MF 59 Brush cutter (?)

Tall T

Well-known Member
A brush cutter has come up in my neck of the woods for ONLY $200!
A 1965 Massey Ferguson 59.

A forum member offered up these questions I should ask of the owner of the cutter:
Is the gear box leaking?
Is the shaft that the blade is mounted to lose or wobbly.
What condition is the cutter blades in? Are they all there?
How much rust?
Are any of the front and rear brush guards still intact?

Anything else anyone can add?

Thanks,
Terry

mvphoto16801.jpg
 
I don't know anything about the mower.
Why don't you use photobucket or somesuch?
Then hotlink to your photos from here.

Here's a picture of my pride and joy - hotlinked from photobucket.

Prideandjoy.jpg
 
I would go and see the machine in person if it is not too far away.
One man's mint condition is another man's plumb wore out, at least
in my limited experience.
Zach
 
Zachary,
Good advice but it is 90 miles away but the owner said he would bring it down. So maybe I should just have a talk with him as he is a major tractor & implement dealer, ask him a slew of questions, trust him and just take a gamble on it. Any structural stuff i can fix myself.

Also, thanks much Jerry!

Terry
 

Just one word of caution. In the picture, I see the square shaft that connects to the universal joint, but make sure he has the outer shaft with the other universal joint that slips onto that square shaft.
 

OH!
Good eye Cary!!

I wondered about the square shaft with no u-joint or slip yoke
at the tractor end.
I'll ask him.

Thanks,
Terry
 
Tall T:

Word of caution: looks like a few broken welds and
rusty deck plate.

Two of the more dangerous machines on the farm:
Rotary cutter and chain saw

Friend had a old rusty cutter in bad shape, hit
something, blade kicked it up. The object busted
through the thin rusty deck and hit his tractor just
a couple of feet from him.

Another one, key came out of nut that helt the stump
jumper on to the gearbox, lucky for him the stump
jumper and blades all came off together, did n o t
go far, but he said it sure made a heck of a noise.

So, be very careful buying an old rusty cutter.

Cheapest is not always the least expensive and
safest in the long run.
 

The other half of that PTO shaft can get expensive if he doesn't have it. Check the condition of the tail wheel too. I had an old Bush Hog that looked worse than this one that I abandoned in the woods when I moved from my old place. Couldn't keep oil in the gear box and the deck was ragged. Took the shaft and the tail wheel with me, both things I had replaced. The tail wheel was adapted to fit from a Ford cutter. I bought a new King Kutter on sale at TSC for the new place and haven't regretted it for the light duty need I have for one.
 
Showcrop,
:D
No kidding, it's probably dry so there's no visible leakage.
It might be like my old rototiller; I put STP in the gearbox to slow up the output shaft leakage. Only other thing I'd ever use STP for is to thicken the hydraulic oil in old Austin knee action hydr. shocks so it doesn't weep out.

W_B
Good advice, thanks!

Today I got answers back as to its condition:

[b:076814f8c5]In the picture, I see the square shaft that connects to the universal joint, but does it come with the outer shaft with the other universal joint that slips over that square shaft?[/b:076814f8c5]
The PTO shaft is complete

[b:076814f8c5]Is the gear box sound?[/b:076814f8c5]
It works

[b:076814f8c5]Is it leaking?[/b:076814f8c5]
Can’t tell, the whole deck is outside so it is wet
The former owner was using it until the day he bought new…

[b:076814f8c5]Is the shaft that the blade is mounted to lose or wobbly? [/b:076814f8c5]
Seems okay

[b:076814f8c5]What condition are the cutter blades in?[/b:076814f8c5]
chipped

[b:076814f8c5]Are they all there?[/b:076814f8c5]
Both of them are there

[b:076814f8c5]How much deck rust? . . . Seems to be some along the top edge. [/b:076814f8c5]
Lots of rust

[b:076814f8c5]Are any of the front or rear brush guards missing?[/b:076814f8c5] There are no front or rear guards

[b:076814f8c5]What is the overall width?[/b:076814f8c5]
63”
 
(quoted from post at 11:21:59 02/27/15) Showcrop,
:D
No kidding, it's probably dry so there's no visible leakage.
It might be like my old rototiller; I put STP in the gearbox to slow up the output shaft leakage. Only other thing I'd ever use STP for is to thicken the hydraulic oil in old Austin knee action hydr. shocks so it doesn't weep out.

W_B
Good advice, thanks!

Today I got answers back as to its condition:

[b:f936f4a1a7]In the picture, I see the square shaft that connects to the universal joint, but does it come with the outer shaft with the other universal joint that slips over that square shaft?[/b:f936f4a1a7]
The PTO shaft is complete

[b:f936f4a1a7]Is the gear box sound?[/b:f936f4a1a7]
It works

[b:f936f4a1a7]Is it leaking?[/b:f936f4a1a7]
Can’t tell, the whole deck is outside so it is wet
The former owner was using it until the day he bought new…

[b:f936f4a1a7]Is the shaft that the blade is mounted to lose or wobbly? [/b:f936f4a1a7]
Seems okay

[b:f936f4a1a7]What condition are the cutter blades in?[/b:f936f4a1a7]
chipped

[b:f936f4a1a7]Are they all there?[/b:f936f4a1a7]
Both of them are there

[b:f936f4a1a7]How much deck rust? . . . Seems to be some along the top edge. [/b:f936f4a1a7]
Lots of rust

[b:f936f4a1a7]Are any of the front or rear brush guards missing?[/b:f936f4a1a7] There are no front or rear guards

[b:f936f4a1a7]What is the overall width?[/b:f936f4a1a7]
63”

One other thing I'd be concerned about. In the pics, the deck is sitting on the ground and the tail wheel is on the ground. Looks like some kind of jury rigged thing to me. I can't seem to figure out how it has any up or down adjustment from the pictures.
 
Is the deck supposed to be up off the ground when in operation?
I'd better go watch a few more videos. :)

I wondered about tail wheel height too actually, because all the wheels I've seen have about 3' deep of rubber and it looks like there's only about 1/4" more height adjustment left on the tail wheel post.

Man, that heavy duty. dual wheel King Cutter is a thing of beauty!
1/2" bracing, built in slip clutch, rear height adj., etc., etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcuTkfNAmKA

I know it is more than I need unless I was going to hire out, but it is a dandy.

thanks,
Terry
 
(quoted from post at 12:43:56 02/27/15) Is the deck supposed to be up off the ground when in operation?
I'd better go watch a few more videos. :)

I wondered about tail wheel height too actually, because all the wheels I've seen have about 3' deep of rubber and it looks like there's only about 1/4" more height adjustment left on the tail wheel post.

Man, that heavy duty. dual wheel King Cutter is a thing of beauty!
1/2" bracing, built in slip clutch, rear height adj., etc., etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcuTkfNAmKA

I know it is more than I need unless I was going to hire out, but it is a dandy.

thanks,
Terry

It depends on what you're cutting. I have a lot of property to mow so I usually don't let the weeds get any higher than knee high. I run it about 4 or 5 inches off the ground. You will want the rear of the mower a little higher than the front. This keeps from double cutting. The front will do the cutting.

Depending on what you're mowing you may want to mow about half of your deck width so as not to put a lot of strain on your tractor and mower. You'll find the best way to use it after you use it a couple of times.

My mower and tractor are the best investments I ever made. Of course the box blade gets it's share of use too.
 
Glad you posted some photos, a friend has one of these in a 5'-0" width, and I'd never would have identified it if you did not post about your potential acquisition of one ! I changed blades on it last year for them, took a few photos etc. same model.

A used rotary cutter needs to be looked at carefully, as people tend to not be so nice to them.

Check the gearbox, see if it has oil, noticeable leaks etc. Many never seem to want to take the gearbox off the deck and replace worn seals, often times there can be a mix of oil/grease. There are soap bases and compounds that may not be compatible when mixed. Not sure how that effects internal parts on these long term or what if any concerns there are with one run like that, its a practice I don't subscribe to, if possible fix the seal and use the specified lube. NLGI 00 or similar/equivalent being less viscous, is often used to reduce or stop leaks. gearbox should be vented, seems they will build pressure and could rupture a seal.

Check to see if the gearbox is loose on the deck, wallowed out holes etc. from being loose.

Brush and safety guards, you should easily be able to make and or fit whatever should be in place or would provide dampening to any projectile like objects a blade could toss out, still use care when operating, avoid unknown areas or places where hazards exist, walk and inspect the area first to reduce the possibility. I know what they can do without guards, send a cantaloupe size rock up 50'-0" and over a hedge row of trees, went right up the backside of the 2010 JD I was on.

Output shaft to blade holder....if there is excess play, it could be an internal problem, bearing or similar, that would be of grave concern if so, finding parts for that particular gearbox or the cost of replacing it would be a consideration.

Heavy flaking and or thick scales of rust coming off, that may weaken the deck, and be a safety issue, surface rust, not so heavy pitting, should not be an issue. These seem to be built heavy. The one I worked on did not have a stump pan, just the steel cross piece/blade holder. I thought the deck was well built, maybe its just being of older manufacture, it has thicker steel.

Blade condition is important to cutting efficiency and vibration, they should be equal weight and or balanced, if heavily deformed or gouged, they either need repair, or ideally to be safe.... just replace them. This mower has some short stubby, really heavy blades, well the one I worked on did. Its a lot heavier built than my SE-6 Rhino.

Additionally, these need to have blades in good condition and be properly adjusted to the tractor, typically, level side to side and the front set lower than the back by an inch or so. I found books for this mower on ebay, click below for those listings.

PTO safety guard should be installed, though who ever goes near one of these while its running, well besides whomever is in the seat ? Grade #2 bolt in the input shaft to the pto shaft is there to shear, don't use anything else and replace whats in there with a known grade #2. If it does not shear, all of that shock load is going to be absorbed elsewhere and can cause damage. Friend runs his with a JD 2020, and someone had the wrong grade in there, they hit things over time and it destroyed the slide coupler assembly on the PTO shaft, way down in the cast housing, which then required a complete tear down of the back end of the tractor. This was a 2 stage clutch. Grade 2 bolts are a lot less expensive. Some blade holders use left hand thread shear type shoulder bolts, my Rhino has them and they work well, when you hit something, no damage to anything, just the shears off bolts, and all the parts remain under the deck, no shrapnel effect.

Used mower of unknown condition, look it over good, if things check out, that's a decent price, once gone through and everything taken care of, it can be a worthy rotary cutter. I did that with the old SE-6 Rhino, 7-10 acres a year, going on 13 years. Keep my blades sharp or replaced when needed, and change the lube in the gear box.
M F 59 mnauals
 
(quoted from post at 13:36:48 02/27/15) Glad you posted some photos, a friend has one of these in a 5'-0" width, and I'd never would have identified it if you did not post about your potential acquisition of one ! I changed blades on it last year for them, took a few photos etc. same model.

A used rotary cutter needs to be looked at carefully, as people tend to not be so nice to them.

Billy,

Thanks for all the work you put into that mower tractorial
and all the safety tips!!!

Terry
 
Cary,

Zooming in on the shaft cause I thought it might have been welded, it appears to be a square slip tube over the square shaft.
Am I right?
The owner says the shaft hookup is complete.

Square shaft . . . hmmm
even MORE reason for the shaft guard necessity. :)

Thanks,
T
mvphoto17027.jpg
 
(quoted from post at 17:33:27 03/02/15) Cary,

Zooming in on the shaft cause I thought it might have been welded, it appears to be a square slip tube over the square shaft.
Am I right?
The owner says the shaft hookup is complete.

Square shaft . . . hmmm
even MORE reason for the shaft guard necessity. :)

Thanks,
T
My Woods mower has a square shaft from the gear box. It has an outer shaft that is actually round but has a square inside in it. This outer shaft slips over the square shaft so it can slide back and forth on the grease square shaft.

If that mower pictured already has a square outer shaft that is slid onto the smaller square gear box shaft It might be complete.

But that outer shaft would need another U joint and a yoke that slips over the tractor PTO. Trouble is that we can't see the forward end of it it the picture.

Why don't you ask the guy if he can take another pic with the shaft raised up so you can see the forward end of it?
 
Cary wrote:
"If that mower pictured already has a square outer shaft that is slid onto the smaller square gear box shaft It might be complete."

He says it is complete and he's a local major farm equip dealer so I believe him.
Here's a picture that sort of shows the end yoke.

Thanks,
T
mvphoto17031.jpg
 
(quoted from post at 19:12:50 03/02/15) Cary wrote:
"If that mower pictured already has a square outer shaft that is slid onto the smaller square gear box shaft It might be complete."

He says it is complete and he's a local major farm equip dealer so I believe him.
Here's a picture that sort of shows the end yoke.

Thanks,
T
mvphoto17031.jpg

As I said, there needs to be a U joint on that end also. Your guess is as good as mine.
 

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