Rotary Cutter Discussion

[aesanders]

The flail recommendation is good. Also, Brown Manufacturing is slightly heavier built than any mentioned so far. These are about as good as it gets in my mind for a rotary cutter. Last I checked price wise was comparable to the others.

 

[leonz]

Good morning Darth_DMack,

I suggested the MASCHIO or Del Morino flail mowers for your use as a new user
of a brush clearing attachment because the flail mower with side slicer knives or
cast hammer knives is a safer mower as it will not eject an object if it strikes a
hidden piece of debris.

There are many cases of objects struck by rotary cutter blades and ejecting them
at a very high velocity and damaging property, hitting cars and killing humans.

 

[kneedeep]

What you need will be based on what it will be mowing, width of tractor tires, PTO rating and size of wallet.
I have 3 mowers for different reasons.
5 foot Howse bought new with 35 hp compact used many years in rough and steep terrain. Retired it when bought the farm.
7 foot med duty LMC bought new to cover more acres. About all the 3510 wants.
10 foot JD MX10 for a 85 hp tractor to cover even more acres, If you can bend it over, it will cut it to a stump. All the 8560 wants
Unless I have to mow some thick or brushy stuff, the 7 footer is usually hooked to one of the tractors and is well used.
It’s an odd size but fits my needs, LMC makes the same mower now as a 8 footer.

What type of mowing will you be doing?
Pastures or over grown power lines?
Makes a difference!

 

[big bubba]

you could go with a 7' but imho it's a bastard size w/large blades that certainly vibrate when you hit something, etc. agree 6' 3ph would be ideal for you. personally, wouldn't look at anything less than medium duty. just look at weight to compare models. i always tend toward heavy duty.

all of the above name brands are good. i would never let go of my 8' Rhino twin gearbox. they make a turbo model (at least in my model) that has a double layer top deck. whatever you decide, never get a finish mower. regards

 

[MinnesotaEric]

My Woods BB 720X is a 6' wide, medium cutter for up to 4" material and has been a good cutter. I have over the years broken the PTO shaft (I mow backward and hit an unseen log and it jacked up the back hitting the driveshaft while working), I lost a blade on another old, unseen stump, and two weeks ago, I broke the entire tailwheel assembly off when I hit an unseen beaver-cut stump. The actual cutter has been tremendously tough and I'd buy it again.

Here is a link to how the cutter actually works where I cut the very things you described in your OP.

 

[big bubba]

can't image tackling a 4" caliper material even on a heavy duty cutter. sounds like you found a good match

 

[MinnesotaEric]

can't image tackling a 4" caliper material even on a heavy duty cutter. sounds like you found a good match

It would work on less than 48pto hp tractors as my max set rpm on my tractor is 2600rpm and I run my cutter at 2000rpm.

The second time I used my (then) new Woods cutter before I got the angle set up on it correctly.

 

[big bubba]

Eric: nice vid & rig...though didn't see those 4" caliper growth
robust mower, have basically the same in 8', but still don't attack growth more than 2", plus larger stubs pose risk to tire puncture.
regards

 

[Hay Dude]

Hello everyone... new tractor owner here (well, had it now about six months). I have a 2023 Mahindra 5155 (55 hp) tractor, and I am shopping for a good rotary cutter to maintain parts of my property that my Gravely ZT HD can't do.

Not a need for a "commercial" cutter, but I subscribe to the buy once, cry once rule. I don't intend to use the cutter as a forestry mulcher, but something that can handle small saplings, or downed limbs (2-3" max) and not scalp every time I turn.

What recommendations would you give me to start shopping for?

I'm thinking a 6' cutter would do it well for what I need it for. Definitely want to buy something that will last.

Thanks in advance for the recommendations. Much appreciated!

Deere

 

[aesanders]

can't image tackling a 4" caliper material even on a heavy duty cutter. sounds like you found a good match.

The Brown tree cutter models can go up to an 8” tree.