 for the 2 of them. The 90" mower needs some bearings and 1 pulley, maybe $200 or less I hope. I will post a picture of the underside of my 102" mower.
Happy mowing. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Brian

 

[RHughes]

Less than $2500 for two mowers sounds pretty good to me, especially if the big one is in prime shape. If I had to guess I'd say a pair of new ones would run between $6K and $10K depending on the make, model and weight. I thought $800 was a pretty good deal on mine. I'll have about $1000 in it after the replacement parts I mentioned and the paint job.
You're right, those knives on that big mower look hardly used at all. As soon as I get a chance I'll post up some pictures of the knives and drum on mine. The attachment setup is a bit different.

I can't tell from your pictures, what's the make/model of those mowers?

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Ralph, I cannot find a tag of any kind on the 90" mower. The 102" has an aluminum plate the shape of Oregon with the name and address (see attachment).

All that the big mower needs is a <font color="blue">paint </font> job. I hope to try it out this weekend, /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif but I have about 60 acres that I need to disc. This mower is heavy duty, sheet metal is 1/4", end plates are 5/8" or 3/4", 3ph plates are 3/4". From the looks of the cutters and drum, I would guess that it was used once. The guy that I bought it from got it at a state of California Transit auction. (CalTrans) and he never used it. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Brian

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Another picture.