Ford Flail Mowers

nw_bearcat · Jun 10, 2009

Hey all,
I recently picked up a new to me Ford 917A flail mower, I think I came out alright, I basically traded my fairly used King Kutter 6' rotary (not a finish) mower for a decent ~8' Flail with several new blades. Now my questions, I've used it some, but it still seems to cut shorter than I'd like. I'm about out of toplink adjustment to rock it back. I haven't studied it alot, but is there a way to lower that back roller some? Also what's the difference between the 917A and the 917 mowers? Definatly does a nice job vs. that rotary, what I'm mowing is basically an extended yard, I let it get about 12-16" high, cut it, then let it grow back up...shouldn't have to do that again for a while, it's about 2-3" now vs. 6-8 that the King Kutter would do. Are there any other things to remember or keep in mind when running these? I've heard they're basically shot if you ever bend that drum...how does one do that, or more directly how does one ensure he does not do that? It seems pretty straitforward to operate, you gotta keep it opened up pretty good though. Works pretty nice behind my 4000...

Jim in Ma. · Jun 10, 2009

Does that mower have the roller on the back? If so, readjust it to cut higher. One thing I do know is - if you raise the mower up it will nor cut as well. for a nice even cut it needs to be pretty low If you try to cut 6" or more high it will look ragged.

johns48jdb · Jun 10, 2009

its one of the safetest mowers you'll ever run as far as throwing things. i made a sharpener for the t's on mine and wold let it go right if you wanted it. i live in n al. its a big wheel with a steel backing plate that i mounted to a frame and motor. i hold the blades with a machist vise and cah adjust how much to cut and cut it all the way across with it. the only other suggestion i could make is to see if you cn find a longer top link. it want cut grass if you let it get 5 or 6 inches high. it will cut through about anything. to mess it up all you have to do is to run it into a tree. i sold mine to a guy who is worth milions and 6 weeks later he brought it back and wanted his money back, 900, because if was bent up after he hit a tree with it. you can weld you rod up on the end so you can look back and know where the end of the mower is. paience around trees is the word your looking for. never had a problem with mine other than bearings in the back roller. i found its best to pick it up when making 90 deg or better turns.

nw_bearcat · Jun 11, 2009

Well, I'll take it easy around the trees, I just wanted to make sure hitting a high spot in the yard wouldn't destroy it. I took another look at it last night, and there's 3 holes to position the rear roller, and right now it's in the middle hole, so I can go up one there. I don't want to get it real high, just want to keep it in that 3-5" range. I looked where I mowed last night and WOW, that's a nice cut...too bad I don't have a smaller tractor that would pull it, I'd mow the yard with it rather than just the back lot. As it is, my 4000 w/ the ROPS just doesn't fit under the trees very well.

BushogPapa · Jun 11, 2009

It is good practice to clean out the wet left-overs from the under-side at the rear of the drum, or they will eventually rust-out..

They are a little power-hungry, but are great for about anything except for larger saplings..you can loose knives if you do..
I think you have a choice of different kinds of knives..last time I bought them, they were $2.31 each..cheap (about 3 years ago)..mine has 39 of them..
The rear roller can be positioned in 2 different positions..yours must be rotated up to the high position, letting it to too low for you..

Ron.

BushogPapa · Jun 11, 2009

If the mower hits the ground, it is gonna KILL the tractor...!! If mine hits the ground, the JD 720 D really blows smoke and I can hear the Belt singing...!!
That is one more thing, don't have the belt too tight, so it can slip if you hit something you shouldn't..!!

nw_bearcat · Jun 12, 2009

Is there any rhyme or reason on where the blades are positioned, other than keeping them opposed enough to keep it balanced? There looks to be alot of holes in the drum that are not used.

No doubt it likes the HP though, I did catch one high spot in the yard and made the tractor beller pretty bad till I could get it picked up.

I'm going to look at that roller a bit.

BushogPapa · Jun 12, 2009

The knives should be installed so that each successive row is staggered from the previous row..

That way, each row cuts right beside the last one, to make a clean cut each revolution..make sense..?

Not sure if that makes the spacing "every-other-hole" in the drum, but I think it does..

Balance is important, if you loose one knive, the mower will vibrate..but it will sometimes just because of the cuttings that get caught in the open chain link above the blade..and that seems not to hurt anything..
But if one knife is missing, it will leave a narrow streak of poorly-cut grass..
These are more efficient cutting pasture because you don't need to over-lap your cut, just to cut where the rear wheel tramped the grass down..it will cut that clean...I usually need to over-lap the rear wheel width if I am using a Bush Hog, to get a do a good job and that reduces a 6' cut to about a 5' cut..the Flail can take the full width and do a good job without over-lapping..
Ron..

Ford Flail Mowers

nw_bearcat

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Jim in Ma.

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johns48jdb

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nw_bearcat

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BushogPapa

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BushogPapa

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nw_bearcat

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BushogPapa

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