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Tractor Talk Discussion Forum

Farmall Cub and belly mower

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Fritz Campbell

03-14-2004 17:07:05




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Every year about this time - I start thinking about getting ready to mow the grass - although I'm a month or so early. My two JD 140 mowers are ready for the mowing chores (I alternate them every other week) and they do a great job on my 1 1/2 or so acres of grass. I don't rush my grass mowing and it takes me approx 3 hours to mow it all with their 46" decks. I have some areas that I'm particular about and some that I'm not - but I like to keep it mowed [I don't mind snakes as long as I don't see them laying around]. I have a 4' brush hog on my New Holland compact and use it for monthly mowings on the walking trails. I use the brush hog on the places I'm not particular about, I keep the blades pretty sharp and it does a decent job but its rough and the lower I keep the cut the more I tear up the ground with it. I think I need something in between and that is what I'm getting too. Would I be happy with a smaller farm tractor i.e. Farmall Cub or an A with a 5' belly mower as a decent grass cutter? I could use my 140 and push mowers around the "lawn" and mow the "yard" with the bigger belly cutter and cut my mow time down some. Some weeks when I'm lacking for time maybe I could mow everything with the 5' cut(last summer I was mowing every 4 days to keep ahead - wettest summer on record here in PA). My neighbor has a '49 Cub with a Woods belly mower and uses it in his field for rough cutting. I have observed the cut quality and it doesn't look bad. He doesn't use it around the house because his yard is really steep and odd shaped. I have some slopes on mine too but most of it is wide open. Every time I look at the disposable lawn tractors I get to thinking that for almost the same price I could pick up something with a Woods belly mower - keep it nice and have it for a long time. Sorry for the long question - just looking for some advice. Thanks!!

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Dan

03-15-2004 18:44:06




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 Re: Farmall Cub and belly mower in reply to Fritz Campbell, 03-14-2004 17:07:05  
I have had two tractors to mow with at once before.The one tractor was a 1967 cub and the other an Alice B.I much prefered the alice for its superior power.Both tractors had 5ft. decks,the Alice a woods and the cub an international deck.The cub has a very nice shifting gear box compared to the alice but the alice had far far mor power.An international cub has a much smaller motor.I don't care for them but i think a larger Farmall or anything other than, would do you a great job. Dan

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Rick

03-15-2004 17:02:42




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 Re: Farmall Cub and belly mower in reply to Fritz Campbell, 03-14-2004 17:07:05  
My neighbor uses a Cub 154 to mow grass about an acre and it take him well over an hour, a lot of trees to go around too. I know he spent over $1500 when buying the cub plus another $1000 in repairs in the last 3 years. I think he would have rather had a zero turn mower or a smaller garden tractor, because they are more agile.



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Ultradog MN

03-15-2004 12:31:16




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 Re: Farmall Cub and belly mower in reply to Fritz Campbell, 03-14-2004 17:07:05  
This is one area where those little Ford Ns really excell. They are relatively lightweight and oh so manueverable. They will handle a 6' mower no problem. Around here an 8N and a Cub will go for around the same money but the 8N is far more versatile than a Cub because of the 3 point hitch.
As an alternative to a Cub or an N (Both of which are pricey) consider an Allis Chalmers B. Pound for pound and dollar for dollar, an AC is one of the best values around if you plan to work it and not restore it.
Good luck
Jerry

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RWK in WI

03-15-2004 05:59:10




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 Re: Farmall Cub and belly mower in reply to Fritz Campbell, 03-14-2004 17:07:05  
I have a 6' woods belly mower on a Ford 960 for cutting large grass areas, small GARDEN tractors with mowers, walk behind mowers and trimmers, and a 6' brush hog on a Ford 3000. My neighbor had a 4' belly mower on a Farmall A and he tore it up pushing it to cut in rough areas. I think you will find that a mower on a Cub or other small tractor will come up short on power when the grass is long or wet. Since you have a New Holland compact you could try a finish mower on 3point and see how you like it. Many dealers will rent used units. Another possibility is to look into fail type mower. I understand that it handles wet / long grass and weeds better than a finish mower and gives a better cut than a brush cutter. You could also sharpen the blades on your brush cutter and it will do a much cleaner job on grasses. Lift brush cutter, firmly block it up, and sharpen blade on unit with a 4" angle grinder. Just some things to think about.

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Gene Davis (Ga.)

03-14-2004 20:27:05




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 Re: Farmall Cub and belly mower in reply to Fritz Campbell, 03-14-2004 17:07:05  
I have a JD 650 compact diesel(15 hp) and a slightly modified 5'Mott flail mower. I have used it for about 15 years now and it does a good job on the weeds and small sapling/bushes as well as the lawn grass. With gauge wheels on the front, a full length roller on the back and a floating 3 point hitch set up, the tractor only lifts and transports the mower and when it is lowered into the cutting position, it is free to follow the contour of the land. It even rolls out fire ant hills when you run over one. It is a smooth cutting and light pulling mower on the engine hp requirements. To get a smooth cut, you need the drum of the mower turning around 2200 rpms and when it turns that speed it makes a nice humming sound and if you keep the blades sharp it will leave the grass neat and even. I can run over a bottle or something and it does not throw it, just leaves it where it was in a pile. The only drawback to this set up is the non live pto. however it doesn't take but a little while to adjust your driving for that problem.The 750 and up had live pto's. The 650 diesel is extremely ecenomical fuel wise and a very fun tractor to drive with turf tires on the rear, (auto radials on the front to keep from digging up the grass), and the JD add on power steering kit makes it almost effortless to drive and manuver it around trees and flower beds planted at 6' spacings. The only enemy the flail mower cannot conquer is rope, wire or large vines that wrap around the shaft. The blades are somewhat pricey($150-200 per set), but I am going to get almost15 years out of this set by turning them around every few years and sharpening them, and staying out of the rocks and scrap iron piles. These mowers are something you either love or hate, there seems to be no in-between on that fact. I guess I love them, as this is the second one I have owned. The first one was the only decent thing about the IH Cub 154 Loboy I wasted $3000.00 on. Sad story, but good end. Sold a fellow the flail mower and gave him the tractor to get rid of it. Most headaches per pound of anything I ever owned! Gene Davis

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Kevin (FL)

03-14-2004 17:30:16




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 Re: Farmall Cub and belly mower in reply to Fritz Campbell, 03-14-2004 17:07:05  
Fritz,

We have a 1960 Cub with a 4' belly mower and it does a great job in fairly heavy grass. We also have a couple other Cubs that don't run with the finish type mowers (3 blades). I understand they do a smoother job on "lawns"--just haven't gotten around to getting them running. We just have weeds down here with a little St. Aug mixed in. The down side of Cubs--they're not good where you have a lot of interferences/trees/shrubs, etc. You have to come to a complete stop to change gears as the tranny is not synchonized and also you have to wait until the PTO pulley stops turning. It's easy to get used to that, but for those who have operated ZTR type mowers or any hydrostatic tranny units, the Cub will be considered cumbersome. However, I've got a soft heart for the old iron and wouldn't spend money on a throw-away mower.

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Fritz Campbell

03-15-2004 14:49:12




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 Re: Re: Farmall Cub and belly mower in reply to Kevin (FL), 03-14-2004 17:30:16  
As usual you guys are right on the mark - many thanks for all the advice. I hadn't thought of the AC B model or the rear finish mower for the New Holland - pays to ask questions.



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