Rotary Cutter Rotary Cutter

Anonymous Poster · Mar 6, 2002

I'm going to be buying a rotary cutter this year, but I'm not sure which way to go. I have a NH 1725 (now TC29 (HP)). Material will be saplings from land that was logged +/- 10 years ago. After that weeds and brush. I don't think I'll be able to go with a new, high quality, medium duty machine due to the money paid for the new snow blower on the tractor right now. I'm hoping to find a used quality cutter (Woods) as opposed to a new one of lesser quality (KK). Of course, the shape of a used piece of equipment has to be carefully looked at. I'm also assuming I can handle a 5', that's what the blower is. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

P.C. Meredith NH

OregonTom · Mar 6, 2002

P.C.

If you haven't already, you might take a hard look at your conclusion that King Kutter equipment is of such low quality as to be disregarded. I realize and appreciate that there are differences between makes of rotory cutters, including differences in quality. Nevertheless, when I did my homework I concluded that a King Kutter struck a fine balance between price and quality. I've used mine in all kinds of nasty stuff, including saplings, weeds and brush and have been very pleased with the results (and with the performance of the cutter).

Anonymous Poster · Mar 6, 2002

Good luck in your search for a good used rotary cutter. I have never seen one worth buying in my area. Plenty of junk with rust holes through the deck, though. Or beat-up equipment at new prices. YMMV.

Go look at what is available. Evaluate the differences in price, materials, production and warranty, and what they mean to you. Shop around; I have found price differences of 50% at dealers less than 5 miles apart for identical implements.

I wound up buying a medium-duty cutter made by one of the lesser brands. While this gives me no bragging rights compared to a top brand, it has given me years of trouble-free use, and saved me some bucks.

pennwalk · Mar 6, 2002

I picked up a very used Woods M4 for parts. This unit looks terrible. Very beat up. The gear box is literally blown up. Didn't wWoods make the light duty John Deere units that so many have had trouble with? If you use a light duty hog for medium duty work you may end up with a wreck. My real hog is a old King Kutter. I got it used and added to its use. It is still in pretty good shape. It will cut anything that my little 18hp tractor will run over. It had eated too many stones. Gets your heart beating when those footballs go flying across the field. If you don't get the right tool for the job you will probably have to buy another one. That is OK get what you can afford now and get the real deal later.

Chris

Anonymous Poster · Mar 6, 2002

<font color=blue>…Or beat-up equipment at new prices

While this gives me no bragging rights compared to a top brand, it has given me years of trouble-free use, and saved me some bucks.

a King Kutter struck a fine balance between price and quality….</font color=blue>

Very well said guys…

If you have limited funds… take a good look at KingKutter…

If you have lots of money and don’t care… still look at KingKutter for the most value for your dollar…

Disregard the cosmetics and lackluster paint job on a KingKutter… and listen to the voices of satisfaction from all the countless people happy with their products… /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

PaulinSD · Mar 6, 2002

I have the money and do care, that's why I bought KK value. They have worked very well for me in the past, and I expect that they will continue to in the future.

Paul

John_Mc · Mar 6, 2002

Yes, your 1725 will handle a 5' cutter. I've got a TC33D with a 5' Woods standard duty cutter. I've had no problems with 1"+ saplings. If they are packed pretty densly, I have to slow down a bit.

The standard duty Woods has held up just fine for me. It's the equal of some of the other brands medium duty cutters. However, if I had it to do over again, I would take a close look at the King Kutter units based on what I've heard here. They are substantially less expensive than what I paid for my Woods. While the Woods MIGHT have an edge on how heavily it's built (can't say for sure as I've never laid eyes on a KK), the King Kutter appears to be a good unit. If the choice was limited to KK or used due to price, I'd take the new KK in a heartbeat. The used ones I've seen are mostly junk, and even if they look decent, you never know how badly they might have been abused i nways that aren't immediately obvious (gearbox, etc)

MikePA · Mar 7, 2002

I'll chime in and agree with the other posts. I, too, have been looking for a used light/medium rotary cutter and the ones I have found, even at dealers, have been very used heavy duty models. Some of them were so used, I even wondered how they got them to the dealer. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif So, in this locale, a used price is often much more than a new medium/light duty KK model.

RichZ · Mar 7, 2002

I'll add my two cents. I bought at King Kutter rotary cutter this fall, and used it to clear 50 acres of overgrown pasture. It cut everything I encountered, including lots of green briar and other thorny bushes and many saplings 1" - 2". You'd never get a good used "major" brand cutter for what the KK costs. Unless you have some very heavy duty cutting to do, King Kutter is the way to go!

Rich
"What a long strange trip it's been."

Tractor_Barn · Mar 7, 2002

You may also want to consider Wallace. They used to be sold through TSC. Solid unit >$500.00.

Anonymous Poster · Mar 7, 2002

Well, upon further review, I'll look into entry level stuff more. That's what my Meteor blower is and it worked fine this winter, of course I only had to use it a dozen times or so but that's another story. KK's web site says the closest dealer is over in VT. A local, small place sells World Corporation implements from OH. Anyone ever hear of them?

P.C.

MarkV · Mar 7, 2002

PC, When you say you will be mowing land that was logged 10 years ago, I was wondering what size stuff you will be cutting? Down here in the South where I live we have mostly pine grown for pulp. A stand that was cut 10 years ago would have volunteer growth that would be hard to cut with anything but the heaviest equipment and a sizable tractor using it. Of course I have found that things are different in every part of the country so I was just wondering.

MarkV

Anonymous Poster · Mar 7, 2002

Mark V, I've got quite an assortment of stuff. The majority is 2-3" Poplar, that will come out with my new tree-getter (I hope). White ash, white birch, maples are .5-2". I want to leave the Beech and Oak that are about that same size. There are some white pines and fir's where the original trees were. All this stuff is tall and spindly, packed in next to each other, 1.5 to 2' apart. It will be interesting to how it comes out between the two impliments.

Anonymous Poster · Mar 7, 2002

P.C. where are you located??

Anonymous Poster · Mar 7, 2002

Nimrod (just repeating), central NH.

MarkV · Mar 7, 2002

<font color=blue>The majority is 2-3" Poplar, that will come out with my new tree-getter</font color=blue>

PC, sounds like you have talked about this I missed it. What is a tree getter?

MarkV