Rotary Mower Advice Needed

[JBTech]

Hello all!

I've been secretly gleaning info from this site to fix my 1954 Ford NAA. (Picked up some tire chains for it this morning! $30!)

I'm now in a position where I'd like to get a rotary mower for trails and 1 small field that I have. 12.5 acres of trees with trails need some upkeep.

There are several mowers coming up at an auction on the 24th, and quickly realize I don't know the market on used mowers.

I do know that used tractor prices locally (SE Ohio) have gone through the roof, it seems.

What should I look for?
Ideally looking at a 5' Woods, if not a 5' King Kutter.

 

[DouginOlympia]

(reply to post at 15:25:50 04/16/21)

I've watched some youtube videos that talk about brush hogs and what to look for, how to use them, etc. I think one of the best youtubers out there talking about tractors is "Tractor Mike".

He's got a video where he talks about what to look for when buying a used brush hog.

See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbMmToAvOFI

 

[JBTech]

(quoted from post at 20:08:16 04/16/21) (reply to post at 15:25:50 04/16/21)

I've watched some youtube videos that talk about brush hogs and what to look for, how to use them, etc. I think one of the best youtubers out there talking about tractors is "Tractor Mike".

He's got a video where he talks about what to look for when buying a used brush hog.

See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbMmToAvOFI

Appreciate it! I'll take a look!

 

[JDIH]

Its common for the lower seal in the gear box to get damaged and dump out all the oil. So no matter what size or brand you get check that before using it

 

[MF#1]

X2. I went to grease on my 307 Bush Hog brand cutter many years ago, no problems. Take a close look underneath to see what shape the blades are in and see if the blade holder is a heavy round disc, sometimes called a stump jumper, very helpful with rough terrain. Not familiar with the NAA but you 'may' need an over-run coupler on the pto shaft to keep from getting pushed by the mower if it doesn't have independent or live pto. There are LOTS of mowers on craigslist, try Louisville, Lexington, Cincinnati, etc. One guy in Russell Springs, Ky sells new 5 or 6 footers for about $1500. If you find a used one in decent shape probably a minimum of $100 per foot of cut as a starting point. To me, the size of the gearbox tells how strong/tough it is. Operating them is a different story, get some advice, youtube, or something so you don't end up with scrap metal ;-)

 

[JBTech]

All good ideas! Thanks so much!

There is an auction Saturday with a 6' King Kutter...which looking closer is missing about $160 of rear wheel and pivot thingy.

Another auction Sunday really close. Might see what's there.

Not putting anything more than a $600 mower behind a tractor that I bought for $500. (Even though I've got roughly $1200 in it so far)

 

[MJMJ]

(quoted from post at 20:23:12 04/22/21) All good ideas! Thanks so much!

There is an auction Saturday with a 6' King Kutter...which looking closer is missing about $160 of rear wheel and pivot thingy.

Another auction Sunday really close. Might see what's there.

Not putting anything more than a $600 mower behind a tractor that I bought for $500. (Even though I've got roughly $1200 in it so far)

Assuming the Sunday auction is Roger Kreiss in Adamsville, there is USUALLY a lot more there than ends up in the listing. He was later than normal announcing it this year, so I cant say for sure. But in years past there have always been several mowers in the field by Sunday morning.

 

[MJMJ]

I noticed a 6 International rotary cutter on CL tonight. Located in Dresden if thats not too far for you. $400.
[/url] https://zanesville.craigslist.org/grd/d/trinway-utility-tractor-implements/7311536521.html

 

[JBTech]

(quoted from post at 21:10:41 04/22/21)

(quoted from post at 20:23:12 04/22/21) All good ideas! Thanks so much!

There is an auction Saturday with a 6' King Kutter...which looking closer is missing about $160 of rear wheel and pivot thingy.

Another auction Sunday really close. Might see what's there.

Not putting anything more than a $600 mower behind a tractor that I bought for $500. (Even though I've got roughly $1200 in it so far)

Assuming the Sunday auction is Roger Kreiss in Adamsville, there is USUALLY a lot more there than ends up in the listing. He was later than normal announcing it this year, so I cant say for sure. But in years past there have always been several mowers in the field by Sunday morning.

Yep! That's 15 miles north of my house, and I've been there several times. Good folks, indeed!

Within a couple miles of a buddys house, Met a couple members of the auctioneers family. Strange small world.

 

[JBTech]

(quoted from post at 20:24:55 04/23/21) I noticed a 6 International rotary cutter on CL tonight. Located in Dresden if thats not too far for you. $400.
[/url] https://zanesville.craigslist.org/grd/d/trinway-utility-tractor-implements/7311536521.html

I'll check it out, thanks!

I've got several good buddies near/in Dresden.

You must be fairly local to find all this stuff and know about Rogers Auction.

 

[MJMJ]

Yep, Im just NW of Cambridge a few miles. I try to make it to Rogers every year he has it. If not to buy, just to catch up with people. Its like the local spring get together.

 

[JBTech]

I passed on every mower I saw today. Just enough questionable stuff to shy away. Mower I was going to bid on was a King Kutter with no PTO Shaft. Went for $375.

Did get a 2 bottom David Bradley plow cheap enough. $50

Oh, and a Case IH 640 Combine, but that wasn't for me. Had a buddy running late that bought that for a spare. $4k. Heads went separate, as well as a cart.

Took the wife for her 1st auction experience, and think she had a good time.

 

[MJMJ]

Yeah, I noticed none of the smaller sized mowers looked great. I suppose most were probably usable but rough enough to make them questionable. One of my neighbors bought the cart and grain head for the combine, then sold the head. Ended with a heck of a deal on the cart. I went home empty, had ball practice so couldnt stay all day. All I really need is a disc mower and possibly a tedder. Not much to pick from today.

 

[Habitat1]

Be really careful using brush hogs on tractors without slip clutches

 

[Texasmark1]

I assume the NAA, 1953 model, 4 cyl OHV 100th Anniversary Model, 4 speed tranny, has a tranny driven PTO. That being the case, When
you are mowing and cut the power to the engine, the mower continues to turn at its speed when you cut the throttle....since there is a direct
gear drive to the tranny, it puts pressure on the tranny and you can't get it out of gear meaning, until the kinetic energy stored in the rotating
blade is out of juice, it will drive your tractor into a fence, a building, a tree, in the pond, etc.....

The solution is an over run clutch that is connected to the PTO shaft of the tractor and then the implement is connected to it. It has a slip
clutch such that when the engine is going slower than the mower from a position where it was driving the mower, the mower will continue to
do what it did but the connection you added allows it to disconnect from the tranny and you can stop the tractor with the blade still rotating.

They are for sale everywhere.....in purchasing you need to check (I forget) the input and output diameters of the shafts in the coupler. Outpur
is standard at 1 3/8 but inputs on early Fords were 1 1/8, not 1 3/8 like is the standard today...they make adapters to fit both PTO shafts.

 

[Texasmark1]

Commonly referred to as the Jubilee.....kept trying to remember the common name for that tractor and it finally came to me.