Mowing saplings

bucktail

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Jun 13, 2016
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I'm going to mow some brush. I don't want sharp points left. The blades on the brush hog were pre dulled when I bought it. I'll leave them dull for now. What else should I do? Throttling back shifting down? Looking to get broomed ends not cut.
 

North Idaho Wolfman

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You really need a Flail mower, does a much better job then a rotary, but sometimes just gotta use what we have.

Dull blades and slow speed will beat them more then cut them. ;)
 

SidecarFlip

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I use my Landpride bat wing on saplings all the time. It's rated up to 3"diameter. Not the prettiest cut but doable.
 

bucktail

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Not looking for pretty cuts Looking for ugly
 

SDT

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I'm going to mow some brush. I don't want sharp points left. The blades on the brush hog were pre dulled when I bought it. I'll leave them dull for now. What else should I do? Throttling back shifting down? Looking to get broomed ends not cut.
Mow as close as possible unless you will hit stumps, rocks, etc. Short spikes are less damaging than long spikes.

Also, mow slowly. The more times your mower blades hit the sapling, the better.

After finishing, inspect the area to see what your mower has left.

This is the only time when dull blades are a good thing.

SDT
 

Redlands

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Sep 16, 2016
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Not sure on what you need for a finished job. Leaving the brush hog up higher than normal can also work well. Sampling stubs a inch or so in diameter and 8 or 10 inches tall for example will bend over instead of punching holes in tires.
 

SDT

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Not sure on what you need for a finished job. Leaving the brush hog up higher than normal can also work well. Sampling stubs a inch or so in diameter and 8 or 10 inches tall for example will bend over instead of punching holes in tires.
Maybe.

BTDT with expensive results.

SDT
 

bucktail

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L1500DT, 6' king kutter back blade, boom, dirt scoop ford disk JD212
Jun 13, 2016
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MN
It's going to be a building site. A lot of it is small. I'll mow that higher and the big stuff short
 

D2Cat

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Bucktail, might use a straight shaft weed eater with a circular blade with chain saw teeth. Cut it off at ground level, then spray stumps with Tordon. I spray every piece I can find individually, if I'm working in a small area. And, spray ASAP after cutting. Don't let the stob heal over. Then you're done, and no possibility of tire problems.
 

bucktail

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L1500DT, 6' king kutter back blade, boom, dirt scoop ford disk JD212
Jun 13, 2016
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Maybe I should pull the big ones by the root and use the mower on the smaller stuff
 

bucktail

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L1500DT, 6' king kutter back blade, boom, dirt scoop ford disk JD212
Jun 13, 2016
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The dull blades did their thing. The folks who said I needed weight on the front were right for the most part. The front stayed down nicely with the tail wheel down but got pretty light with the mower up. I had to take the tail wheel off to fit it on a 12 foot trailer and fold the ramp up.
 

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