PT425 48" Brush Cutter Blade Bushings

[MossRoad]

We all know the PT425 48" brush cutter is not the best design. I won't go into that here.

There are 1" holes in the blades with 1" to 5/8" bushing in the hole. The 5/8" blade mounting bolt goes through that and into the hub. If you don't change out those bushings often, they wallow out and then the hole in the blade becomes egg shaped and you are toast.

Power Trac wants about $6.00 per bushing.

I found this website and some DOM (drawn over mandrel) tubing.
A one foot long piece of 1" O.D. with a wall of 0.188" is $11.46.
I can make at least 36 bushings from that one piece.
I'll let everyone know how that goes when it arrives.

Order Mild Steel A513 Tube in Small Quantities at OnlineMetals.com

 

[woodlandfarms]

I just used black pipe.

 

[MossRoad]

I just used black pipe.

How well does it hold up and what size bolts are on yours?

 

[woodlandfarms]

For me, the key has been to find the proper shank bolt. Meaning the bolts I put in cannot be threaded and need sort of a hip to keep from severely rounding, but at the end of the day they still deform.

 

[MossRoad]

Well, my piece of tubing arrived. I cut two bushings and they are just a tad too tight. I had to pound them into the 1" hole in the blades and then ream them out a bit to fit the 5/8" blade bolt. But I now have enough material to make at least two dozen more, so they are free at that point.

Put the blades on, tested in the back yard. I'm back in the saddle again! :thumbsup:

 

[Marks481]

What blades did you buy? I just broke one of my brush cutter blades, and need to get a new one.

 

[MossRoad]

I didn't buy any. I found an old set that was bent and straightened them out. The set that was on the cutter had wallowed out holes, the washers were all but gone and they were ready to fly off the mounting bolts. I think I need a better preventative maintenance plan when using this thing, like stopping every hour and checking the condition of the blade mounting bolts and changing them before they get too heavily damaged. I'm working on an on-board air compressor for my suburban so I can operate an air impact gun in the field and change the mounting bolts and blade bushings on a very frequent basis. That is, unless I can come up with a way to convert to more standard gull-wing style blades that won't beat the bajeezers out of each other.

 

[ponytug]

Dear MR,

My trouble is with the wallowing out of the holes. I've sheared off the two unused bolts, and I don't see to run the blades into each other. The problem for me is just wear. I thought that the Brush Hog(TM) blades and bolts seemed to have a much larger load surface, and would perhaps last longer.

$15k for a house. Yikes. What are rental rates?

Good luck,

Peter

I didn't buy any. I found an old set that was bent and straightened them out. The set that was on the cutter had wallowed out holes, the washers were all but gone and they were ready to fly off the mounting bolts. I think I need a better preventative maintenance plan when using this thing, like stopping every hour and checking the condition of the blade mounting bolts and changing them before they get too heavily damaged. I'm working on an on-board air compressor for my suburban so I can operate an air impact gun in the field and change the mounting bolts and blade bushings on a very frequent basis. That is, unless I can come up with a way to convert to more standard gull-wing style blades that won't beat the bajeezers out of each other.

 

[MossRoad]

Dear MR,

My trouble is with the wallowing out of the holes. I've sheared off the two unused bolts, and I don't see to run the blades into each other. The problem for me is just wear. I thought that the Brush Hog(TM) blades and bolts seemed to have a much larger load surface, and would perhaps last longer.

$15k for a house. Yikes. What are rental rates?

Good luck,

Peter

No one's renting either. There are at least three vacant houses for sale/rent on our block for over a year. Kinda depressing. As the old people leave, pass away, ect.... no one wants their houses and they sit. A couple have been fixed up a bit with younger people, but for the most part, tennants move in for a few months and skip out, leaving the place trashed. Rental rates are 4-500 per month plus utilities, but you can get a nicer apartment for 600, so why bother with a house rental?