Rotary Cutter Toughest rotary cutter brands?

Old_Hickory · Nov 7, 2003

( nowhere near as nice as my old JD 516 )

If the JD 516 is built like the JD 513,you have or had a piece of lightweight junk,I have a JD 513 and I had to do lots of reinforcing.I bought it new and less then 2 weeks it was falling apart,if that Woods mower you have is substandard compared to a JD 516, ithe Woods must be pretty bad.

bobnewjersey · Nov 9, 2003

Take a look at the land pride medium duty cutter's. I have one and I love it.

JClark · Nov 10, 2003

With the exception of the tailwheel assembly my 516 held up pretty well for 14 years. Not that is got used all that hard. The holes in the square pipe tended to wallow out in rough use. But what I was referring to was how nicely the 516 cut. It shredded the material thoroughly and left a smooth and low windrow behind it, even in high material. I once cut a 3 acre lot of pines, 6 - 10' high and 2-3" diameter, spaced 5' apart. It was slow going but the 516 left it looking like a park, or so my neighbor said.

em14 · Nov 10, 2003

My JD 516 has cut a lot of brush etc. with out a problem ( other than it is hard on shear pins) or any down time.... of course it is not a Heavy Duty like some others I have used but has served me well and I'm the second owner.
Leo

Old_Hickory · Nov 10, 2003

They do make a nice looking cut on the grass.

Haz · Nov 11, 2003

I was looking on the web and found something called a Bushwhacker, used by a lot of highway crews. Anyone used one of these? They look pretty heavy duty. I have a Woods BB60 which is their lightest duty rotary brush cutter and it does 1" no problem. It slows a little for the 2" stuff. The mechanicals seem good. My problem with it is the front skid plates tend to gouge somewhat if the terrain is uneven and you set the cutter too low. My paint job isn't so good either. Quite a bit of rust after only 6 months.

icat · Nov 11, 2003

OK, maybe I've missed something here. If you're satisfied with the service your Bush Hog gave you, then why would you look any where else for it's replacement? The only reason you stated for needing a new unit is that you want a bigger cutter - so why not buy the Bush Hog?

I've got a 5' Bush Hog also - the SQ600 Squeeler, and the darn thing seems to be bullit proof. No paint pealing off, no welds breaking, no nothing. It cuts EVERYTHING thrown at it and comes back for more. This thing isn't even heavy duty - but don't tell it that. It thinks it's a bulldozer. If and when I ever feel the need to replace this unit, I'll be at the Bush Hog dealer - and I won't be shopping price with "other" brands (not saying that's what you're doing - just making a comment). Quality has a value that never wears out, while bargin cutters seldom live up to their name. You can buy it once and buy it right, or you can keep buying the low cost brands over and over again. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

HayDR · Nov 11, 2003

Not to disparage your Kubota tractor but only 25.5 HP is not enough HP to test any brand 5' rotary cutter. The SQ600 is a good light duty cutter but not a heavy duty cutter. Bush Hog lists the SQ600 as a light duty cutter. When you put 50HP on the SQ600 like the Mahindra 6000 has you can make a light duty cutter a pile of junk in a hurry. Look for something a little heavier that the SQ Bush Hog line.

ScottAR · Nov 11, 2003

For once I agree, CCI. I've only got 33 pto hp and I've severly beaten the poop out of our 5ft. squealer. The gearbox, pto shaft, and the hitch are fine. The deck has cracked and been rewelded several times. Yes, I am very hard on it, cutting anything and everything I can get it over.

I would buy another Bush hog, but the heavier line, 300 series? I would also consider a Rhino or Brown. All seem to be very heavy built which is the only way to go for heavy clearing/mowing.

icat · Nov 11, 2003

(Not to disparage your Kubota tractor but only 25.5 HP is not enough HP to test any brand 5' rotary cutter. The SQ600 is a good light duty cutter but not a heavy duty cutter. Bush Hog lists the SQ600 as a light duty cutter. When you put 50HP on the SQ600 like the Mahindra 6000 has you can make a light duty cutter a pile of junk in a hurry. Look for something a little heavier that the SQ Bush Hog line.) 

OK, so what's your point. That I bought the right cutter the first time? I did not indicate that I would be putting a larger cutter on my tractor. The absolute max that it will handle is a light duty 6 foot, and I personally think that's too much. That's why I went with the 5 footer. And you try telling the 3" diameter 7' tall trees on my property that they have nothing to fear from the SQ600 - all 10 acres of them were wiped out by the "little" Bush Hog. The remaining 8 acres get their turn after we finish the house. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

As for "testing" the unit using tractor HP - why would you do that? Buy the attachments to fit your tractor - not the other way around.

My comment is based on the orignal posters search for a replacemnet cutter with a larger width. Since the post did not include tractor PTO HP as a criteria, I simply commented that he/she should give the Bush Hog it's due - after all the post indicates that the original Bush Hog gave great service. I was not suggesting that he replace the original cutter with another 5 footer. Nor was I suggesting he buy a Squeeler. Bush Hog makes much heavier duty cutters that will likely fit his needs. I do not recommend going over mfgs. suggestions for PTO HP. If you've got the power, then buy the heaviest duty unit YOU need to get the job done. It's not necessary to pick up a Bush Hog 287 or a 307 if the toughest tree it will cut comes out of a Bonzai pot. Likewise, tossing a SQ600 at a Redwood is pretty dumb as well.