Video of my tractor-mounted weed whacker

[PHPaul]

 

[Sawdust&Shavings]

Great idea and spectacular execution. When you are absolutely, positively bored out of your mind and in the dead of winter (for you that’s most likely 6 months long…sorry for you) break out the rust conversion acid, prime it and give a good coat of Kubota orange!!!

 

[PHPaul]

Great idea and spectacular execution. When you are absolutely, positively bored out of your mind and in the dead of winter (for you that’s most likely 6 months long…sorry for you) break out the rust conversion acid, prime it and give a good coat of Kubota orange!!!

Thank you. I built the original about 10 years ago, and the Mark II about 4 years ago. Main changes were a better belt tensioning system and the new right-angle gearbox. The original was a re-purposed Gravely unit that had to be installed upside-down which put all the oil in the wrong end and it didn't survive.

"Winter" here on the coast is mid-to-late December to about the end of March. Temps cool off about mid-October which is fine by me, I don't do heat. I've lived or been stationed in Virginia, South Carolina, Florida and the Philippines. I'd be perfectly happy if I never saw the high side of 75° again. April can be, and usually is, pretty chilly and temps reliably above 50° return about mid-May.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Very cool sir!

I was just looking for some sort of solution for one of my 2,578 projects.

I wish I had a "spare Gravely head” lying around…...

 

[LFP57]

Great Idea, how often do you think you'll have to stop and change the plastic lines? How easy is it to change them?

 

[PHPaul]

Great Idea, how often do you think you'll have to stop and change the plastic lines? How easy is it to change them?

How often they need to be changed depends on how often I get them tangled up in fences, rocks or brush. I can do several hundred feet of ditch bank on one set. If I'm careful (and lucky...) I can do all the fence line on 2 or 3 sets. Being New England, the fence line is where rocks go.

I cut several 3 foot lengths off the roll and tuck them in the cab. Changing them is just a matter of threading them through the eyes on the string head and pulling them tight. 2 or 3 minutes.

 

[Mark_BX25D]

Nice!


Next version: Pivoting arms held in place by springs so you don't bend anything if you hit an immovable object.

 

[PHPaul]

Nice!


Next version: Pivoting arms held in place by springs so you don't bend anything if you hit an immovable object.

If I hit the Lotto, I'd build one with hydraulic motor drive and a hinge and cylinder arrangement that would allow me to drop the cutter head down over the bank further ─\ The swing-away would be nice but at the speeds I'm moving, not critical.

Fortunately, the hydraulic tilt cylinder on the 3 point arm gives a pretty good range of motion and does 90% of what I want as is. MANY thanks to the nice folks at Fitrite Hydraulics . Best addition to my tractor ever!

 

[Killer Bee]

congrats on your build success, nice fab skills!

I've kicked around the idea of buying something like that for steep road ditches and fence lines where rotary blades or discs are risky.

for the rest of us without the skills or patience to build our own, thankfully there's a few options out there for us.

I really like this except for the cost.

 

[PHPaul]

That's why I built mine. Not as flexible or nicely finished, but even with the new gearbox and the bearings and belts I had to buy, it's about 1/10th the cost of a commercial unit.