Front mount flail mower from mid PTO

[Chanceywd]

I think there is a possibility the loader in float might push down more than you want on the mower.
If attached to it by a ssqa plate it would loose some of its ground following abillity unless the bucket cylinder had a float too

If it was attached with some linkage and or chain to limit and maybe some chain limit so you don't accidentally raise the loader and destroy the shaft?

I made a side hill mower I use on the 8N on the slope along my 300ft driveway. That pivots on a boom on the right side and will mow below or above the tractor level.
I always run it in float to follow the ground but can never lose track when lowering to hit float just as it gets to ground or hydraulics would squash it like a bug.

Bill

 

[Paul Allwood]

I think there is a possibility the loader in float might push down more than you want on the mower.
If attached to it by a ssqa plate it would loose some of its ground following abillity unless the bucket cylinder had a float too

If it was attached with some linkage and or chain to limit and maybe some chain limit so you don't accidentally raise the loader and destroy the shaft?

I made a side hill mower I use on the 8N on the slope along my 300ft driveway. That pivots on a boom on the right side and will mow below or above the tractor level.
I always run it in float to follow the ground but can never lose track when lowering to hit float just as it gets to ground or hydraulics would squash it like a bug.

Bill

Thanks Bill - here's a sketch of something that I think might work. Is this something like what you were describing ? Apologies for the roughness of the sketch - hope it makes sense.



I would also need a diagonal link to stop it shifting side to side, it maybe a diagonal hydraulic cylinder to provide sideshiftability via the 3rd spool on my loader valve ?

I like your idea of a chain to stop me destroying the drive shaft by lifting the loader too far.

I'd be keen to see pics of your side hill mower if you have any.

 

[Chanceywd]

Thanks Bill - here's a sketch of something that I think might work. Is this something like what you were describing ? Apologies for the roughness of the sketch - hope it makes sense.

View attachment 178876

I would also need a diagonal link to stop it shifting side to side, it maybe a diagonal hydraulic cylinder to provide sideshiftability via the 3rd spool on my loader valve ?

I like your idea of a chain to stop me destroying the drive shaft by lifting the loader too far.

I'd be keen to see pics of your side hill mower if you have any.

That looks like one of my drawings! But I think I follow your concept.

I have a couple of short videos of my mower but I struggle to do pictures and I am not you tube capable either.
I will be using it in the next couple of days and I will take a few pictures then.
I made it from a cub cadet 30" deck, clocked it so the discharge is to the rear, it has 4 Harbor freight 10" tires and its own motor.
I'd like to power it with hydraulic motor but haven't gotten to that yet because I also tow it offset behind a rider mower sometimes.
My mount swivel made from a front wheel drive hub and controlled by a hydraulic cylinder.
I worked the mount so the mower is balanced front to back and side to side.

Bill

 

[Chanceywd]

That looks like one of my drawings! But I think I follow your concept.

I have a couple of short videos of my mower but I struggle to do pictures and I am not you tube capable either.
I will be using it in the next couple of days and I will take a few pictures then.
I made it from a cub cadet 30" deck, clocked it so the discharge is to the rear, it has 4 Harbor freight 10" tires and its own motor.
I'd like to power it with hydraulic motor but haven't gotten to that yet because I also tow it offset behind a rider mower sometimes.
My mount swivel made from a front wheel drive hub and controlled by a hydraulic cylinder.
I worked the mount so the mower is balanced front to back and side to side.

Bill

Just had a thought about how a bush hog mower is 3 pt mounted.
The mower where it hooks to the top link usually has an extra pivot in it so it follows the ground.
Maybe something like that in between the SSQA plate and the flail mower.

Bill

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Before you go too far, strap it to the loader and pick it up and then go out and maneuver around with it.
I think you'll find it's pretty cumbersome off the front of the loader arms.

 

[Paul Allwood]

Before you go too far, strap it to the loader and pick it up and then go out and maneuver around with it.
I think you'll find it's pretty cumbersome off the front of the loader arms.

Thanks - yes, the tractor and mower combined is getting quite long. But I'm thinking I'll have to try to get it workable using the SSQA mount with some short (6") forward links so I can at least test it. I also need to get our grass cut as it's starting to grow faster and I don't have another mower.

If it does turn out to be too cumbersome as you suggest I'll have to come up with some links, maybe to the front bumper, with the loader removed to bring it in closer to the front of the tractor. The only ones of this type I've found look like they incorporate some sort of lifting mechanism - I was trying to avoid having to add this.

And yeah, now I'm second-guessing my ideas as you generally seem to turn out to be right.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

This is simply an "idea" (but not necessarily a good one )

What if you made the attacch point such that the SSQA attached when it was in it's "flat'est" configuration...

Here is my "3rd grader sketch"

 

[Paul Allwood]

This is simply an "idea" (but not necessarily a good one )

What if you made the attacch point such that the SSQA attached when it was in it's "flat'est" configuration...

Here is my "3rd grader sketch"

View attachment 178879

No such thing as a bad idea....and I think you're being a bit tough on yourself. The drawing is quite good. At least upper end of 3rd grader. My wife and I both had a chuckle.

Edit: And all ideas are very gratefully received.

 

[Russell King]

Perhaps attach the rear of the mower to the tractor bumper but use the FEL at the front of the mower to lift it up and provide the motive force?

Hinged at the tractor or possibly some parallel linkages?

That might shorten it up some but may still block your view?

I don’t know how the tractor wheels would be in relation to the mower placement so watch for any interference there.

 

[Paul Allwood]

Perhaps attach the rear of the mower to the tractor bumper but use the FEL at the front of the mower to lift it up and provide the motive force?

Hinged at the tractor or possibly some parallel linkages?

That might shorten it up some but may still block your view?

I don’t know how the tractor wheels would be in relation to the mower placement so watch for any interference there.

Thanks Russell.

 

[Paul Allwood]

So, I made some linkages using some 16 mm class 8.8 threaded rod and some 16 mm rod ends to allow for up/down and sideways movement. I attached these to brackets that I temporarily bolted to the mower front bumper and the back end of the mower. I made the linkages short to get the mower close to the front of the tractor thinking that it would minimise any effect on steering and minimise the overall length. The cutter drum isn't fitted yet, but this gave me enough to push it around on the grass just to see how it looked and felt.





Here's a couple of videos of pushing over a rough spot in our "lawn" where there are some tree roots. The linkages seem to work ok.

I was also keen to see what effect it had on steering. I'm surprised that it was barely noticeable.

3 September 2026

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I think I could use it with the loader on the tractor or removed. The view from the seat to the mower was actually ok.



The linkages and brackets I made aren't intended to be used long term as they are bolted on. I need to come up with an easier way to connect and disconnect. I need to find a front quick hitch I can copy or invent my own.

I'm not sure if I need a way to lift the mower while in use, so not sure if I want to try and incorporate the loader SSQA, or make some other lift arrangement, or none....?? Once again, I'm open to all thoughts and suggestions, with or without pictures of birds and the sun.

 

[Russell King]

I think that if you put the FEL out towards the front as flat as it can go as shown in @Runs With Scissors sketch and then chained the FEL to the mower you could lift the front of the mower by curling the FEL. I definitely think you will need to support and lift the mower at some time in its life. I think crossing deep swales would be difficult without lifting it.

That looks good so far though!

 

[imarobot]

And another suggestion.
What about plates mounted on the tractor that have vertical slots cut in them, two plates per bracket with a plate on each side of each bracket. The mower brackets could mount to the plates with pins, and the mower could move up and down within the limit set by the length of the slot.
This would also limit side to side movement if the plates are made strong enough.

 

[Paul Allwood]

Today I got the cutter drum fitted and also the pulleys and belts. The loader and a chain came in handy to get it up to a good working height.







To try and make it easy to connect and disconnect at the front of the tractor I made a "medium" hitch - it's not really slow but it's not quick, so medium it is.

Receiver brackets are attached to the tractor front bumper.



A piece of square tube with linkages attached that's all part of the mower rests on the lower arm of the brackets.



With the rear roller and front caster wheels it's easy to push the mower in then drop a bolt in the hole each side to lock it in place. It'll do for now.

4 September 2026

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Locked in place.





The next challenge - cutting the PTO shaft to length. I measured the shortest distance between the locking pin grooves on each PTO spline as 410 mm.



I didn't realise how long the uni joints are at each end of a PTO shaft they take up about 200 mm each before the sliding tube starts. So it's not possible to cut what I think is a standard shaft down to 410 mm. If I allow for 400 mm of sliding tube (I'm guessing this minimum length) the shortest shaft from locking pin to locking pin will be about 800 mm.

Here's the PTO shaft I bought after I cut it to 800 mm from locking pin to locking pin.



The only way I can see that I can make this work is to move the mower further forward by about 400 mm by extending the threaded rods.

Am I missing something ?

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Just off the top of my head,

What about an "intermediate shaft" of some sort?

 

[Paul Allwood]

Just off the top of my head,

What about an "intermediate shaft" of some sort?


View attachment 178913

Haha, a bird, the sun AND a gopher - your artistic skill knows no bounds.

I'm not sure I follow how 2 shafts would work. I've only got 400 mm and can't fit one shaft. What am I not understanding ?

 

[Paul Allwood]

Started making bits to extend the threaded rod linkages. I don't have enough threaded rod, but I found a length of rusty black steel pipe at the back of the rack.

Turned a small step in the nut to centre it in the pipe.



Edit - just noticed there's a dead spider inside the pipe. I think it would be dead and cooked now.

Welded a nut into both ends of the pipe



Screw in some threaded rod and added a locking nut. Instant extended linkages.



That's it for today - back at it tomorrow.

 

[Chanceywd]

I believe it would have to be cut to an overall length a little less that your 400 mm so it isn't putting pressure on both ends. There is some minimum overlap that is required.
A couple years ago I was fitting a WC68 chipper to my 8n and my Kubota L2501.
It required me having 2 different shafts and one was so close I wound up taking off all the plastic guarding permanently.
Maybe take yours off while you are fitting so you can verify the overlap easier?



I am not advocating not using safety devices, but at some point it became a hindrance for me even just trying to hook it up.

Bill

 

[Russell King]

Could you mount a slip clutch to the existing stub shaft and just have one universal joint involved? In other words just eliminate the sliding part of the shaft completely?

But I really think you only need around 100 to 150 mm of overlap on the shaft. Why are you thinking of 400 mm total?

Of course you need some extra space for the shaft to collapse but your mower seem rigidly mounted at the distance shown by your picture above. So maybe you just need the shaft short enough to fit onto the stub on the mower and then extend into locking position with 100 mm overlap remaining.

 

[GBJeffOH]

I currently have a mid mount mower that I remove when not needed, but it's a horrible job, especially the underneath PTO shaft connection and disconnection. The mower deck is about half deck and half rust with several holes and lots of patches welded on from before I got it.

There's got to be a better way !

I'm thinking I'll just make a new deck and transfer the gearbox, spindle assemblies etc, and make some decent castor wheels so it can track the ground like a proper finish mower.

Connecting and disconnecting at the 3 point would be easy, but the PTO speed is too low as the mower currently runs from the 2500 rpm mid PTO.

I'm wondering if I can extend the forward facing mid PTO out the front, and run mount the mower in front of the tractor....a smaller version of the pic below.

View attachment 175730

It looks like a decent idea - easy to see the mower, able to get under overhanging trees....

Just thoughts for now. Any input appreciated (unless you suggest I just go out and buy something - you'd be wasting your typing time with that ).

If anyone has any info on the front PTO option for a B7200, that would also be great.

Tractor time with Tim had a problem with the PTO turning backwards.