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Bush Hog-To-Mower Conversion?

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Bob Kirk

05-28-2002 17:43:54




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I have an old, heavy "rotary cutter" that came with a tractor I bought. I don't need to cut brush, but do need a machine to do rough mowing on walking trails through the woods.

Can my bush hog be converted to a rough mower?

The two blades on this guy have no "edge" at all but are completely rounded over. It will only cut grass when it is very tall and very dry -- and even then, not very well. I was thinking about just trying to put sharp edges on the blades and see what happens.

Any ideas on this? Do I need to be worried about "balancing" the weight of the two blades when I sharpen them, or are the rpms likely to be low enough that balance won't matter much?

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Bob Kirk

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Bob Kirk

05-30-2002 17:52:09




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 Re: Bush Hog-To-Mower Conversion? in reply to Bob Kirk, 05-28-2002 17:43:54  
Thanks for your thoughts gentlemen!

Bob



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JohnnyB

05-29-2002 16:06:57




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 Re: Bush Hog-To-Mower Conversion? in reply to Bob Kirk, 05-28-2002 17:43:54  
On every single older mower I've seen the blades are very tough to get off. I will cut the bolts off with my torch to get them off, so I usually just sharpen the blades. Flip the mower over (I use my forklift) but me and my dad have manhandled it over also, take a 2X4 and wedge it between the blade and the deck and get to grinding. Try to remove about the same amount of metal from both blade, but they ain't got to be perfect. In 30 minutes you'll be done. I do it once a year on my old chopper.

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TB

05-29-2002 13:50:00




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 Re: Bush Hog-To-Mower Conversion? in reply to Bob Kirk, 05-28-2002 17:43:54  
My finish cut field mower a NH35 has the lifting blades and seems to be geared rather high. It works real good I can cut saplings, tall grass and it comes out looking almost like lawn.



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BB

05-29-2002 04:33:00




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 Re: Bush Hog-To-Mower Conversion? in reply to Bob Kirk, 05-28-2002 17:43:54  
I have a rotary cutter that I use for general mowing. I occasionally use it for light brush and sapplings, but mostly for mowing about 4 acres of pasture and the ditches along the road. I periodically sharpen my blades with an angle grinder. I don't worry too much about balance. The blades are very heavy, don't spin all that fast, and I don't take off much when I sharpen. I figure over time if I take off a little more on one blade, the next time I will likely take a little more off the other. I have never had a vibration problem, so I assume it is working.

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Harold Hubbard

05-29-2002 04:12:51




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 Re: Bush Hog-To-Mower Conversion? in reply to Bob Kirk, 05-28-2002 17:43:54  
Try taking one blade off and taking it to an equipment dealer and see if they can find new ones. A set of blades will run $50-100, and will be sharp, balanced, and straight. For cutting grass they will last a long time, unless you hit a lot of "wild grindstones". If there is a choice of styles, go with a "high suction" blade. If your old blades look pretty good compared to the new ones, they can be sharpened with an angle grinder,and kept as spares, or to use when you know you can't avoid rocks. Cutting heavy grass takes more power than brush, and you need every advantage you can get.

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Harold Hubbard

05-29-2002 04:12:23




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 Re: Bush Hog-To-Mower Conversion? in reply to Bob Kirk, 05-28-2002 17:43:54  
Try taking one blade off and taking it to an equipment dealer and see if they can find new ones. A set of blades will run $50-100, and will be sharp, balanced, and straight. For cutting grass they will last a long time, unless you hit a lot of "wild grindstones". If there is a choice of styles, go with a "high suction" blade. If your old blades look pretty good compared to the new ones, they can be sharpened with an angle grinder,and kept as spares, or to use when you know you can't avoid rocks. Cutting heavy grass takes more power than brush, and you need every advantage you can get.

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Harold Hubbard

05-29-2002 04:11:57




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 Re: Bush Hog-To-Mower Conversion? in reply to Bob Kirk, 05-28-2002 17:43:54  
Try taking one blade off and taking it to an equipment dealer and see if they can find new ones. A set of blades will run $50-100, and will be sharp, balanced, and straight. For cutting grass they will last a long time, unless you hit a lot of "wild grindstones". If there is a choice of styles, go with a "high suction" blade. If your old blades look pretty good compared to the new ones, they can be sharpened with an angle grinder,and kept as spares, or to use when you know you can't avoid rocks. Cutting heavy grass takes more power than brush, and you need every advantage you can get.

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