Anybody got an old Woods Mower?

I have an old Wood M5-4 mower that works very well. When I got it, I had to beat apart the slip clutch since it was all rusted up. I cleaned it up well and put new discs in it and it works well now.

Since I've had the mower I wondered why there was no cover on the slip clutch to keep the weather off of it.

Well, after finally getting an old manual for it, I saw that it had a clutch shield on it when it was made. My mower didn't have one on it.

But, I found out that I could get that shield directly from Woods. So I ordered one. It was pretty expensive at $53.00 though. But it's a heavy gauge steel part and it does protect the slip clutch from the weather.

If I was still working at the place I retired from, I could have made one myself but as I said the part I bought was heavy steel and worth it.

So if any of you guys have an old Woods mower with a slip clutch and you're missing that cover, it is available from Woods.

It's not good to leave a slip clutch out in the weather. :wink:

A year or so ago, I also got a stump jumper for it from woods and a new set of blades. The stump jumper is a real necessity. I sure was glad that I already had an ORC on it when I installed that stump jumper. The thing takes forever to spin down and stop now. With the ORC I can shift gears without waiting for it to spin down.

This mower should last me a good long time now.

I wonder why they made your cover so heavy.
I have Bush Hog® that has a similar cover over over the slip clutch.
But it isn't so heavy and would be pretty easy to duplicate. Maybe made out of 16 gauge with a couple of brackets to bolt it on.
I will say that having a brand name tool does have it's advantages.
Parts for them my be pricey but at least they are available.

By the way, That Ford 545 that was on auction in Fontana, CA went for $5600.
That was a very good price for that unit with low hours and such a good loader.
Click here

(quoted from post at 06:27:51 11/14/14) By the way, That Ford 545 that was on auction in Fontana, CA went for $5600.
That was a very good price for that unit with low hours and such a good loader.
Click here

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Thanks for the update, I forgot all about that. Yeah I would also say good price.

(quoted from post at 06:21:56 11/14/14)[b:5aa86b1dfe][color=red:5aa86b1dfe] I wonder why they made your cover so heavy.[/color:5aa86b1dfe][/b:5aa86b1dfe]
I have Bush Hog® that has a similar cover over over the slip clutch.
But it isn't so heavy and would be pretty easy to duplicate. Maybe made out of 16 gauge with a couple of brackets to bolt it on.
I will say that having a brand name tool does have it's advantages.
Parts for them my be pricey but at least they are available.

Click to expand...

Just checked mine and it's .110" so that would make it around 12 gauge.

I've got the woods m5 mower. Good mower. It has the cover on it.
When I got it half the bolts on the clutch were bent. I took it apart
and cleaned it up and replaced the bolts. Been working good since.
I've always thought the slip clutch was to take the place of needing
a stump jumper. Guess having both might make it even better. But
is that really necessary?

(quoted from post at 18:12:27 11/14/14) I've got the woods m5 mower. Good mower. It has the cover on it.
When I got it half the bolts on the clutch were bent. I took it apart
and cleaned it up and replaced the bolts. Been working good since.
I've always thought the slip clutch was to take the place of needing
a stump jumper. Guess having both might make it even better. But
is that really necessary?

Click to expand...

I would say it's necessary if you want you mower to last a long time. You've got the blade bar that's attatch to the shaft. If that thing hits a big rock or a stump it puts a lot of stress on your gear box and bearings. With the stump jumper it kind of floats over stuff like that. Your blades ends may still hit but they will swivel out of the way. Your blade bar can't swivel out of the way. You can see how the bent up flanges would make it jump over and object.

Below is a pic of the stump jumper before I installed it. I think it was around $80.00. If you can afford it and you want to protect your mower, I would certainly get one. That eighty bucks is a lot cheaper than a new gear box for $1000.

That slip clutch helps to keep from twisting or damaging your PTO shaft. But you still don't want that blade bar slamming into anything.

Thanks for the info. I'll look into getting one. I sure do have a lots
of stumps and rocks around here.

So your stump jumper just bolts on to the blade bar?
Interesting. I bought a Ford brush mower once that
just had the blade bar. I didn't think much of it so
resold it right away.
Around here with the rocks, stumps and moguls we
have the stump jumper is crucial but most rotary
mowers I have seen the stump jumper IS the blade
bar/ carrier.
I had 5' BH before I got this 6' one and was
backing up to the edge of the small river that
borders my property, cleaning up the weeds.
All of a sudden it went quiet back there.
I checked and the pto was spinning fine.
So I shut down and raised the mower to find
The whole stump jumper and blades were gone.
I had to go wading in the river to find it then dive
under and haul up this 100 lb unit and haul it to
shore.
I ordered a new nut for it a d was back in business
in a few days

(quoted from post at 06:43:27 11/15/14) So your stump jumper just bolts on to the blade bar?
Interesting. I bought a Ford brush mower once that
just had the blade bar. I didn't think much of it so
resold it right away.
Around here with the rocks, stumps and moguls we
have the stump jumper is crucial but most rotary
mowers I have seen the stump jumper IS the blade
bar/ carrier.
I had 5' BH before I got this 6' one and was
backing up to the edge of the small river that
borders my property, cleaning up the weeds.
All of a sudden it went quiet back there.
I checked and the pto was spinning fine.
So I shut down and raised the mower to find
The whole stump jumper and blades were gone.
I had to go wading in the river to find it then dive
under and haul up this 100 lb unit and haul it to
shore.
I ordered a new nut for it a d was back in business
in a few days

Click to expand...

Yes, as you figured from the picture, it just bolts onto the blade bar. The big outside bolts that go down through the pan have carriage bolt like heads on the bottom so they don't catch on anything.

This thing by itself is pretty heavy so I can imagine how heavy yours was with the blade bar and blades on it.

(quoted from post at 04:20:32 11/15/14) Thanks for the info. I'll look into getting one. I sure do have a lots
of stumps and rocks around here.

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Then you probably know the "not so nice" sound when your blade bar slams into something you didn't see because of the weeds. You will feel a lot better about mowing once you've installed a stump jumper.

One more interesting thing. Woods makes a blade bar puller to get the blade bar off if you ever need to replace the seal or bearing.

I called them to ask if they still made them and had one in stock. I almost fell off my chair when she told me they had them in stock and the price was $520.00 :shock: :shock: :shock:

I've never had to remove my blade bar but if I do, I'll rig up something myself to do it. There are videos on You Tube of guys removing blade bars.

From what I read in my Woods manual, the blade bar itself (not the nut holding it on) is put on with Locktite and needs to be heated to get it off.

That's in itself is an incentive to get that stump jumper to protect the blade bar and bearings.