Sometimes adjusting the rear swivel wheel on the mower can help you get the desired cutting height. The following article may help explain.
Height of Cut
The most common error with the use of rotary cutters is cutting too low. Rotary cutters are not designed to be finish mowers. If you want to cut turfgrass two inches high, you should use a lawn mower or a finishing mower (also called a “grooming mower”). Since a rotary cutter typically has a wide deck with only one large blade (or multiple large blades on wide commercial and agricultural units) and only one gage wheel, it cannot follow ground contours and is prone to scalping if run too low. The lowest recommended cutting height for a rotary cutter is three inches. To achieve the desired cutting height on a typical 3-point hitch mounted rotary cutter, you must do two things. First, you must adjust the rear gage wheel to the desired height, and then you must set the 3-point hitch control to hold the front of the mower deck at the correct height. You should make these adjustments with the tractor and mower parked on solid, level ground – preferably pavement. The gage wheel may have a slide adjustment, a series of holes for adjustment, or a stack of bushings that are moved above or below the collar. Set the deck approximately level with the 3-point hitch, measure the height from the ground to the cutting edge of the blade at the rear (with the tractor turned off), and then adjust as needed to obtain a cutting height of at least three inches.
