Rough cut mower gaurd

[jimmychew]

So last year I inherited this Land Pride rough cut mower and promptly beat the **** out of it hammering it into every hidden stump and bolder that I could find hidden in the fields that hadn't been mowed in about 5 years. The peanut butter steel guard and the housing were all beat in and I regularly had to pick the mower up with the loader and beat it back into shape with a sledge hammer.

 

[jimmychew]

Yesterday I picked up the 8" x 96" x 1/4" piece of steel that I had cut and rolled for a new guard. Todays project was to install.

 

[jimmychew]

The curve was a bit off...

 

[jimmychew]

...so I put it in the redneck press brake.

 

[jimmychew]

That's better.

 

[jimmychew]

I also added chains at all four corners to make it easier to pick this thing up with the loader.

 

[jimmychew]

Trimmed the corners off. You can also see the skids that I added to the front to keep the front of the mower from diving into the ground when the tractor falls into a hole.

 

[jimmychew]

Survived the first outing! :thumbsup:

 

[Tractorable]

Curious, why didn’t you go with a rear chain guard instead? Seems like the rear bands will always get bent up backing into stumps and whatnot. Of course, yours is now a lot beefier than the original band, but they still keep material from flowing out from under the mower.

 

[jimmychew]

Thanks for the comment there Tractorable. Would chain guards prevent the mower from riding up and onto stumps and stones while mowing backwards?

 

[pmsmechanic]

Thanks for the comment there Tractorable. Would chain guards prevent the mower from riding up and onto stumps and stones while mowing backwards?

Most people mow driving forwards.

 

[EddieWalker]

Interesting project. I cut a tire in half and bolted it to the front of my 6 foot Landpride cutter to stop stuff from flying forward, and cut down on the dust. It's worked great for ten years. I never thought about putting anything on the back. But I've never had an issue with hitting stumps either. I dig them out when I remove the tree and fill in the hole, so it's never been an issue. I wonder if you will have any problems with material building up inside your deck now that you've closed it all in?

 

[gsganzer]

On my little Rhino 4' brush mower that I bought used, I added fabric skirts to the back. The fabric is like a semi-rigid heavy coated canvas, but I can't remember where I got the material. It might be belting material from a round baler belt or it's heavy duty coated welding blanket. It actually works pretty well and has the added benefit of keeping dust down while still allowing material to flow out.


My Landpride 2060 has that same rigid guard the OP has. Fortunately, my mowing is mainly limited to improved pastures, but if I ever screw my guard up, I'll replace with chains or the fabric.

 

[jimmychew]

Most people mow driving forwards.

Thanks for the comment there pmsmechanic. I would agree with your statement... But that's not what I asked.

 

[Tractorable]

Thanks for the comment there Tractorable. Would chain guards prevent the mower from riding up and onto stumps and stones while mowing backwards?

Yea, a rear chain guard should keep the mower from impacting low hidden stumps and rocks while still providing protection from flying debris. Only thing is they’re kinda pricey, but with your fab skills I’m sure you could make one. I keep bending up the rear band on my bush hog and then the blades hit it. I’m taking mine off and telling folks to stay away from me when I’m mowing. Gonna order a rear chain guard for it but it’s like $400.

Lots of folks including me have areas where you can go in mowing forwards but you still gotta back up. In my situation I got a fence on one side and a steep embankment on the other.

 

[jimmychew]

.......I dig them out when I remove the tree and fill in the hole, so it's never been an issue........

That is definitely the way to go. The guy who worked here previous to me cut, literaly, hundreds of junipers and left all the stumps. Some just a couple of inches up and others a foot or two. So, after about 5 years of not being mowed It was a real challenge to get things under control. I spent a good part of last winter pulling stumps and burying stones. Still have a long way to go.

....... I wonder if you will have any problems with material building up inside your deck now that you've closed it all in?

Here's the little patch of grass that I mowed yesterday after adding the new guard, and yes I mowed 90% of it going FORWARD! 1st gear, high range, 1450 rpm on the Ford 3930 and I saw no problems with chopped grass blowing out from all sides of the deck.

The remaining areas I cut in reverse, like in under the trees and along the walls. 2nd gear, low range, same rpm. My guard did a great job pushing the logs that some #@$*! left under the tree and the stones that had fallen off the wall out of the way.

Thanks for the comment EddieWalker.

 

[jimmychew]

On my little Rhino 4' brush mower that I bought used, I added fabric skirts to the back. The fabric is like a semi-rigid heavy coated canvas, but I can't remember where I got the material. It might be belting material from a round baler belt or it's heavy duty coated welding blanket. It actually works pretty well and has the added benefit of keeping dust down while still allowing material to flow out.


My Landpride 2060 has that same rigid guard the OP has. Fortunately, my mowing is mainly limited to improved pastures, but if I ever screw my guard up, I'll replace with chains or the fabric.

Thanks for commenting there gsganzer. I would think conveyor belting might work?

 

[jimmychew]

Yea, a rear chain guard should keep the mower from impacting low hidden stumps and rocks while still providing protection from flying debris. Only thing is they’re kinda pricey, but with your fab skills I’m sure you could make one. I keep bending up the rear band on my bush hog and then the blades hit it. I’m taking mine off and telling folks to stay away from me when I’m mowing. Gonna order a rear chain guard for it but it’s like $400.

Lots of folks including me have areas where you can go in mowing forwards but you still gotta back up. In my situation I got a fence on one side and a steep embankment on the other.

It would have to be a lot more than this one that's on the bush hog we got here. This one don't do ****. Thats how they shattered the right angle gear drive. That and not maintaining the slip clutch!

 

[inode]

Someone here told me when I bought my cutter to go with a rubber flap for a guard instead of chain. Me in my infinite wisdom wanted the chain. I now see why he said that. I've had my cutter out twice and have already bent the sheet metal (Titan 1606 cutter) which is what the chains are attached to. This in turn allowed the chain to drag closer to the bade where the blade was making contact with the chain upon every rotation. The blade ended up cutting the links off the end of the chain in in turn dented up my blade.

Chains are not the answer. A thick piece of tire or conveyer belt is the answer to prevent flying debris while also not damaging your blades.