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Tractor Talk Discussion Forum

Home made brush hogs

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JR

06-13-2004 20:35:31




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Was wondering if any one here had any experience with building there own brush hog, and what you would if you had to do it again,




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rhudson

06-14-2004 17:54:48




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 Re: Home made brush hogs in reply to JR, 06-13-2004 20:35:31  
well it ain't rocket science, but the consquences of doing it wrong are life threatning. there's a project book published by the lincoln welding company that has a couple of plans for rotary cutters as well as many other plans. you see them selling for $50 or so on ebay but the books can be had for around $20.00 from lincoln. if memory serves me correct all those designs are based on a manufactured rotart cutter gearbox, blades and driveline. you build the deck. i looked at the idea, and as others have said you can purchase a pretty heavy rhino cutter for about what the metal and the dozens of parts you will have to purchase anyway will cost you. i've seen several people (ok, maybe three) that build equipment better, sometimes much better than can be purchased. i have seen thousands of projects that were much much much worse than purchased equipment. me,,,i'd think of using my time on another less threatning project. bite the bullet and spend the money for a cutter.

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Buzzman72

06-14-2004 05:35:21




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 Re: Home made brush hogs in reply to JR, 06-13-2004 20:35:31  
Years back, my grand-dad had a brush hog that was allegedly factory made...brand name on it was Sun-Mastr from Olathe, KS...made of diamond-plate decking with a conventional--for the time--square gearbox. After about 20 years, when he couldn't buy blades for it anymore, he started having them made out of truck springs. A few years later, he traded it to my dad on a then-new FMC SideWinder 5x5. Dad proceeded to hook the old Sun-Mastr behind his 240U, and do some custom mowing. Unfortunately, on one of the first jobs, the lower shaft out of the gearbox sheared off, and slung the blade assembly through a nearly-new tire on the 240...most expensive mowing job he ever did, but it could've been worse if the blade assembly had kept going and injured some bystander. BTW, Dad bought a new tire and scrapped the Sun-Mastr because he realized what MIGHT have happened.

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Dieselrider

06-14-2004 04:11:04




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 Re: Home made brush hogs in reply to JR, 06-13-2004 20:35:31  
JR, I think you could build your own as far as the deck itself. If you have a source for a good gearbox and blade assembly like JD-tractor did. You can get the blades themselves through Tractor supply or other retailers. I do not know that in the end you would truely save any $$ over purchasing on retail. Probably not if you baught used. Just my thoughts.



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Ron

06-14-2004 02:59:51




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 Re: Home made brush hogs in reply to JR, 06-13-2004 20:35:31  
As the others have pointed out that would be suicide.

All high-quality rotary cutters have a clutch that stops the blade when you hit an obstruction like a rock. Without a properly designed and operating clutch, you woud destroy your tractor's PTO. The only question is whether you kill the tractor or a human being first.

There is a time and place to save money. This ain't it.



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jonesy

06-13-2004 21:36:45




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 Re: Home made brush hogs in reply to JR, 06-13-2004 20:35:31  
I have seen many homemade cutters in auctions. They were all made from an car or truck rear end and axle. No decks or shields. SCARY!!



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henrich Iowa

06-14-2004 02:31:53




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 Re: Re: Home made brush hogs in reply to jonesy, 06-13-2004 21:36:45  
Don't even think about it!
I worked for a company called Tiger Corp. in Sioux Falls, they make one of the finest hydraulic rotary and flail mowers on the market. I did excellerated testing for them a couple of years ago. I took a rotary boom mower, put the head in a six foot deep pit and deflected the knives about an inch and 1/8 to find how long the blades would last on a run at full RPM. We used a number of types of knives of various thickness and quality of metal. Length of time they lasted was anywhere from 8 minutes to around 30 minutes. What people don't realize is that deflection of those knives occurs during your regular mowing. The knives are manufactured by a reputable company, not Tiger. When those knives broke, parts would actually fly through the deck and make holes big enough to put your fist in. The deck metal was 3/8 and 1/4 inch thickness. We appreciate your wanting to manufacture on your own, but try something more safe!

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Davis In SC

06-13-2004 21:05:02




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 Re: Home made brush hogs in reply to JR, 06-13-2004 20:35:31  
By the time you buy the steel & other parts, I bet you could buy one. Plus, if a blade breaks loose & hurts or kills someone, at least the manufacturer can be brought into the suit. I have no problem with making a subsoil plow or blade, but I really feel the design of high-speed blades should be left to shops that have engineers to design them properly. Regards, Davis.....



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Jerry/MT

06-13-2004 21:25:32




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 Re: Re: Home made brush hogs in reply to Davis In SC, 06-13-2004 21:05:02  
Davis, Your reply is music to my ears. I used to work in the aircraft business and the trouble that I have seen with rotating machinery that was designed by people that had the highest level of knowledge regarding materials, design, structures, and vibration of rotating machinery gives me cold sweats. People on these forums discuss modifications to rotary cutters as if they were a plow or a disc, never dreaming the harm that they can do if a piece of a blade breaks off. Aircraft engines have to contain a single blade failure within the structure. Your rotary cutter doesn't. That means a blade fragment can hit you or some one dear to you. I'm leary of sharpening a blade on a rotary cutter because there is no manufacturer that tells you how to do it properly. There's a reason for that. He can't stand the liability!
I'm rambling but please be careful when using a rotary cutter, if not for yourself but for those dear to you.

Jerry/MT self appointed safety advocate

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Davis In SC

06-13-2004 21:51:15




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 Re: Re: Re: Home made brush hogs in reply to Jerry/MT, 06-13-2004 21:25:32  
Jerry, I am in the Tool & Die business, so I also am familiar with "Rotating Masses" & the forces they can unleash..... .. A grinding wheel exploding at 3600RPM packs quite a punch !!! I cannot imagine what a jet engine rotor exploding might be like !!!! Funny thing, every one I know laughs at me & calls me "Paranoid" for being safety minded , as in wearing steel-toe shoes & safety glasses. But I guess I am not quite careful enough..... A few weeks ago I was at an auction, well out of the way of everyone, talking to an auction worker, when I was hit from behind & then dragged by a forklift driven by a guy that " Could not see where he was going" ( his exact words) Regards, Davis

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JD-Tractor

06-13-2004 20:46:13




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 Re: Home made brush hogs in reply to JR, 06-13-2004 20:35:31  
Acquired a heavy duty gearbox and Blade assembly. Two swinging real heavy blades. Fabricated a deck for it !came out real well and works well. Not sure if I would have done it if I would of had to go out on open market for gearbox and blades,In that case there would not have been any savings .With the price of steel and the liability why would you want to build your own??
A brush hog is not mach of a challenge to build.

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