Rotary Cutter rotary cutter or finish mower?

[Soundguy]

You can probably get a smoother cut if you sharpen the hog blades a bit but then it is not good for it's designed purpose. The blades on my Woods are not sharp on purpose, even the new replacements have 1/8" of flat vertical surface and the book says not to make them sharp like a mower. I use it for the edge of fields and to clean out wild rose. The "stump jumper" has a lot of action as I back over hidden limbs, etc. which dull the blades even more.
The height wheel in the center of the back will leave a tire mark path on any grass or weeds that has much height before cutting.
In my opinion, if the neighbor wants it to look like a lawn from spring thru fall he willmjust have to manage it as a lawn.

yer jumping back and forth.. take yer pic.

if you want a cleaner cut.. go sharper.. if rough cut.. just quit sharpening.. I guarantee you they will dull up on their own..

sounds like the OP needs the cleaner cut.. and doesn't bush hog 25 other pastures for a living.. thus no need to have dull blades one minute and sharp the next.

got to keep it all in perspective of what the OP asked for.....

 

[flusher]

Mowing 18 acres with a little tractor like yours is going to be a real bladder test since you'll only be able to handle a 4-ft rotary mower (aka brush hog, bush hog, slasher, shredder). Been there myself--doing 10 acres with a 4-ft King Kutter brush hog behind a 2005 Kubota B7510HST (21 hp engine, 17 hp pto, 4WD, hydrostatic tranny, power steering). If the weeds were more than about 2 ft tall, I could barely do one acre/hour.

 

[Soundguy]

yep.. deffinately a seat exercise

 

[pacerron]

Mowing 18 acres with a little tractor like yours is going to be a real bladder test since you'll only be able to handle a 4-ft rotary mower (aka brush hog, bush hog, slasher, shredder). Been there myself--doing 10 acres with a 4-ft King Kutter brush hog behind a 2005 Kubota B7510HST (21 hp engine, 17 hp pto, 4WD, hydrostatic tranny, power steering). If the weeds were more than about 2 ft tall, I could barely do one acre/hour.

Lot's of agreement there.
A 4 foot mower really won't get you much more than 3'-6" after the first pass.
If you don't allow for some overlap you'll spend too much time going back to cut little narrow missed strips. Unless the ground is very smooth you won't enjoy trying to get the acreage per hour they advertise for any mower.
Letting the grass get so high between cuts is an invatation for relatives of
Punxsutawney Phil's to move in. Hitting a hole with that little tractor could
be dangerous at much ground speed.
Whatever type mower you end up with, mow in different patterns each time you mow to give the best appearance. Most rotary mowers tend to throw the cuttings more to one side, some even have a side plate that comes off for mowing/haying tall stuff. Keep the front of the rotary mower ( nearest the tractor ) the lowest ( set your cutting height at the front) to avoid stuff
flying out the front and cutting your head off.
I think you've got plenty of info from this thread by now... so just make a choice and do it.
Have a happy summer:thumbsup:

 

[daugen]

my little red tractor is coming back from the dealer on Monday with a Land Pride 1260, special ordered in IH Red, basically the lightest weight unit they made and one more oriented for cutting grass/field grass and not heavier brush. Asked the dealer to resharpen the blades to lawn mower sharp.

I know the smaller edge won't last long but I like to sharpen blades, sometimes even giving them a final hone with a hand diamond file. And for a while, boy do they mow nicely. Long time at home, but much less time cutting field grass.

Since this is on a three point hitch, I'm hoping it picks up far enough to easily get to the blades. I use an electric Porter Cable impact wrench, only 300 ft # but so far it's done the job, since I keep the shafts and nuts WD40'd occasionally. And an older style double grinding wheel.

So I'm going to mow at 8 inches and will keep up with the fields, unlike last year where we had so much rain it really got away from me.
I know a 60 inch mower is right on the very low line of permissibility for a 21hp pto tractor, but I intend to keep the load lighter by mowing more often.
This is one of the reasons it drives me nuts only having an idiot light for overheat, no temp gauge. I can certainly hear the motor working, and the note lowering under load, but that's fine for a diesel, unless it overheats.
So I think I may look for an aftermarket sender/gauge package that will work on my tractor. I want to use it, not abuse it, plain and simple. And yes, I will probably mow something with it next week and will report back on how it worked. We'll see if I have bit off more than I can chew...

 

[pacerron]

my little red tractor is coming back from the dealer on Monday with a Land Pride 1260, special ordered in IH Red, basically the lightest weight unit they made and one more oriented for cutting grass/field grass and not heavier brush. Asked the dealer to resharpen the blades to lawn mower sharp.

I know the smaller edge won't last long but I like to sharpen blades, sometimes even giving them a final hone with a hand diamond file. And for a while, boy do they mow nicely. Long time at home, but much less time cutting field grass.

Since this is on a three point hitch, I'm hoping it picks up far enough to easily get to the blades. I use an electric Porter Cable impact wrench, only 300 ft # but so far it's done the job, since I keep the shafts and nuts WD40'd occasionally. And an older style double grinding wheel.

So I'm going to mow at 8 inches and will keep up with the fields, unlike last year where we had so much rain it really got away from me.
I know a 60 inch mower is right on the very low line of permissibility for a 21hp pto tractor, but I intend to keep the load lighter by mowing more often.
This is one of the reasons it drives me nuts only having an idiot light for overheat, no temp gauge. I can certainly hear the motor working, and the note lowering under load, but that's fine for a diesel, unless it overheats.
So I think I may look for an aftermarket sender/gauge package that will work on my tractor. I want to use it, not abuse it, plain and simple. And yes, I will probably mow something with it next week and will report back on how it worked. We'll see if I have bit off more than I can chew...

The fields should be getting rather high in PA by now. They are in Ohio.
Be sure to put blocks under your mower if you are going to get under it.
Hydraulics can let go or leak down and pin you.