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Thread: I made a $9 brush hog!

  1. #41
    Boolit Master
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    Yep ,I got a biggish tractor and a 7ft wide "slasher"they call em here.....Getting pretty rusty after 40 yr out in the weather ,but still works good.Blades are solid steel 3/4" thick ,lots of weight if they get loose too....Bolts are about 1/2 way thru ,must replace them when I think of it.One time the slasher threw a lump of wood ,round and smooth like a football ,was going straight for the big front window on the house over the road.....turned aside at the last few bumps ,and hit the brick wall.....the people were watching ,and poured out like angry wasps....I pretended I didnt see it ......serves em right for complaining to the council about my back paddock.

  2. #42
    Boolit Master
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    I get only a few chances to go to the hunting camp in the summer to keep the yard in order. The grass grows thick and fast there so I use a Ferguson 35 tractor and 5 foot cutter for my lawn mower. Gotta keep the yard cleaned off so I can watch for snakes - hate 'em don't you know. A few years ago I was mowing when a real loud noise sounded off and the cutter began shaking real bad. Shut down the tractor and looked under the cutter to see only 1 blade present where there should have been 2. Next I found a ragged slash torn in the side of the deck facing the neighbor's pasture. Never did find that blade, guess it traveled 2 zip codes before it ran out of steam.

  3. #43
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by megasupermagnum View Post
    I've been running them for years for others, but never owned one myself other than my chopped up mower. Used to use one on a farm that went onto a tractor. It isn't happening this year, but in the past I've ran the walk behind Billygoat's clearing trails for OHM single track trails in state forests and other land. The only big threat I see is it is usually rough terrain, and now with little nubs of brush making it easy to fall and hurt yourself. For the unit themselves, I don't see what is so dangerous. The tractor mounted one is no danger. A sickle blade is more dangerous, but is only really for grass. The walk behind Billygoat brand unit, I don't think I've ever had them kick out rocks or anything. The blades aren't turning fast, maybe 1/3rd the speed of your average lawn mower. I wish I could afford a big walk behind like a Billygoat, they run $1500 to $2000. My riding mower works, and other than flipping, I don't see how it is any more dangerous than mowing the lawn.
    I must be unlucky. I have had large stones thrown 20-30yards. One was split in half.

    Last year I was riding in a UTV following a tractor running a brush hog clearing trail. I told the idiot to back off as we were too close. A few minutes later we saw a good size rock whip out from under the unit. My idiot friend looked at my sheepishly.

    I would not operate one within 50 yards of a building, person or vehicle unless I was certain there were no rocks, stones, bricks or chucks of firewood in the grass.

    But I admit, I may not not know how to adjust one to operate it safely.
    Don Verna


  4. #44
    Boolit Grand Master


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    I was more referring to to the safety of the operator. I think anything with spinning blades has the potential to sling things towards someone down range. I'm not aware of any adjustment, although it does seem like the walk behind units have some form of clutch to stop hard hits. Most people may not know since they don't have rocks in their yard, but a lawn mower will chuck rocks like you wouldn't believe. One of the most impressive things about brush cutters is how well the blades hold up, even when you've been hitting rocks. We all know one good hit on a lawnmower can trash the blades. I attribute this to the fact that brush cutter blades are turning much slower. I don't know what the exact speed is, but by sound I would guess they are about half the speed of a lawn mower.

    There is no doubt there is some risk in using a mower for brush cutting as Tripplebeards and myself do. I would just say wear pants and boots, safety glasses, and stay aware.

  5. #45
    Boolit Master
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    On the bigger slashers ,nothing on the blades is rigid.....they can fold right back right up to the centre shaft if a big enough obstacle is hit ....mine has stalled an 80 hp tractor,and cut a piece of 3/8 steel in half ,without apparent damage......The blades wear round on the cutting edge ,and I leave them like that for max impact strength........sure ,you get a much smoother cut with a sharp edge ,but coarse grass and weeds are very abrasive ,and the edges are soon rounded again.Welding up with hardfacing is possible ,but I wont do it ,as the blades might be made brittle,and you dont want a 10 lb blade flying off.... it might shred the tractor tyre,at worst ,hit an animal or person.

  6. #46
    Boolit Grand Master Tripplebeards's Avatar
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    I wore steel toes and jeans in 98 degree weather while cutting. Should have worn safety glasses and will next time. When I first cut out the front of the mower and got it running I zip tied the start bar down to let it run for a while to clean out and residual varnish in the carb. I had it sitting in my garage. I walked in front of it a few minutes later and has Murphy’s law would have it something flew out of it and hit me in the leg. I still have a bloody scab where I was hit. I only got hit in the leg with some debris two or three times when cutting. Mostly pieces of wood left from downed trees when the county cleaned around my telephone poles and left a mess a few years back. I’m down to clearing about a 150 yards with my weed wacker up on my ridge line. I have three batteries I use when doing so. They normally get about 75 yards each before draining then I use a machete till I’m wore out. I have to hang my deer cams, fix one no trespassing sign that three of the four screws ripped out so the sign is blowing around, and knock a few fire ant hills flat that are in my 4 wheeler trail. My soil is almost solid clay and the hills are are over a foot tall and like cement. A pointed shovel won’t brake them down. I’m taking an axe to knock them down and some gas with me today just in case the hills aren’t vacant.
    Last edited by Tripplebeards; 08-05-2020 at 09:07 AM.

  7. #47
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    I have a DRmower with the circular chain saw on it. Best thing ever for briar thickets or rose hedges. I like dangerous home made power equipment- takes me back to my childhood when I slept with a fan made from a car motor fan and a refrigerator motor. No blade guard. Believe me, you only ran into it once in the dark to learn!

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

  8. #48
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Oh ...brush hog
    I thought you said " I made a $9.00 Hog Brush " and wanted to see it...danged aixelsyd !!!
    My hog does need brushing ... never mind.
    Certified Cajun
    Proud Member of The Basket of Deplorables
    " Let's Go Brandon !"

  9. #49
    Boolit Master

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    I use an old Gravely L model walk behind with about a 30-36" cut, the blade is about 3" wide and gotta be 3/8" or so thick. Works like a charm, gives me a good work out steering it too!
    It's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years (Abe Lincoln)

    "A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government.” George Washington

  10. #50
    Boolit Master Ozark mike's Avatar
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    Years ago i had a good 12hp off a rider and a push mower with a bad motor so i married the two together. It was to heavy to use after a good rain looked crazy but would turn 4x4s into wood chips. best mower i ever had need to build another jus like it
    Those who would trade freedom for safety deserves neither and will lose both

  11. #51
    Boolit Grand Master Tripplebeards's Avatar
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    Just wanted to give an update. I used it to clear a little spot to plant some clover for a food plot two days ago. I was just finishing up and got to close to a poplar tree with about a 6" trunk. I killed the mower and went almost threw the trunk! I figured I'd finish it off and slowly push against the rest of the trunk. It killed the mower again...and bent the blade to the point it was sticking into the ground. The blade shifted, shearing off the raised key looking attachment spot in the middle and both outter raised round bumps to hold it in place as well. I thought I wrecked the mower because when I pulled it over the blade was jammed into the ground making it feel like it was locked up. It also puked oil out either by me pulling it over when the blade was jammed in the dirt or when I tipped it over to in spect the blade. I bought a new universal blade on clearance at walmart today and a new blade attachment at ACE.for $8.99. I also cleaned the inch thick of grass build up on
    the air filter and changed the oil. The oil looked pretty watery like it had gas mixed in it...along with some silver shavings. The oil didn't smell like gas so it might just have been really broke down. I never changed the oil previously so the shavings could have been pre existing. I drained it and replaced with high milage synthetic blend 10w20. After the oil change and air filter cleaning I started it and ran smooth like it was brand new again! It let out a puff of smoke but immediately cleared up. I had oil soaked in the air filter for some reason when I cleaned the grass out of it so I would assume that it sucked in the carb and caused the smoke when I started it. I'll remove the air filter and clean the oil out and re test it. I'm staying away from trees bigger than 3" from now on. I'm re naming the mower to Herbie. Lol it just won't die.
    Last edited by Tripplebeards; 08-26-2020 at 01:50 PM.

  12. #52
    Boolit Grand Master


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    Try a thicker oil, a 15w40 diesel oil works good. The thin 20 wt oils might be what is soaking your oil filter.

  13. #53
    Boolit Grand Master Tripplebeards's Avatar
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    Makes sense. I’ll have to grab a quart. I don’t know what oil it had in it when got it but it was pretty thin. I’m sure it was what ever Walmart included with yard machines mowers. Cheap junk. I’m going to have to figure out how to make a mesh bag or screen to fit over the air filter cover so it doesn’t suck so much grass in...and so quickly.

  14. #54
    Boolit Grand Master Tripplebeards's Avatar
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    I took it out and mowed today. Just went over part of the trail. About 15 minutes of mowing. It ran good but I could see a little oil burning off the top of engine for some reason. It also looked like it was smoking under the deck. It still ran good. When I got home I washed the mower off so I could inspect. The new oil, that I overfilled, looked like grey milk. I tested the compression and it’s down to 45. About half of what it should be. I would assume gas is getting past the rings and into the oil. I’m done mowing for the year. I’ll start looking for another donor push mower. Hopefully I can use the blade and adaptor I bought yesterday for the new one. I’ll keep mowing with this one till it dies. My guess is it won’t take long. I’ll pick up some 15w40 and dump it into the mower when I find some to see if it extends what life is left in this mower.

  15. #55
    Boolit Grand Master Tripplebeards's Avatar
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    Finally had a change to look at it today. I checked the head bolts. One I was able to to tighten a hair. I did not find any oil leaks. I tried my cheap harbor freight compression tester again but tightened it down this time with a wrench instead of just finger tight. It had 60 PSI. After the compression test I dumped the old oil. It didn't look bad at all. I'm guessing the silver shavings I saw must of settled to the bottom or weren't anywhere as bad as I thought. I cleaned out the oil tank with mineral spirits and filled the tank back up with a whole bottle of STP oil treatment which is like Honey. Got the bottle given to me from the restore shop. Someone dropped it off and no one wanted it
    I added a little 80 90 gear oil to top it off I had left over from my boats lower unit fill up. The mower starts right up on the first pull. Runs like it's new and doesn't smoke. I'm sure I was just being paranoid after I bent the blade. I'm guessing it will last a long time unless I hit another big sapling. Hog on!!

    Update...
    I just dripped some seafoam into the carb while it was running a few times. I then mowed with it for 20 minutes and hot soaked the engine with seafoam for a good 15 minutes. When I re started it the mower blew out a ton of white thick smoke from the exhaust for a good 10 minutes. I'll have to retest the compression again and see if cleaning it helped.
    Last edited by Tripplebeards; 08-30-2020 at 10:37 AM.

  16. #56
    Boolit Grand Master Tripplebeards's Avatar
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    It’s still going strong! I mowed 17 acres worth of trails in two days. The muffler bolts magically came loose and flew off on day one. I kept mowing with it. It did get hot enough to quit running. I figured it was down for the count. I grabbed my newly fabricated brush hog mower #2. I made it a few weeks back and mowed with it for a couple minutes till the throttle adjustment came loose. Because it came loose it was mowing at a really low idle. I shut the new one off and went back to the old, original mower that quit. It pulled over hard like it was seizing up. I pulled it again and it started! I mowed for another hour and half with it. I tightened up the muffler putting new nuts and washers on it when I got home the first night. I then mowed with it all day again yesterday. That ATD mower won’t quit!


    You can see where I started and stopped right before my little white clover patch. It was easier to mow, and went a lot faster, this year since the small trees and “real heavy” brush got mowed down on the same trails last year.






    I tossed out 5 pounds of white clover on the trail here going all the way back to the shack…



    I did not want to mow over my clover patch I planted last year since my brush hog mower cuts low enough it would probably kill it. I took my weed eater with and gave it a good trimming being it had tall weeds growing in it.







    I did loose the rear plastic shield towards the end of the day. It seems to push easier now. I scattered 5 pounds of clover seed in front to the shack after after I was done mowing. Glad the rain is coming down right now…a day after it was forecasted.
    Last edited by Tripplebeards; 06-21-2021 at 05:53 PM. Reason: Spelling

  17. #57
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    Another important feature is having a good-sized opening to discharge the grass.

    With a rear discharge mower, you wire the rear door open and hang a heavy canvas/towels to stop anything from hitting you.

  18. #58
    Boolit Master

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    I can see one of these in my future.
    NRA Benefactor Member NRA Golden Eagle

  19. #59
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by 10x View Post
    The guard on a P.T.O. shaft is a "wonderful concept". Just another annoyance that will try to kill you when something goes wrong with a universal joint.
    yeah the guards sure make it hard to hook and unhook them, not to mention complicating greasing and a great way to cut your wrists with the plastic. But they sure do help keep you from getting wrapped up or getting brush wrapped on the shaft. Nothing like having a briar vine whip you across the back/back of the head at 540RPM, when it wraps the shaft

  20. #60
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thin Man View Post
    I get only a few chances to go to the hunting camp in the summer to keep the yard in order. The grass grows thick and fast there so I use a Ferguson 35 tractor and 5 foot cutter for my lawn mower. Gotta keep the yard cleaned off so I can watch for snakes - hate 'em don't you know. A few years ago I was mowing when a real loud noise sounded off and the cutter began shaking real bad. Shut down the tractor and looked under the cutter to see only 1 blade present where there should have been 2. Next I found a ragged slash torn in the side of the deck facing the neighbor's pasture. Never did find that blade, guess it traveled 2 zip codes before it ran out of steam.
    had similar thing happen on my hog. I got lucky in that the blade wasn't thrown it just dropped straight down when the 7/8" came out of the blade

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