I spent a couple hours using your video to set up my cutter before the first cut of the season yesterday. I thought I had a brand new brush hog! Thanks Dave you're the man
it really is amazing how much difference a simple set up makes and it really does not take long to set it all up and get familiar with what to look for. so glad this video series has helped so many people. I hope to add a few more tips to this series over this summer so stay tuned!
Thank you for a most informative pair of videos. Going to go out tomorrow and undo all the things I've done wrong so far. Great video...not only did you explain how to do the set up but why you do it that way.
You did a great job showing important considerations regarding tire pressure which is OFTEN overlooked! You made good points about rear vs front tire pressure that I never considered. I have a Kubota L3902 with front end loader and Landpride Cutter 1872. First thing I did was to adjust my rear tires to 20 psi and the front tires to 35 psi. Im going to spend some time next doing the adjustments you showed squaring the cutter with the tractor. Great information!
its always great to hear from folks that these videos proved to be worthy of watching. thank you for your time. with so many youtube videos to choose from its an honor to have you watch one of mine. happy safe tractoring!!!
Man you explain things well. Guess that is why you have 17 thousand subscribers. The best tractor how to site on UA-cam. Thanks for sharing your wisdom.
LOL. Hey thanks Dave. Another great series and really appreciate you sharing your knowledge for the rest of us to learn. Good thing you snuck away from those pesky bees! And had a good laugh on the Bloopers at the end - that was fun. Have a great long weekend and all the best to you!
End of this week I'll be the owner of my very first Tractor (EVER). I've watched a ton of how-to videos. Thanks for all the information, you make things clear and to the point, with great straight forward facts, which are giving this new tractor owner a strong jump start to be safe and equipment minded. Thanks again DAVE and please keep the videos coming...
reading comments like yours is what drives me to continue sharing bits of tips tricks and opinion on tractor use and set up. I truly appreciate you taking your time to watch and to comment. there are hundreds of content creators on youtube and having you select my videos to watch means a great deal to me. please know how much I appreciate it. on another note I'm truly excited to hear you are getting your first tractor! hearing that sparks a fire in me that allows me to some what relive the day I took ownership of my first tractor. oh what an exciting time. I hope you will consider video taping not only the tractor being delivered but the smile on your face as you receive it! that would be so cool. I wish someone would have video taped the look on my face when I took delivery of mine. truly a fun day! I know you will enjoy your new tractor no matter what color shape or size its something truly special about tractors and tractor folks. welcome aboard my friend, welcome aboard! I'm subscribing to your channel and hope to see a tractor video soon!
Thanks so much for all the work you put into this video. I'm picking up my first tractor in a few days and your information in both video 1 and 2 will prove invaluable to me to begin using my brush hog correctly from the get go!
you cant imagine how great this makes me feel to hear these videos help folks. I have plans to add additional parts to this series so be sure and stay tuned for more!
I enjoyed your videos on using the bush hog and setting it up on the tractor. I have a bush hog which is large compared to others I have seen and it is used often during each season in cutting down brush, and grass. The cutter works fine and the tractor I use with it works fine also. Thanks so much for the tip and I have learned more by viewing it.
great hearing from you Sidney! I hope you are doing well. its very rewarding when a cutting and tractor are a good match and render a nice resulting cut. I did a little brush hogging a few weeks ago. I'm still very pleased with how well this woods brushbull cuts. it was worth the money spent for sure. hope you are having a great week.
Great 2 part video. Appreciate you passing on your experience and knowledge to is newbies. My BB60 tends to leave more discharge on one side then the other. That’s how I found this video, I was looking for tips to set it up properly. I’m going to experiment with my front to back level to see if I can get the grass more evenly distributed across each pass. Thanks again.
absolutely will help side to side level needs to be spot on as does tire air pressure all that will greatly effect the discharge and cut results. have fun!
Dave thank you. My father in law just bought a brand new Kubota tractor with a brand new brush hog but want to use it as a finish mower on a country place. Your information will extremely help me set up his mower for an excellent cut.
that's great news and setting up the mower correctly will give him the best cut. I know he will be pleased. thanks for watching my video series and for taking time out to comment. I hope you find some of my other tractor related videos just as helpful.
Excellent video Dave! Standing with your arms angled out really illustrates the effect deck-level has on the cut. Great explanation on how to know just by looking at the swath left behind. I never would have guessed. The bloopers at the end are cool too, I am still smiling here now !! Cheers ...☺
thanks brother, a lot of people dont watch this second part and they truly miss out on some good information. glad you enjoyed it. I have loads of bloopers my mouth out runs my brain at times. or vice versa lol
Great information Dave! Thank you for taking the time to produce great content! Very helpful! I use the draft feature on my Case IH C70 a lot. It maintains level pretty good. Praying my friend!!!! Be safe and God bless you and your family !!!!
thanks brother, it was a fun project to work on. knowing how to do something and knowing how to create the how to do it video can sometimes be two different things as you well know I'm sure. making videos can be a challenge at times. I did enjoy making this series. hope to make a few more before winter.
daveknowshow I'm glad you were feeling up to getting some seat time. I remember you saying before the vibrations were uncomfortable. Must be a good sign of healing up! Your right, actually doing a video versus what you have in your head is 2 different things. Then you get the keyboard jerks who love to point out what you should have done, did wrong, etc. I just ignore their comments, not worth the aggravation, I tell myself, don't feed the trolls.
you are 100% right on that. I get a few who like to armchair quarterback. I have been feeling better and was able to do a few things now I'm scheduled for more surgery in oct. seems just when I think I have this cancer beat they find reasons to go back in me. I'm hoping this will turn out to be nothing and can be easily fixed or better yet simply left alone. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired! lol thanks for the comment it helps lift my spirits when I hear from my fellow creators on youtube.
man. I didn't think about the height of the front and how it affects the mulching action. Takes Dave. Great video. Take care man. Big thanks from Canada.
thanks Ray, I been given some breathing room, my surgery had to be postponed to a later date due to an illness. no new date yet. I feel some what relieved just not having it done this week. I'm going out and ride the tractor!!! lol
absolutely if you are tuned into the sound then you are ahead of the game. the average person has no idea what to listen for. thus why I rarely mention it.
Thank you for sharing such detailed information. I bought my first tractor last week with the Kioti(woods) Rc2072 rotary cutter and it does not appear the dealer set it up correctly. The back sets much higher than the front and side to side it's uneven. Your ability to articulate critical information is phenomenal and I appreciate your help. -ryan PS I applied the techniques you shared and I've now got the cutter in a much better place than before. Time for some test cuts to inspect the cutters settings.
An important element in getting a nice cut that you didn't mention is top link adjustment. It is particularly essential in mowing uneven ground. If the top link is too short, when the tractor's front wheels descend lower than the rear, as in crossing a low spot, the mower will lift off the ground at the tail wheel and leave taller cut material. Likewise, if it is too long, the cutter will tend to scalp high spots.
yes top link is very important. I show the top link set up in my finish mower video which came out previously to these videos. I figured since that had already been addressed in that video I would just skip that in this video to save time. I now wish I had included in part 1. I had plans of a part 3 which will show a few other tips that may help a lot of folks. thanks for the input. it is greatly appreciated.
Thanks for making the video. This sure beats the standard setup which says the front should be 2 inches higher without any reason listed on my Frontier RC2048 that I got with my 1025R compact JD
I agree with you 100% I'm a guy who likes good solid advice with fundamental reasoning that states why when and how. 2 inches is likely a tad over the max in my honest opinion. that 1025r is a great tractor I know you are enjoying it. I'm thrilled you found this video useful. I hope to bring some more very useful videos very soon. feel free to subscribe. peace love and respect Dave in Virginia!
I got the smallest compact Kubota B2301! I can’t wait, it comes tomorrow morning! I have been pouring over UA-cam for months figuring out what to get and learning as much as I can?
thats awesome I'm really excited for you! taking delivery of a new or used tractor is a fun filled day full of excitement! everytime I hear of someone taking delivery it brings back memories. I'd love to see a video of your face as that tractor is delivered! what a great video that would be! enjoy my friend, peace love and respect to you and yours.
Very helpful and good tips to consider. I give you a tip back: Polarized sunglasses. You only have one set of those beautiful peepers, so keep 'em protected. They help in those strong sun-in-ur-face situations. Be well, be safe my friend. Tip 2: Stay away from those friendly bees. HA Glad u didn't get poked. I swell a LOT from bee stings.
Good tips Dave! Do you usually keep the bucket on when you brush hog? My fields are not real smooth so its like I am on a kids rocking horse with it on!
awesome so glad it proved to be helpful please feel free to share it with other friends on your social media outlets. peace love and respect Dave in Virginia
Yes, you will mulch it better if the rear of the mower is lower, since you are cutting it twice. You cut it once with the front of the circle and then cut it again in the rear. You will also be working the tractor more and burning more fuel. I would always recommend having the front of the mower a little lower than the rear. This needs to be checked in the field and not on a level concrete drive, since the smaller rear mower wheel could be sinking deeper into the soil than the large tractor tires. The lateral leveling could be done on level concrete, but measure from the blade to the ground, not from the skids or mower frame (they could get bent) and rotate the cutter to use the same blade. The blades should be tracking in the same plane, but should be checked. The mower wheel should carry the weight of the mower and not be bouncing up in the air when mowing. That way it will tend to level the cut. For the guy that is breaking those $95 sway bars. Check that the pivots for the lift arms and the sway bars under the axle are all in a straight line. I know that the differential housing will be in the way, but sight it the best way you can. If all four of these are not in a straight line, the hydraulic lift could be breaking them. Dave, good luck on your surgery which you have probably had by now. And be sure to wear good work shoes when using a rotary mower (of any size). I have been hit on the heel by 1/4 of a brick when using a 5 ft rotary mower. It stung, but my shoes protected my foot. Flip flops and sneakers are not mowing shoes!!!
I am new to rotory cutting I just bought a John Deer 5045E and a 6' JD cutter I was impressed with how heavy the John Deer is built like a tank. One thing I forgot to look at was the sharpness of the blades on my lawn mowers I always have sharp blades at about a 45 degree angle. I didn't notice the sharpness or angle on this bush hog but it has some hefty blades I think there 1/2 inch can you give some insight on this.
the JD finish mowers are fairly sharp the brush hog mowers not so sharp. the finish mower blades need to be balanced or they vibrate like crazy. the brush hog not so much need in balancing since they just sling around. angle grinder does fine on a brush hog mower but finish mower blades I either replace or have them sharpened at a local shop where they can balance them.
Great videos, really helpful to me. Maybe should mention something about those damn shear bolts vs clutches! That stopped me on my first attempt after 10 minutes. KingKutter says grade 2 shear bolts, really? No tractor store other than North40 even carries grade 2 bolts around here. :) I'm thinking that if I dial in the setup better that I won't have as many problems breaking bolts. Somehow that's not in the manual so really glad I found this video.
yes dialing in will help a lot. I do prefer a slip clutch on brush hogs because typically we hit a lot of stuff with these implements. I run my slip clutch a little loose compared to what the specs say to set it at. you can buy a add on slip clutch from agri supply I want to say it was 69 dollars and well worth every penny.
good question that bar is two pieces of steel flat bar and it was flexed outward and scratching the paint so I put this clamp on tight to push the two pieces together. my plan was to drill and tap a hole and put a bolt in there to hold it together. this clamp worked so well and it was cheap so it has just stayed where it is. it does drive my OCD crazy at times but I been dealing with it ok. I must be getting better. lol ha ha
Dave, thanks so much for the tips. I own a NH Boomer 47 and a Land Pride 6' brush hog. I break a stabilizer bar about once every 10 hours, and of course, it will get into my tires and eat them up before I notice. I've tried them completely stiff and with a little slack, but no better results. Any ideas or suggestions why I keep breaking them? At $95 each, its getting a little expensive.
I can only speculate that you're running to low in the front and or hitting stuff out in the field like a really hard stump or large rock. however typically check chains get broken when turning. as the brush hog swings around behind the tractor if it hits something solid on the side that impact could snap a check chain. running the chains a little loose will help give it some recoil so it don't break. narrow down when this happens. which way did you turn? which chain broke? making a left turn may break the right side check chain if you hit something with the right side of the mower. backing in beside trees to mow under them if you hit the tree base you can also break a chain. also inspect the chains frequently to see if they are first cracking and then breaking or if they are just simply breaking. generally cracking is a sign of metal fatigue where the metal stretches over a period of time. simply breaking is more of a sudden impact fracture and due to striking something hard. I would sure be doing hourly inspections to narrow this issue down. keep in mind the check chain is the weak link and it's better that the chain fails then for it to fail where it attaches to the tractor axle. 95 bucks is expensive but a lot cheaper than repairing a hole ripped in the rear axle or worse. I'd be interested in hearing what you narrow this down to being the cause. I will also run this question past a few other tractor guys and see what they have to say on the subject. if I get some additional information I will post it here.
yes it was easier to video the set up with the Quick Hitch off. I dont use the quick hitch much when using certain implements. the brush hog is one of those. I mainly used the QH when I would be out on a small job finishing a gravel driveway. it was easier to quickly change from the angled road blade to the box blade or york rake. under normal use around my place I dont really use the QH much. I'm hanging in there. a little nervous about my up coming surgery in Oct but just being hopeful that I will be ok. tell Joy I send her my best, love and respect to you both!
yes it is but tractor is broke down and needs repair. I just have to get motivated to do the job. its a big job splitting the tractor in half. needs new clutch.
Funny story I grew up in the South my husband or my children did so the first time I said bush hog in front of one of them they looked at me like I had three heads. I never thought people wouldn't know what that was. Showing you love from our Channel
Enjoy your videos and I'm learning lots. I've got a JD1025R and I've just purchased an RC2048 Rotary Cutter. I've yet to find any information yet on how the tail wheel should be adjusted. Should it just touch the ground, ride hard on the ground or neither? If I set the mower to cut at 6" height for example, there is no way that I can make the wheel touch the ground even if I wanted to.
the cut height is actually set by the tail wheel first then the three point lift. if you look in your owners manual it will show where to set the tail wheel for each inch height of cut. if you want it cut higher than the highest tail wheel setting then set the tail wheel at the highest setting and raise the three point to the desired cut height. then adjust the top link longer or shorter until the mower is level from the tail wheel end to the end nearest the pto shaft at the back of the tractor. 1 inch forward or 1 inch back will be acceptable. the tail wheel will likely only contact the ground when the terrain is such that the back wheels of the tractor go lower and allow the tail wheel to hit. you will not have a consistent cut on ground that has many holes or small hills to drive over. if the land is not full of holes and such then the cut will be perfect.
Thanks Dave! Actually, the manual says virtually nothing about this at all. There is a short mention on tail wheel adjustment, but nothing on how to use it or what it does. I want to make my first cut at about 6" as there may be issues with unknown rocks. So if I have the front of the cutter set at 6" (actually the blades at 6") then the rear should be set at about 7" or 8" from what I've read. I'll just have to "wing it" some until I get it figured out. Thanks again for your advise. It is much appreciated.
if you look at the first video in this series " part1 " it talks about the wheel position for this specific mower and where the adjustment is. yours may be different. yes you are correct set the three point so that the blade tip located closest to the back of the tractor is at 6 inches high. then adjust the top link so the blade tip at the tail wheel end is also at 6 inches high. this will give you a much better " room for error ". try a cut and look at the cut pattern as described in this video part2. hope that helps.
Dave, I watch all your videos, they're all good. Couldn't you measure the length of the fixed link and then set the adjustable link the same to length to level the brush hog from side to side? Assuming the attachment on the brush hog is relatively accurate.
yes you can! so long as its not offset to one another. " I have seen some upper lift arms get turned 1 or 2 splines off from the other." hope that makes sense. but your 100% correct if they are both the same there is no reason you cant measure the fixed one and adjust the other to the same length.
glad to get your feedback on the subject. when i originally started this video series i was going to show measuring that area. instead i decided it was important to square the implement with the rear axle . for that reason i went the other route showing squaring and then measuring from the tractor to the implement. plus it helps me to not have to bend over so much. lol thanks again for sharing and speaking with me on this subject. i hope to get part three of this series finished in the future so stay tuned!
I noticed that your rear tires on your tractor look to be flat across the tred . My question is I have a L4400 and the book says 20 psi. but the tires seem round on the tred. I do have fluid in them . What is the proper way to fill rear tires for tred life.
I like to have a flat tread pattern for max traction in muddy conditions and a softer ride. if you drive out on a hard road you will see on the back tires where your tread is wearing. to little air pressure and the tire will not wear in the center but wear excessively on the outer edge. to much air pressure and you will wear in the center only. I like to run mine up to owners manual specifications and then release air until it suits what I'm looking for if needed. after that I stay off hard surfaces like asphalt or concrete. hope that helps.
I removed the spring off the seat switch. so the safety switch no longer works. the tractor I grew up on was an old farmall cub and the seat would hurt your butt after many hours of ploughing or mowing so standing up was a frequent relief effort. lol hard to break old habits.
slow down your travel speed. travel speed can not allow the grass or weed to spring back up in time for the mower to cut. then later in the day it stands back up and you got a mess.
Really good information...thanks. I would find it more useful if you covered the material in about half the time. It is just too slow to keep one's attention.Thanks again.
yes I agree, you can speed the play back up to 1.5 times or 2 times speed and that may help you with future videos. I have a learning disability so I teach as if others also learn slow. I also try to cover all the " reasons why ".
start by setting the rpm low engage the pto and release the clutch. allow the mower to start turning and just sit and wait until its rotating and there is no longer grass under the mower needing to be cut. run the rpm up to the 540 mark. 540 pto speed is a little different from tractor to tractor. it should be marked with a bracketed area on the RPM gauge. with no load on the mower move the RPM up till its at the top of the 540 PTO mark at that point start moving forward and begin your cut. keeping a eye on the RPM gauge. if the RPM's drop below the 540 mark then your travel speed is to fast. slow your travel speed down. this will cause your RPMs to raise back up. different mowing situations require different travel speeds. on a well maintained field you can mow at a faster travel speed. in heavy brush your travel speed needs to be slower. all this can be seen by how travel and cut reduces the RPM. this will be information included in part three of this series which I hope to shoot this summer. I hope this helps.
pretty much varies from hog to hog based on the type of system on the mower. you can see how this one is set up and in this video you can see how I set up the top link for this finish mower and I explain why. the same applies for the hog. ua-cam.com/video/xLsSUu9AFJ0/v-deo.html
Interesting take on blade angles, Our two cutters have open backs so do not a lot of mulching. After thinking some about your blade theory I might consider rigging up a cylinder for the rear wheel because not everything we cut is same height where cows are always cut high, common areas normally low as can be and miss rocks. I may look into buying and adjustable tail wheel and retrofitting on to this guy. Giving all the angle iron plenty to weld to. www.dropbox.com/s/ptzequkhdzsbji1/2020-07-29%2014.35.39.jpg?dl=0 I like that woods cutter gives a nice finish, our 6ft kodiak leave a nice finish I think the blades spin slower on this 8ft heavy cutter.
Goodness that field of weeds would have been perfect for mowing with a sickle mower then after they drive rake them and bail them for burning in a big wood stove or a big stove for burning bales of hay for heat
daveknowshow hell yes brother I tell you the sickle bar mower is playing it's easy it's simple and it just works and a person can do so much more with the material that they mo with a circle bar mower then they can with the material that they mow with a brush hog and a field like that one if a person was to mow that with a sickle bar mower let it dry then rake it and bail it it wouldn't matter what size Baylor you bailed it with as long as the bells will go in the stove that the person uses to heat their house with a lot of people use the big round bales some people use the small round bale some people use the square bales but it would be extremely hard to find fuel to heat your house any cheaper than that would be because if you already have the mower rake and Baler that twine and a little bit of fuel does not cost much up to the side of what good it will do a person in a woodstove sort of a thing most most of them are outside furnaces that people burn hay and weeds and brush in and you know I'm sure you can find one you still got a lot of life left in it
I may look into seeing if i can pick up a used sickle mower. they use to be cheap but from what I understand sickle mowers have gone up in price even for the used ones. I know where one is and I may see if they want to sell it. it was covered in weeds and poison ivy growing all up it. I doubt it has been used in years. if I can get it cheap enough I may look into it.
daveknowshow that would be a good idea in my opinion because you will probably be able to get it extremely cheap since it has not been moved or used in a long time and you seem like the kind of person that is able to fix almost anything and you have a clear understanding on how things work so you would be able to fix it if there is something wrong with it and as sensible a person as you are you will be able to operate it without getting hurt and it might even be able to make you some money it is definitely worth checking into
I spent a couple hours using your video to set up my cutter before the first cut of the season yesterday. I thought I had a brand new brush hog! Thanks Dave you're the man
it really is amazing how much difference a simple set up makes and it really does not take long to set it all up and get familiar with what to look for. so glad this video series has helped so many people. I hope to add a few more tips to this series over this summer so stay tuned!
Good math on the middle cut explanation! Awesome!
glad you enjoyed it
Thank you for a most informative pair of videos. Going to go out tomorrow and undo all the things I've done wrong so far.
Great video...not only did you explain how to do the set up but why you do it that way.
you will have 100% success. it brings me a lot of joy hearing from folks like yourself. thanks for the kind words.
You did a great job showing important considerations regarding tire pressure which is OFTEN overlooked! You made good points about rear vs front tire pressure that I never considered. I have a Kubota L3902 with front end loader and Landpride Cutter 1872. First thing I did was to adjust my rear tires to 20 psi and the front tires to 35 psi. Im going to spend some time next doing the adjustments you showed squaring the cutter with the tractor. Great information!
its always great to hear from folks that these videos proved to be worthy of watching. thank you for your time. with so many youtube videos to choose from its an honor to have you watch one of mine. happy safe tractoring!!!
Man you explain things well. Guess that is why you have 17 thousand subscribers. The best tractor how to site on UA-cam. Thanks for sharing your wisdom.
Not sure I deserve all that praise but it’s greatly appreciated.
Thanks for teaching me how to set these things up. I get my tractor tomorrow and got a brush hog to go with it!
what kind did you get?
“Any day on a tractor is a good day”. Well said.
Thank you
LOL. Hey thanks Dave. Another great series and really appreciate you sharing your knowledge for the rest of us to learn. Good thing you snuck away from those pesky bees! And had a good laugh on the Bloopers at the end - that was fun. Have a great long weekend and all the best to you!
End of this week I'll be the owner of my very first Tractor (EVER). I've watched a ton of how-to videos. Thanks for all the information, you make things clear and to the point, with great straight forward facts, which are giving this new tractor owner a strong jump start to be safe and equipment minded. Thanks again DAVE and please keep the videos coming...
reading comments like yours is what drives me to continue sharing bits of tips tricks and opinion on tractor use and set up. I truly appreciate you taking your time to watch and to comment. there are hundreds of content creators on youtube and having you select my videos to watch means a great deal to me. please know how much I appreciate it. on another note I'm truly excited to hear you are getting your first tractor! hearing that sparks a fire in me that allows me to some what relive the day I took ownership of my first tractor. oh what an exciting time. I hope you will consider video taping not only the tractor being delivered but the smile on your face as you receive it! that would be so cool. I wish someone would have video taped the look on my face when I took delivery of mine. truly a fun day! I know you will enjoy your new tractor no matter what color shape or size its something truly special about tractors and tractor folks. welcome aboard my friend, welcome aboard! I'm subscribing to your channel and hope to see a tractor video soon!
Thanks so much for all the work you put into this video. I'm picking up my first tractor in a few days and your information in both video 1 and 2 will prove invaluable to me to begin using my brush hog correctly from the get go!
you cant imagine how great this makes me feel to hear these videos help folks. I have plans to add additional parts to this series so be sure and stay tuned for more!
I enjoyed your videos on using the bush hog and setting it up on the tractor. I have a bush hog which is large compared to others I have seen and it is used often during each season in cutting down brush, and grass. The cutter works fine and the tractor I use with it works fine also. Thanks so much for the tip and I have learned more by viewing it.
great hearing from you Sidney! I hope you are doing well. its very rewarding when a cutting and tractor are a good match and render a nice resulting cut. I did a little brush hogging a few weeks ago. I'm still very pleased with how well this woods brushbull cuts. it was worth the money spent for sure. hope you are having a great week.
That's the best explanation I've ever heard
awesome thanks!
Great 2 part video. Appreciate you passing on your experience and knowledge to is newbies. My BB60 tends to leave more discharge on one side then the other. That’s how I found this video, I was looking for tips to set it up properly. I’m going to experiment with my front to back level to see if I can get the grass more evenly distributed across each pass. Thanks again.
absolutely will help side to side level needs to be spot on as does tire air pressure all that will greatly effect the discharge and cut results. have fun!
Dave thank you. My father in law just bought a brand new Kubota tractor with a brand new brush hog but want to use it as a finish mower on a country place. Your information will extremely help me set up his mower for an excellent cut.
that's great news and setting up the mower correctly will give him the best cut. I know he will be pleased. thanks for watching my video series and for taking time out to comment. I hope you find some of my other tractor related videos just as helpful.
Excellent video Dave! Standing with your arms angled out really illustrates the effect deck-level has on the cut. Great explanation on how to know just by looking at the swath left behind. I never would have guessed.
The bloopers at the end are cool too, I am still smiling here now !!
Cheers ...☺
thanks brother, a lot of people dont watch this second part and they truly miss out on some good information. glad you enjoyed it. I have loads of bloopers my mouth out runs my brain at times. or vice versa lol
You're very welcome...your videos give excellent info, you're entertaining too.
I have the same affliction .. I hear it the same time they do !! ☺
lol
Great info Dave thanks for taking the time
thank you Bill for taking the time to watch my videos. hope you're having a great day.
Great information Dave! Thank you for taking the time to produce great content! Very helpful! I use the draft feature on my Case IH C70 a lot. It maintains level pretty good. Praying my friend!!!! Be safe and God bless you and your family !!!!
I wish I had draft on my kubota. thanks for watching Ray.
Dave if you can please keep us informed on how you are feeling ! Prayers always my friend ! Be safe and God bless you and your family !!! Eddy
thank Eddy, I'm doing great today! my surgery got postponed! yupie!!! so I spent the day working on a welding project and playing on the tractor.
Thanks Dave for all the info. learned a lot of things I didn't know.
so glad you was able to watch both videos, thanks so much!
Great series Dave! I learned a lot that will also apply to my box blade and my tiller, I appreciate it keep up the great work.
thanks brother, it was a fun project to work on. knowing how to do something and knowing how to create the how to do it video can sometimes be two different things as you well know I'm sure. making videos can be a challenge at times. I did enjoy making this series. hope to make a few more before winter.
daveknowshow I'm glad you were feeling up to getting some seat time. I remember you saying before the vibrations were uncomfortable. Must be a good sign of healing up! Your right, actually doing a video versus what you have in your head is 2 different things. Then you get the keyboard jerks who love to point out what you should have done, did wrong, etc. I just ignore their comments, not worth the aggravation, I tell myself, don't feed the trolls.
you are 100% right on that. I get a few who like to armchair quarterback. I have been feeling better and was able to do a few things now I'm scheduled for more surgery in oct. seems just when I think I have this cancer beat they find reasons to go back in me. I'm hoping this will turn out to be nothing and can be easily fixed or better yet simply left alone. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired! lol thanks for the comment it helps lift my spirits when I hear from my fellow creators on youtube.
man. I didn't think about the height of the front and how it affects the mulching action. Takes Dave. Great video. Take care man. Big thanks from Canada.
thank you for watching! I'm sure a lot of folks dont know these things about the brush hog. it a life long learning curve. glad you enjoyed it.
very good thanks
Good looking job !
Dave just wanted to let you know that I am praying for you this week. God bless you in all you may have to endure!!
thanks Ray, I been given some breathing room, my surgery had to be postponed to a later date due to an illness. no new date yet. I feel some what relieved just not having it done this week. I'm going out and ride the tractor!!! lol
Totally agree with how you go about this one Dave. :)
Another informative video. Thank you.
so happy you found it useful
I have a hydro top and side link on my tractor. I just listen to the cutter working and adjust based on the sound first and the look second.
absolutely if you are tuned into the sound then you are ahead of the game. the average person has no idea what to listen for. thus why I rarely mention it.
Thank you for sharing such detailed information. I bought my first tractor last week with the Kioti(woods) Rc2072 rotary cutter and it does not appear the dealer set it up correctly. The back sets much higher than the front and side to side it's uneven. Your ability to articulate critical information is phenomenal and I appreciate your help. -ryan
PS I applied the techniques you shared and I've now got the cutter in a much better place than before. Time for some test cuts to inspect the cutters settings.
you will have great results!
An important element in getting a nice cut that you didn't mention is top link adjustment. It is particularly essential in mowing uneven ground. If the top link is too short, when the tractor's front wheels descend lower than the rear, as in crossing a low spot, the mower will lift off the ground at the tail wheel and leave taller cut material. Likewise, if it is too long, the cutter will tend to scalp high spots.
yes top link is very important. I show the top link set up in my finish mower video which came out previously to these videos. I figured since that had already been addressed in that video I would just skip that in this video to save time. I now wish I had included in part 1. I had plans of a part 3 which will show a few other tips that may help a lot of folks. thanks for the input. it is greatly appreciated.
Thanks for making the video. This sure beats the standard setup which says the front should be 2 inches higher without any reason listed on my Frontier RC2048 that I got with my 1025R compact JD
I agree with you 100% I'm a guy who likes good solid advice with fundamental reasoning that states why when and how. 2 inches is likely a tad over the max in my honest opinion. that 1025r is a great tractor I know you are enjoying it. I'm thrilled you found this video useful. I hope to bring some more very useful videos very soon. feel free to subscribe. peace love and respect Dave in Virginia!
I got the smallest compact Kubota B2301! I can’t wait, it comes tomorrow morning! I have been pouring over UA-cam for months figuring out what to get and learning as much as I can?
thats awesome I'm really excited for you! taking delivery of a new or used tractor is a fun filled day full of excitement! everytime I hear of someone taking delivery it brings back memories. I'd love to see a video of your face as that tractor is delivered! what a great video that would be! enjoy my friend, peace love and respect to you and yours.
Very helpful and good tips to consider.
I give you a tip back: Polarized sunglasses. You only have one set of those beautiful peepers, so keep 'em protected. They help in those strong sun-in-ur-face situations. Be well, be safe my friend.
Tip 2: Stay away from those friendly bees. HA Glad u didn't get poked. I swell a LOT from bee stings.
yes I was just stung 5 times last week. hurt bad to. I do need some good sun glasses. my poor eyes have taken a beating over the years.
Good tips Dave! Do you usually keep the bucket on when you brush hog? My fields are not real smooth so its like I am on a kids rocking horse with it on!
Thank you for doing this video and how you did it.
thank you for stopping by and watching my videos I'm sure you will get great results with these tips and tricks!
Very helpful videos, thanks.
always happy to help thank you for supporting my channel.
Thank for the video I learned a lot from it!!
awesome so glad it proved to be helpful please feel free to share it with other friends on your social media outlets. peace love and respect Dave in Virginia
Yes, you will mulch it better if the rear of the mower is lower, since you are cutting it twice. You cut it once with the front of the circle and then cut it again in the rear. You will also be working the tractor more and burning more fuel. I would always recommend having the front of the mower a little lower than the rear. This needs to be checked in the field and not on a level concrete drive, since the smaller rear mower wheel could be sinking deeper into the soil than the large tractor tires. The lateral leveling could be done on level concrete, but measure from the blade to the ground, not from the skids or mower frame (they could get bent) and rotate the cutter to use the same blade. The blades should be tracking in the same plane, but should be checked.
The mower wheel should carry the weight of the mower and not be bouncing up in the air when mowing. That way it will tend to level the cut.
For the guy that is breaking those $95 sway bars. Check that the pivots for the lift arms and the sway bars under the axle are all in a straight line. I know that the differential housing will be in the way, but sight it the best way you can. If all four of these are not in a straight line, the hydraulic lift could be breaking them.
Dave, good luck on your surgery which you have probably had by now. And be sure to wear good work shoes when using a rotary mower (of any size). I have been hit on the heel by 1/4 of a brick when using a 5 ft rotary mower. It stung, but my shoes protected my foot. Flip flops and sneakers are not mowing shoes!!!
thanks for the comment and for stopping by the channel.
I am new to rotory cutting I just bought a John Deer 5045E and a 6' JD cutter I was impressed with how heavy the John Deer is built like a tank. One thing I forgot to look at was the sharpness of the blades on my lawn mowers I always have sharp blades at about a 45 degree angle. I didn't notice the sharpness or angle on this bush hog but it has some hefty blades I think there 1/2 inch can you give some insight on this.
the JD finish mowers are fairly sharp the brush hog mowers not so sharp. the finish mower blades need to be balanced or they vibrate like crazy. the brush hog not so much need in balancing since they just sling around. angle grinder does fine on a brush hog mower but finish mower blades I either replace or have them sharpened at a local shop where they can balance them.
Great videos, really helpful to me. Maybe should mention something about those damn shear bolts vs clutches! That stopped me on my first attempt after 10 minutes. KingKutter says grade 2 shear bolts, really? No tractor store other than North40 even carries grade 2 bolts around here. :)
I'm thinking that if I dial in the setup better that I won't have as many problems breaking bolts. Somehow that's not in the manual so really glad I found this video.
yes dialing in will help a lot. I do prefer a slip clutch on brush hogs because typically we hit a lot of stuff with these implements. I run my slip clutch a little loose compared to what the specs say to set it at. you can buy a add on slip clutch from agri supply I want to say it was 69 dollars and well worth every penny.
Thank you for the information
Hey Dave thanks for the video. Very helpful information. I do have one question. Why do you have the "C" clamp on the bar on top on bushhog?
good question that bar is two pieces of steel flat bar and it was flexed outward and scratching the paint so I put this clamp on tight to push the two pieces together. my plan was to drill and tap a hole and put a bolt in there to hold it together. this clamp worked so well and it was cheap so it has just stayed where it is. it does drive my OCD crazy at times but I been dealing with it ok. I must be getting better. lol ha ha
Dave, thanks so much for the tips. I own a NH Boomer 47 and a Land Pride 6' brush hog. I break a stabilizer bar about once every 10 hours, and of course, it will get into my tires and eat them up before I notice. I've tried them completely stiff and with a little slack, but no better results. Any ideas or suggestions why I keep breaking them? At $95 each, its getting a little expensive.
I can only speculate that you're running to low in the front and or hitting stuff out in the field like a really hard stump or large rock. however typically check chains get broken when turning. as the brush hog swings around behind the tractor if it hits something solid on the side that impact could snap a check chain. running the chains a little loose will help give it some recoil so it don't break. narrow down when this happens. which way did you turn? which chain broke? making a left turn may break the right side check chain if you hit something with the right side of the mower. backing in beside trees to mow under them if you hit the tree base you can also break a chain. also inspect the chains frequently to see if they are first cracking and then breaking or if they are just simply breaking. generally cracking is a sign of metal fatigue where the metal stretches over a period of time. simply breaking is more of a sudden impact fracture and due to striking something hard. I would sure be doing hourly inspections to narrow this issue down. keep in mind the check chain is the weak link and it's better that the chain fails then for it to fail where it attaches to the tractor axle. 95 bucks is expensive but a lot cheaper than repairing a hole ripped in the rear axle or worse. I'd be interested in hearing what you narrow this down to being the cause. I will also run this question past a few other tractor guys and see what they have to say on the subject. if I get some additional information I will post it here.
Hi Dave,
Good video and info as usual. Is there a reason you didn't have your quick hitch on ?
Hope things are going well, still praying my friend.
yes it was easier to video the set up with the Quick Hitch off. I dont use the quick hitch much when using certain implements. the brush hog is one of those. I mainly used the QH when I would be out on a small job finishing a gravel driveway. it was easier to quickly change from the angled road blade to the box blade or york rake. under normal use around my place I dont really use the QH much. I'm hanging in there. a little nervous about my up coming surgery in Oct but just being hopeful that I will be ok. tell Joy I send her my best, love and respect to you both!
March 2021 go get on your tractor. Time spent on top of tractor good for inside of soul!!Take care.
yes it is but tractor is broke down and needs repair. I just have to get motivated to do the job. its a big job splitting the tractor in half. needs new clutch.
Funny story I grew up in the South my husband or my children did so the first time I said bush hog in front of one of them they looked at me like I had three heads. I never thought people wouldn't know what that was. Showing you love from our Channel
Enjoy your videos and I'm learning lots. I've got a JD1025R and I've just purchased an RC2048 Rotary Cutter. I've yet to find any information yet on how the tail wheel should be adjusted. Should it just touch the ground, ride hard on the ground or neither? If I set the mower to cut at 6" height for example, there is no way that I can make the wheel touch the ground even if I wanted to.
the cut height is actually set by the tail wheel first then the three point lift. if you look in your owners manual it will show where to set the tail wheel for each inch height of cut. if you want it cut higher than the highest tail wheel setting then set the tail wheel at the highest setting and raise the three point to the desired cut height. then adjust the top link longer or shorter until the mower is level from the tail wheel end to the end nearest the pto shaft at the back of the tractor. 1 inch forward or 1 inch back will be acceptable. the tail wheel will likely only contact the ground when the terrain is such that the back wheels of the tractor go lower and allow the tail wheel to hit. you will not have a consistent cut on ground that has many holes or small hills to drive over. if the land is not full of holes and such then the cut will be perfect.
Thanks Dave! Actually, the manual says virtually nothing about this at all. There is a short mention on tail wheel adjustment, but nothing on how to use it or what it does. I want to make my first cut at about 6" as there may be issues with unknown rocks. So if I have the front of the cutter set at 6" (actually the blades at 6") then the rear should be set at about 7" or 8" from what I've read. I'll just have to "wing it" some until I get it figured out. Thanks again for your advise. It is much appreciated.
if you look at the first video in this series " part1 " it talks about the wheel position for this specific mower and where the adjustment is. yours may be different. yes you are correct set the three point so that the blade tip located closest to the back of the tractor is at 6 inches high. then adjust the top link so the blade tip at the tail wheel end is also at 6 inches high. this will give you a much better " room for error ". try a cut and look at the cut pattern as described in this video part2. hope that helps.
Dave, I watch all your videos, they're all good. Couldn't you measure the length of the fixed link and then set the adjustable link the same to length to level the brush hog from side to side? Assuming the attachment on the brush hog is relatively accurate.
yes you can! so long as its not offset to one another. " I have seen some upper lift arms get turned 1 or 2 splines off from the other." hope that makes sense. but your 100% correct if they are both the same there is no reason you cant measure the fixed one and adjust the other to the same length.
daveknowshow That makes sense to me. I guess mine are set the same because that method works for my brush hog and box blade. Thanks for your reply!
glad to get your feedback on the subject. when i originally started this video series i was going to show measuring that area. instead i decided it was important to square the implement with the rear axle . for that reason i went the other route showing squaring and then measuring from the tractor to the implement. plus it helps me to not have to bend over so much. lol thanks again for sharing and speaking with me on this subject. i hope to get part three of this series finished in the future so stay tuned!
Thanks that makes sense.
always happy to help.
I noticed that your rear tires on your tractor look to be flat across the tred . My question is I have a L4400 and the book says 20 psi. but the tires seem round on the tred. I do have fluid in them . What is the proper way to fill rear tires for tred life.
I like to have a flat tread pattern for max traction in muddy conditions and a softer ride. if you drive out on a hard road you will see on the back tires where your tread is wearing. to little air pressure and the tire will not wear in the center but wear excessively on the outer edge. to much air pressure and you will wear in the center only. I like to run mine up to owners manual specifications and then release air until it suits what I'm looking for if needed. after that I stay off hard surfaces like asphalt or concrete. hope that helps.
Is there any pro vs con on leaving cut material as is vs landscape raked to a pile and disposed/ burned? Fire danger vs “composting” I guess.
pretty much what you said. I generally leave it there. no problems so far.
What’s the cut capacity of that Woods BB60. i have a older 2010 BB600x but can’t find any info online
5 foot wide up to 2 inch i believe. i have cut much larger with it though.
How can you stand up with pto engaged and tractor not cut off
I removed the spring off the seat switch. so the safety switch no longer works. the tractor I grew up on was an old farmall cub and the seat would hurt your butt after many hours of ploughing or mowing so standing up was a frequent relief effort. lol hard to break old habits.
My new bush hog leaves strands and scragglers when I cut. How can I fix it?
slow down your travel speed. travel speed can not allow the grass or weed to spring back up in time for the mower to cut. then later in the day it stands back up and you got a mess.
Really good information...thanks. I would find it more useful if you covered the material in about half the time. It is just too slow to keep one's attention.Thanks again.
yes I agree, you can speed the play back up to 1.5 times or 2 times speed and that may help you with future videos. I have a learning disability so I teach as if others also learn slow. I also try to cover all the " reasons why ".
@@daveknowshow Thanks Dave.
How high do you run Rpm when bushhoging?
start by setting the rpm low engage the pto and release the clutch. allow the mower to start turning and just sit and wait until its rotating and there is no longer grass under the mower needing to be cut. run the rpm up to the 540 mark. 540 pto speed is a little different from tractor to tractor. it should be marked with a bracketed area on the RPM gauge. with no load on the mower move the RPM up till its at the top of the 540 PTO mark at that point start moving forward and begin your cut. keeping a eye on the RPM gauge. if the RPM's drop below the 540 mark then your travel speed is to fast. slow your travel speed down. this will cause your RPMs to raise back up. different mowing situations require different travel speeds. on a well maintained field you can mow at a faster travel speed. in heavy brush your travel speed needs to be slower. all this can be seen by how travel and cut reduces the RPM. this will be information included in part three of this series which I hope to shoot this summer. I hope this helps.
What about the top link settings?
pretty much varies from hog to hog based on the type of system on the mower. you can see how this one is set up and in this video you can see how I set up the top link for this finish mower and I explain why. the same applies for the hog. ua-cam.com/video/xLsSUu9AFJ0/v-deo.html
Interesting take on blade angles, Our two cutters have open backs so do not a lot of mulching. After thinking some about your blade theory I might consider rigging up a cylinder for the rear wheel because not everything we cut is same height where cows are always cut high, common areas normally low as can be and miss rocks. I may look into buying and adjustable tail wheel and retrofitting on to this guy. Giving all the angle iron plenty to weld to. www.dropbox.com/s/ptzequkhdzsbji1/2020-07-29%2014.35.39.jpg?dl=0 I like that woods cutter gives a nice finish, our 6ft kodiak leave a nice finish I think the blades spin slower on this 8ft heavy cutter.
I think an adjustable tail wheel would be cool! I know some of the bat wing mowers have hydraulic adjustable tail wheels.
straight outta winterpock
Boy, are those people gonna be surprised when they find out that someone partially brush hogged their property!
Goodness that field of weeds would have been perfect for mowing with a sickle mower then after they drive rake them and bail them for burning in a big wood stove or a big stove for burning bales of hay for heat
funny you said that I was looking at an old used sickle mower just a few days ago.
daveknowshow hell yes brother I tell you the sickle bar mower is playing it's easy it's simple and it just works and a person can do so much more with the material that they mo with a circle bar mower then they can with the material that they mow with a brush hog and a field like that one if a person was to mow that with a sickle bar mower let it dry then rake it and bail it it wouldn't matter what size Baylor you bailed it with as long as the bells will go in the stove that the person uses to heat their house with a lot of people use the big round bales some people use the small round bale some people use the square bales but it would be extremely hard to find fuel to heat your house any cheaper than that would be because if you already have the mower rake and Baler that twine and a little bit of fuel does not cost much up to the side of what good it will do a person in a woodstove sort of a thing most most of them are outside furnaces that people burn hay and weeds and brush in and you know I'm sure you can find one you still got a lot of life left in it
I may look into seeing if i can pick up a used sickle mower. they use to be cheap but from what I understand sickle mowers have gone up in price even for the used ones. I know where one is and I may see if they want to sell it. it was covered in weeds and poison ivy growing all up it. I doubt it has been used in years. if I can get it cheap enough I may look into it.
daveknowshow that would be a good idea in my opinion because you will probably be able to get it extremely cheap since it has not been moved or used in a long time and you seem like the kind of person that is able to fix almost anything and you have a clear understanding on how things work so you would be able to fix it if there is something wrong with it and as sensible a person as you are you will be able to operate it without getting hurt and it might even be able to make you some money it is definitely worth checking into
I may ride over there tomorrow.
I like to blooper. Not that easy having to think quick on video . I make a few videos as well and it's not as easy as it looks. lol
Need to learn the difference between bees and other stinging insects.
yes you do.
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thanks for stopping by the channel!
Thank you for doing this video and how you did it.
GLAD YOU ENJOYED IT!