Opinion on Flail Mowers

[Stanton]

Was looking at some pictures of a flail mower for a Cub. Also saw where there was a special flail unit designed for a Lo-Boy model.

What's your opinion on a flail mower vs. a sickle bar mower?

It appears a flail would be suitable for grass or weeds, whereas a sickle bar would cut things a little bigger (up to 3/4" I've read).

Other than that, what do you think in general? I'm interested in hearing from those who have used one or both.

Thanks.

[Barnyard]

I use a flail with my half fast hitch on my yard all the time. The only thing special about a loboy flail mower is the drive shaft does not come out the center. Other than that it is the same.

whereas a sickle bar would cut things a little bigger (up to 3/4" I've read).

It will cut grass a lot taller than that. I let about an acre grow tall in the back and mow it three times a year with the cycle mower for the the neighbor's horse down the road.

Here it is cutting weeds in the back

[Jim Becker]

whereas a sickle bar would cut things a little bigger (up to 3/4" I've read).

It will cut grass a lot taller than that.

I think he may have been refering to diameter.

[Stanton]

What about maintenance like sharpening blades? They both have a lot of blades, but does a flail have twice that of a sickle mower?

I would guess a flail mower would take more time to maintain...maybe not.

[Barnyard]

whereas a sickle bar would cut things a little bigger (up to 3/4" I've read).

It will cut grass a lot taller than that.

I think he may have been refering to diameter.

Now that you mention it... I will agree with that. I've seen a healthy cherry tree a bit thicker than that felled by an operator looking in the wrong direction at the wrong time. I told Rosie I would replace it for her.

[TJG]

A cub doesn't have a tight turning radius anyhow, but with a sickle you need a lot of room. It would be tough to mow an orchard with a sickle. To mow taller grass or weeds with a flail you need 2 passes, one high and the other then lower. I don't think you can adjust the cutting height of a sickle and you can with a flail. Yup, a flail mower does have a lot of little blades to sharpen. I'm trying to figure the best way right now to sharpen them.

Todd

[Eugene]

I would guess a flail mower would take more time to maintain.

Not really. A 4 foot flail mower has 120 knives/blades. The knives are reversable. I reverse the knives once a year. Knives can be sharpened. A set of knives usually lasts me 2 or 3 years because the knives get beaten up by rocks.

To change/reverse a pair of knives you remove a cotter key and a pin, turn the blades over. Not a major job. I usually so this during the winter. Takes an hour or so.

If you are mowing pasture then a sickle bar mower. If mowing around the house, wanting more of a lawn look, then the flail mower.

The flail mower is not a brush cutter. It will handle an occasional stick up to about 3/4" in diameter. Also, I have found the flail mower doesn't handle tall (pasture tall) stringy grass such as fescue well.

[Buzzard Wing]

I can't say much about a sickle bar mower, but I have run rotary mowers (C-2, Woods 42) and flail mowers with a Cub. My preference is a flail. It will cut some pretty tall stuff, but if it's tall, thick turf grass it will wrap up the knives and the cutter shaft. I was surprised the first time I mowed one place down here how well it would do. There is a sharpener that will do the whole mower in 20 minutes. And that was the first time I tried it. An advantage of a flail is that it will drop the cuttings where they were cut, no windrows. Also it won't throw objects like rocks or bottles, won't cut the tops off granite icebergs either.

[johnny j]

Mott Mower will do a nice job on short grass to .Just keep the blades sharp.

[Bigschuss]

I've used both, and they both have their advantages and disadvantages. A flail mower does a great job on grasses, weeds, and smallish woody material. It DOES NOT handle brush and long whippy woody or green material. This stuff tends to get wound around the spindles and really jams the machine up. Also, depending on what it is, flail mowers do not handle very tall growth well. Long grasses over the hood...forget it. Milkweed and ragweed just over the hood with little grassy material, it does a pretty good job of busting it up. One big advantage of flails is that they really break up the material well and it decomposes quickly.

I think the end use of sickle bars is cutting for eventual baling. The material is not chopped up. It lays where it fell. But sickle bar mowers handle tall vegetation easily.

Maintenance? I've got a neat sharpener for my flail mower that does the job in 15 or 20 minutes. For keeping my 5 acre field maintained, I tried both and eventually chose the flail mower and sold the sickle bar.

Hope this helps.

Blair

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

Most of your questions have been pretty well covered, so I will add a little rather than repeating. I sharpen my blades with a hand held 4 1/2 inch grinder. I wear a heavy leather glove on the hand I hold the set of blades in, and hold the grinder with the other hand. I takes about 20 or 20 minutes laying on the floor under the tractor to sharpen the blades, but because of my back problems I usually wait till winter and then take it off and raise it up to make it easier. One note about sharpening, the blades are surface hardened, so after about 2 or 3 sharpenings you wear through the hard surface and they will no longer hold an edge very long. Replacement parts, knives, etc. can be purchased from flailmaster.com. their prices are good, and their service is great.

[Matt Kirsch]

The sickle is nice for covering a lot of ground quickly, but only if you intend to harvest what you knock down for feed, or if you only plan on mowing once a year.

I've mowed the overruns on my club's runway with the sickle, and it works fine the first time over. However, the mowed grass forms a thick thatch under the second growth, and it tends to plug up the mower.

[KETCHAM]

I use both an both for differnt cuts.Nice to have for around where I live....Need both.Kevin

[Arizona Mike]

When you have new blades the Flail mower is as good as any finish mower. Certainly much better than a cycle mower. Those are for cutting tall grass or weeds along the roadside.

Use mine more than any other tools.

They are still out there but getting tough to find.

Oh yea, its a pain to reverse or change blades , but worth it. Keep out of the rocks as much as you can

[CapeCodCubs]

Flail mowers are great for knocking down vegetation and chopping it up fine. Sickle bar mowers lay down what they cut and don't so much mulch it up. And flail mowers are great for running over rocks. The blades can be sharpened quickly with Larry's flail blade sharpener....here is a video of me knocking down Jim Dawg's garden while Bob Perry plays the banjo in the background. lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb-Fhv50lyg