new operator with old bush mower - questions?

Hi Guys,
I picked this up to use with the Ford 3000. It's rough but spins up. Three questions:
1) What can you tell me about this model?
2) Should I use a chain for the toplink 3point hookup, or solid shaft?
3) What safety gear do you recommend wearing?

The tractor is open station and I'll be cutting brush near trees, old wood. Plenty of logs and the ground is full of rocks. I'm bound to hit things and shoot out from under the machine. I have prescription safety glasses and I was thinking of wearing my carhart coat with collar turned up and heavy gloves. Any other suggestions?

I have a rotary mower I use when I don't want to use my falil mower if there is a chance of rocks. Those mowers throw things, be careful around people.
I had a rock come out the front of my mower and hit the front tire and bounce back and hit me in the eye. Every time I have an eye exam I am asked, did
you know you have a scare on your eye. Stan

Just beware if you intend to go back and knock the
same area down again there will be all kinds of sharp
stumps from the previously cut brush. They will reek
havoc on your tires.

There are rotary mowers meant for cutting grass and there are brush mowers meant for cutting woody growth.

That is a rotary mower that has been used as a brush mower.

When you can see a crease around the top where the blades run, it's getting pretty thin.

I really wouldn't want to run that in anything but grass, if that. In heavy brush it's not going to last long.

Just reminds me, back about 40 years ago, I bought a New Holland 488 Haybine. The first use was at my brother's farm. The second round about his hayfield the machine picked up a rock and kicked it forward, knocked a light off the tractor. You can't anticipate everything!!

I would be very careful cutting anything with that mower. It
looks to be rusted out, right where the main lifting structure
connects to the mower body. Further, if you are going to cut
in tuff stuff, you will want some sort of front (chain?) guard.
As far as floating, it does not seem to have a flexible 3 point
linkage. In fact, are the top diagonal supports that run
toward the back bent from use, or are they supposed to
look like that?

I borrowed my grandpa's '52 8N and old brush mower after buying some land in the mid 90's. Cut quite a bit before puncturing a tire on a small stump. Local tire service came out and fixed it, but that mower didn't survive the land c;earing process (it had no stump jumper).

I have a Howse MH5 that I bought in 1998. I bought chain guards for it the next day.

use an over ride clutch on pto

I owned a Woods 80 rotary shredder that was previously used by the State of Nebraska to mow roadsides. They had modified it by hanging pieces of light chair at close intervals around all of the edges. While using it, you would periodically hear a chain clink sound with something hitting it.

Safety glasses to save your eyes, not kidding . Should be chains along the front to slow down thrown debris.

Hearing Protection!

First time over a strange field, I wear a logging helmet with earmuffs and a face screen.

You will be pretty safe if you stay in the seat, wear your safety glasses and hearing protection. I put
this canopy on our tractor because I had the outside corner of the cutter catch a dead tree and the top came
down and hit me. I should of built the canopy when we first bought the tractor.

After carefully examining the pictures. IMHO, I would declare this mower as unsafe. If it were me, I would personally scrap it. From what I can see: 1.)the deck is rusted out, 2.) the deck is cracked,
3.)there are no chains on the leading edge, 4.) the sides are worn thin. What I cant see: what condition are the blade and bolts in? Are they equally as worn/rusted? You may or may not be safe on
the tractor but there is a good chance that some by standers may get hurt if things let loose. Not to mention your rear tractor tires. Your tractor, your mower, do as you wish.

That looks like the one we just scrapped. Used and misused it for 35+ years. Get a supply of shear pins and keep live thing away from
it when running. Be aware of its condition and run accordingly. Do check the bolts on the blades to make sure they are tight. There
is an inspection hole in the deck behind the transmission.

If your Ford tractor is a 4 speed you will want an over riding clutch so you can stop quickly. The deck needs some repair work before being used.

Despite being old the deck has only very slight deformity from the blades hitting it, so it has apparently not had a lot of use. There are many, many out there in regular use that have much more deformity to both the top and sides.It is just the nature of the work. The previous owner apparently did not own a welder so it never got its cracks, which they all get, repaired. I would use a chain instead of a regular top link since the mower has no adequate provision to handle the back end lift when the rear wheel rolls up and over something. Be sure that your front is always a little lower than the rear so that you are cutting the material just once. Do not sharpen the blades. They need to be dull so that the stumps that are left are shredded instead of cut and sharp. If you need to replace blades the hole behind the gear box is there to provide access to the pins that the blades pivot on. I see no slip clutch so you are relying on a shear bolt to protect the driveline of both the mower and your tractor. I recommend removing the bolt and cleaning the mating surfaces. Then determine the grade of the bolt and pick up a few of that rating but also a few of the next softer rating. Start out with the softer ones and see how it goes. You don't know if the PO swapped in a heavier one, putting the driveline in jeopardy. The chains hanging along the front are certainly a good thing. Many mowers come with them now, but they first appeared only within the last twenty years, just like the safety upgrades to everything that we use at home and at work.

You have probably guessed a bush hog can be an amazing tool and also be deadly. As suggested your setup may need an over riding clutch depending on your tractor, deck needs repaired with some welding before use, guard chains would be nice but there are lots of cutters without them. A simple rule to follow is stay on the tractor if the cutter is spinning. A spinning pto shaft can quickly grab loose clothing, long hair, etc and twist a person around it. A cutter will throw stuff from all sides for long distances. Keep everyone far away when running it. Wear ppe when its in use.

(quoted from post at 09:18:51 05/21/22) After carefully examining the pictures. IMHO, I would declare this mower as unsafe. If it were me, I would personally scrap it. From what I can see: 1.)the deck is rusted out, 2.) the deck is cracked,
3.)there are no chains on the leading edge, 4.) the sides are worn thin. What I cant see: what condition are the blade and bolts in? Are they equally as worn/rusted? You may or may not be safe on
the tractor but there is a good chance that some by standers may get hurt if things let loose. Not to mention your rear tractor tires. Your tractor, your mower, do as you wish.

Click to expand...

This. 100% this. It's junk the way it sits.




This post was edited by Carlmac 369 on 05/22/2022 at 06:25 am.

That deck has seen quite a bit of use, has the classic radius dent all around and the repairs needed to the deck should be
completed if this rotary cutter does not have other significant problems. No guards on it, you have no idea how it reacts to
striking things like wood, rocks etc. and you are on an open station tractor. Think about that combination of things for a
moment and consider the following:

So this is one of those implements that I have experience using, maintaining and repairing going back to pre-teenage years.
Way back when, using a Bush Hog brand rotary cutter, with a JD 2010 narrow front, it struck a round rock and launched it from
the front part of the deck, giving it trajectory that sent it up the back side of where the operator sits and sent it over
trees into an old pasture. They can send things out under the right conditions, things that will kill and or maim.

With that in mind, I'd check this mower out, often times they are hammered, other times, like the one I have been running for
20 years and was used when I got it then, still performs well. Previous owner was not kind to it. It's had lots of repairs,
and the deck is certainly showing it's use, and abuse. I'd like to replace it, really need a 7'-0 model. No guards on it,
but this one does not seem to want to send things out like some do. It's a risk, but an educated one, however, under the right
conditions, no doubt it could be dangerous. Hence, me wanting to replace it, like other things, gradually over time, acquiring
newer equipment with safety features that are needed.

It's best to know the work area, fields etc. Keep the mower up high and be very attentive to what is ahead and what is about
to pass under the tractor. Keep people far away when you are working and you would benefit from a tractor with OROPS and a
seat belt if working in rough terrain. A neighbor over the other side of the ridge got bumped off a 640 Ford and was run over
by both the tractor and the rotary cutter, a gruesome sight and an accident that was easily prevented.

Not to discourage, please take in all the safety aspects of this equipment and work as safely as you can. I still have to use
my old rotary cutter and I know every time I do, the risks are there, so I stay in known areas and keep the cutting level
appropriate.

Some maintenance items are keeping the blades properly sharpened, replaced and or keeping same balanced. Grease the tail wheel
assembly often and keep tabs on gear box lube, check for leaks under the deck, safely of course.

That one does have the same kind of bracing mine has and I use a standard top link, I would not consider using a chain as I
want my cutter 1 lower in the front and level side to side. The top link bracing does flex, so I can't figure why someone
would want to use a chain, however maybe there is more to it, I just don't see why.

I'd prefer a slip clutch to protect the driveline, mine has shear bolt protection at the input shaft and I only use grade 2
bolts, it shears them the way it should and more often when I upgraded my tractor from a ford 850 to a ford-NH 4630. So much
more torque, I rarely sheared one using the 850, but have sheared them just powering up when engaging the independent PTO.