This '49 Story Begins :

[Scrivet]

Look like these home made blades.

Those blades don't look homemade to me, they look like the early Woods 42 welded fin blade. Do they swivel back if they hit something solid? The Bush Hog has a single solid blade like a push mower. It will break SOMETHING if you hit anything solid with it.

[ShineOn]

I'm thinking about mounting something like this to the suitably modified blade I have .

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/f ... n#desc-tab

Or more likely use some of the larger ( less expensive ) Herschel flails since I won't be cutting any more tree saplings out . Got another season or two to go on this blade anyways . In no hurry .

[Scrivet]

Blades 2 @ $42 = $84
Bolts 2 @ 20 = $40
Already spent $124 and haven't modified the blade to accept it yet. That $138 isn't sounding so bad to me. Plus I would think the modified blade would be prone to disassembling itself in operation.

[ShineOn]

The Herschel flails run about $10 locally with tax ( 6 pack ) . A number of similar blade bits at Dickey Bub's are under $20 each . The $138 price did not include shipping for the 30 pound plus cargo . It's all intellectual anyway since the blade I have would need to be beyond edge salvaging before becoming parts for modification .

Do the flail end type blades have a reputation for joint failure ? I'll presume the nuts are not jamb type since lock washers came with those specialty bolts I looked at . A propensity to self destruct would definitely change my outlook .

[torchred89]

Look like these home made blades.

Those blades don't look homemade to me, they look like the early Woods 42 welded fin blade. Do they swivel back if they hit something solid? The Bush Hog has a single solid blade like a push mower. It will break SOMETHING if you hit anything solid with it.

Yes! But I still leave the belt a little loose.

[Scrivet]

Don't know anything about Herschel flails. I was using the link you posted as my information. The self destruct comment was about putting an inch and a half hole somewhere towards the newly cutoff ends of the current blade for the bolts to mount what's in the link. Any rotary mower that has swinging blades has a very heavy (very thick steel) center bracket above and below the blade that the blade swings between. You have to deal with the spinning motion and flexing up and down not just from hitting things but raising and lowering the deck while it's spinning (gyroscopic principal). I don't think the current blade would be up to it with extra weight hanging on the ends.

[ShineOn]

Good points . Thank You .

The blade is pretty substantial . I don't recall it's thickness . It may not be up to the task . I'd be lopping off the ends to affix flails so don't think there would be much difference in overall weight . Something to consider however .

Herschel flails are made for a number of hay cutting rigs . Disk cutters are what I was looking at . Three or more flails per disc . Different dynamics certainly and better balance no doubt . Was thinking more toward rigid mount rather than have them flex . Replaceable cutting edges basically .

Now that I have the place cut back and have found the hazards , I don't expect to hit any stumps , rock piles or granite heads again . The sheep will make short work of pasture areas and ol' '49 will be relegated to mostly grass cutting and a little gravel and snow pushing .

It's All Good .

[Scrivet]

As you mentioned earlier it's all just thought at this time (maybe a couple years) which gives you plenty of time to think it through. The flex I was mentioning was in up and down of the old steel blade itself and in flex between the fixed blade and your mounted blades, not swing back like torchred89's blades.

Just a for instance, where I work is a commercial building made in the '70's. It's structure is basically a steel frame pole barn. It has BIG I beams for roof trusses. They are wedge shaped, about two foot tall at the ends and five feet in the middle (peak) where they are bolted to a mirror image beam for the other side. The edges top and bottom are about 18" wide and 3/4-1" thick. I don't know how thick the web is. I mention all this because when you smack it with your fist it'll quiver like a bowl of jello . That's the flex I'm talking about.

[ShineOn]

With something close to 20 hours of running it was time for a walk around with pockets full of wrenches . Happily every thing I set a tool to was snug as could be wanted , oil dripping or not .

Unhappily I did not wring the wing nut often enough and have dropped the hand hole cover off the thing . Lord knows where . Maybe the bar part is in the bell housing ? Hope to pick one up at the coming Cubarama over to Freedy's town come Friday . Maybe axle hanger bolt & spacers as well so I can get to work cobbling up the blade .

See ya there or be square .