Riding mower deck modified into a hydraulic weed wacker?

[NCMau]

Hi guys, I've read about all kinds of cool weed / brush handling equipment on here, both bought and built. I'm always looking for ways to maintain my field lines and driveway edge, without using a hand held weed wacker. My question is this, could a small ride on mower deck be converted to become a hydraulically driven weed wacker? My idea would be to run either heavy nylon line, or maybe even large skil saw style metal blades. I've seen some builds on here, but none that used a mower deck as the bones of the project. My main concern is the speed at which such a tool would have to be driven, can standard mower spindles handle that? There are some dual blade 36" decks out there, and even single blade 28" decks. They can be had for well under a hundred bucks all day.

Ideally I would attach such an implement to both my loader and backhoe as needed, to reach out and over things to keep the never ending vegetation growth at bay. That said, my machine only produces about 9gpm of hydraulic flow, and it would be ideal to power this without an external power pack. I'm looking to tinker a bit this winter, and thought this could be a fun and rewarding experiment.

Here is my homemade deck to be used front or 3pt. 12hp engine from an old mower, $0 investment. Start and stop controlled from the tractor.

 

[TractorGuy]

any pics of the adapters you made for the .155 line? Also, where did you get that heavy line at? Does the line hold up well? I feel the line may be a bit less dangerous than the steel mower blade, were things to go bad.

Here they are.

.155 line is used on most of the push trimmers so it's readily available. It's pretty durable but not indestructible. It's a good idea to design so it can be easily changed and carry some spare pieces with you.

I recently heard about this .170 line. Not sure how it compares but I might try it next time. A spool of .155 last me a very long time though.
Amazon.com : Oregon 22-47 Magnum Gatorline Square Trimmer Line Donut .17-Inch by 71-Foot : String Trimmer Accessories : Garden & Outdoor

 

[cstamm81]

Here they are.

View attachment 666709

.155 line is used on most of the push trimmers so it's readily available. It's pretty durable but not indestructible. It's a good idea to design so it can be easily changed and carry some spare pieces with you.

I recently heard about this .170 line. Not sure how it compares but I might try it next time. A spool of .155 last me a very long time though.
Amazon.com : Oregon 22-47 Magnum Gatorline Square Trimmer Line Donut .17-Inch by 71-Foot : String Trimmer Accessories : Garden & Outdoor

Thanks for the pics and the link to that heavy line.

 

[TractorGuy]

I think the ideal mower may be done with a hydraulic motor with a cylinder to tilt the mower up 90 degrees and down to some degree and hung off the loader. I have considered making a wheel and using the pivoting disc mower blades they use for hay cutting. The whole rig would probably require a separate PTO driven pump so it gets out of reason unless you have a frequent need for such a contraption.

The heavy trimmer line WILL cut some heavy brush but it has limitations. Probably 1/4" green stuff is about as heavy as it will cut before it starts just stripping leaves and bending over the stalks. Get into 1/2" stuff and it will break the line.

I want to build something to do some ditch banks one day but I'm on the fence whether to go line or blade. I will probably end up doing multiple angle back ups with my brush hog instead of building something because the need just isn't frequent enough to warrant the time it takes to design and fabricate for the task.

I do have a small Beefco finish mower I have thought about using but that would get stuck on the back and run off the PTO. If I ever get around to it I would probably extend the deck out to the right side for a single spindle. That would also be limited since I couldn't tilt it but a few degrees.

 

[handirifle]

Boy I would not be mowing anything that high, without some sort of protection between that blade and my face. Not that my face is special, it just doesn't need to be made any uglier than it is, by fast flying objects.

I like that idea though, swap out blade to line, and use the little engine that came on the push mower. I have a ditch this would work on, but I need some sort of heavy duty shield.

 

[Doofy]

Just use a push trimmer. Remove the handle and wheels and make a boom to hang it off your loader or 3pt.

Amazon.com : Southland Outdoor Power Equipment SWFT1522 15cc Field Trimmer, Includes Oil : Garden & Outdoor

Or leave the handle and wheels and bolt a piece of 2" square tube or trailer receiver so you can pull it on and off a boom and use it as usual.

I love my old push trimmer. I am planning to make it so I can attach it to the tractor one of these days.

That is a reasonable price. Just the engine usually costs that much.