Shredder for 8N Ford

Looking to buy a shredder or a finish mower for my 8N Ford?

Any suggestions? Thoughts? Watchouts? Things to consider? 5 foot or 6 foot?

For a shredder you can run a light duty 5
footer just fine. For a finish mower look
for a 6'. I bought both types brand new
when I was still running an N. They were
King Kutter brand. I had real good luck
with them.

Like UD recommends, 5' only. No 6', and not too heavy.

Dean

You will want an over-running clutch that slides over the end of your pto shaft. Be sure of your tractor pto shaft size, you may
still have the old 1 1/8 x6 spline shaft and your implements will be 1 3/8x 6 spline . You can get an over-running clutch that
also serves as an adaptor if needed.Good advice given by dean and ud as to mower sizes.

How heavy is to heavy?

I see that a 5 foot Frontier model RC2060 weighs 590 lbs? Thoughts?

I'd go for 5' rotary mower not a finish, unless you are doing lawns.

I have a 5' Howse that is > 30 years old and no problems yet. They still make the same cutter but gearbox is up from 40 hp to 60 hp. Still USA, but price is more than 2X what I paid back then.

Should be OK if hydraylic system is decent.

Dean

I just looked up the weight on a new 5' KK rotary mower. It says 535 lbs.
My 2N handled it fine.
I would think 590 lbs would be okay.
You ask how heavy is too heavy.
There's a lot of difference in mowers.
I have upsized tractors a couple of times since I had that N.
I found a used 5' Bush Hog brand rotary mower and used it for a few years. It weighed about 1300 lbs. I now run a 6' BH. It's north of 1500.

My last 5 foot King Kutter finish mower lasted 25 years.
I bought a slightly used one a couple of years ago and it does great.
Just grease them every time you use them and they will keep going.
Richard

(quoted from post at 04:16:56 08/05/20) How heavy is to heavy?

I see that a 5 foot Frontier model RC2060 weighs 590 lbs? Thoughts?

Click to expand...

The Green paint is to expensive for me...

You first need to determine what your application/needs are. Do you want to knock down overgrowth, long neglected fields, or do you need to mow your 2 acre lawn? A rotary mower (Brush Hog)will do both but a hog won't be as good if you want a pristine golf-course like lawn, so not recommended. 5' is typical of Brush Hogs. Finish Mowers on N's work well with a 6'. With both, I highly advise to use an ORC and STABILIZER BARS. Know the correct method of installing bars. For an 8N, mow with POSITION CONTROL, in 2nd gear, 2/3 throttle. For a 9N/2N, use limiter chains or a Zane Thang Position Control device. STAB BARS prevent scalping when making turns and adds support as well. Some fellas use one bar and that will work okay. When brush hogging overgrowth, I highly advise you first take a stroll around the property to inspect for hidden objects that can damage your mower and/or tractor. Look for stumps, logs, large rocks/boulders, old discarded stoves and refrigerators, cars and car parts, dead deer, Jimmy Hoffa or other long lost bodies. Use caution, may have to go slow like in 1st gear at least on first pass, and make two or three passes. For brands, the popular ones offer parts & service. Be sure the brush hog has the stump jumper feature.

FORD 8N w/WOODS 660 FINISH MOWER & STABILIZER BARS:


Tim Daley(MI)

Please don't continue the myth.
An ORC is Not needed when you use a finish mower. The inertia of a FM is maybe 20% of a ritary mower. Surely not enough to get you into trouble like a rotary mower can.
P.S.
Stabilizer bars are also optional. I am not the only one who does not see the need for them on an FM.

No myth, my 6' Land Pride finish mower twisted my adapter on my 8n the first year I ran it. Replaced it with an ORC 15 years ago and no problem since. Use a ORC any mower and get a 6' if you get a FM.

Did you happen to observe the rotation of the twist? That would tell us the truth of it.
You a betting man?
I'll lay you 20-1 odds the twist was caused by the tractor and not the mower.

Bingo, UD.

Finish mowers have much less rotating inertia than rough cut mowers and much more windage and friction resistance. Unlike a rough cut mower, deceleration is rapid once power is removed.

No real need for an ORC but using one will hurt nothing.

Dean

If safety is 1st, we should be using aan over-running clutch for high inertia, PTO implements on our Ns.
Anyone heard of "MowHawk" rotary brush cutters?
I have run our 42" Mowhawk with our 2N with NO ORC with no problems.
Yes; you know that if you need to stop you will get pushed 2 or 3 feet before you come to a stop.
This has never caused a problem.
And when it comes to mowing blackberries, scotchbroom, and other woody growth, the smaller, 42" rotary "hatchets" can go through almost anything.
When we bought our property 30 years ago, I bull-dosed through the 12' brush with the 2N mowing all of the brambles, brush etc....
After a few days, It became clear that we had bought a English Walnut orchard!!!
You couldn't ever have known until the 2N and 42" Mowhawk shredded the overgrowth.
The smaller brush cutter allows one to cut through heavier brush without overtaxing your N.

I don't have the adapter to check, but I'm pretty sure I twisted it when I had to stop quick when a turkey ran in front of me. You could certainly feel the mower pushing. If the twist was caused by the tractor starting the mower, one would think it would also twist the ORC in the 15 years since.