Road and Trail Overgrowth Maintenance

[TMR]

Some of these were pully driven and some were driven by the PTO. Pretty much replaced by disc mowers and others. High maintenance machine. Lotas configurations......some are three point mounted, some semi-mounted, pull types, and some are side-mounted to the frame. However, a sickle bar mower like this is for cutting alfalfa, hay and grasses. If you used it on brush it would not last but a few feet. Wrong tool for your needs IMO.

Thanks Foggy...I have 3/4 miles of ditches on paved road. Almost all quite steep decline from road surface angled down to ditch bottom...maybe 4-7'.

Seems like I have seen both farmers and the county using what I think is a sickle attachment that they can adjust to the slope of the ditch. What I visualize looks "simple"...a long tow bar attachment that is something like a "hedge trimmer" with two blades w/teeth that move back and forth and "pinch" whatever gets between the teeth.

My ditches are primarily grass...with small brush growing in over the summer. I would pre-cut and larger stems.

BTW...I do now see the county using a monster brush hog on a long articulating arm that eats anything it comes in contact with...would love that but am sure it is very expensive.

Thanks...TMR

 

[foggy1111]

obviously you have never run a sicklebar in brush before. I have and can tell you as long as you dont hit rocks/barbwire with one, its great in brush.

you must keep them extreamly sharp to cleanly shear grass. not the case to cut brush.

Maybe I better retract a bit......but IMO the OP does not have a situation that would be served by a sicklebar.

Well, I have run a few....but that was looong ago....and mainly mowed weeds and grass with them. Sold allot repair parts for this style of mowers across the parts counter in the 50's / 60's. I can see using it on ditchbanks and such where it gets maintained frequently (and after a re-read that use was mentioned). But....in the kind of heavy-woody brush I was thinking about....I figured you would destroy it quickly.

TMR is suggesting a different use than I envisioned. These would likely work fine for such. Just get yourself a rivit tool and some spare blades and practice up on your cuss words. IIRC the serated sickle blads lasted longer.

 

[Coyote machine]

Reading through the boom mower specs for the Bush Hog brand, it seems the smaller unit will work on a 15HP mower but the heavier duty units start at 45HP and work up. The mowers seem to be specked to cut up to 3/4 to 1" brush but are not designed for larger use/needs. It might be the right tool if one has lots of roadside mowing to do but the circular saw on a stick or the articulating chains saw bar I have on my Echo pruning saw are probably better suited to thicker woodland brush, etc.
I've seen videos of skidsteers with a front mounted slasher that cuts down everything in it's path- but I suspect for enormous $. Same type is available for small mini-ex's, but for the average TBNer it's probably way too expensive and single purposed for us. IMHO.
One other thing to think about is using chemicals like the utility companies, like agent orange, or groundclear, to keep the vegetation at bay from one season to the next.
Or periodically cut one side of the path back and then the other to keep things from becoming too out of control, sort of like field/crop rotation concepts.

 

[richdell]

A few years ago, I built a vertical hedge trimmer that I use to keep about a 1000 Feet of lane cut back. It's a 5 hp engine with a lawn mower blade. It looks a little scary, but sits out about 5 feet from the side of the tractor and does have a guard. I don't use it if anyone is around. I run it twice a season, and the lane looks great.
Here's some pictures:

https://picasaweb.google.com/112927075033364942998/KubotaTractor