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Turbo Twister

Homemade mowers/brush hogs

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i think yellow would  just fine .... (eye catching for sure!)  ... I've been looking at the rear wheel setup ....maybe I'm  not seeing what you are but doesn't look like that bar will be in the way of the rear discharge  chute, or is there something I'm not seeing ? and one question ... where do you plan on mounting the power plant, in this older pic ... right up front would ( center of those braces most likely ) be a good place. another plus would be a shorter drive belt. you could build a slightly elevated platform .... and i don't think hitch weight would be an issue 

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11 hours ago, _Wilson_™ said:

i think yellow would  just fine .... (eye catching for sure!)  ... I've been looking at the rear wheel setup ....maybe I'm  not seeing what you are but doesn't look like that bar will be in the way of the rear discharge  chute, or is there something I'm not seeing ? and one question ... where do you plan on mounting the power plant, in this older pic ... right up front would ( center of those braces most likely ) be a good place. another plus would be a shorter drive belt. you could build a slightly elevated platform .... and i don't think hitch weight would be an issue 

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So the issue I have with the rear wheels the way they are currently set up is that the adjuster bar isn't high enough above the deck to get a decent ground clearance height, or at least not one I'm happy with. The bar wouldn't be a major issue running across the chute apart from stones flying etc but I think I have come up with a better design for the problem anyway.

 

I want to keep the engine roughly over the rear/middle of the deck, transferring the majority of weight to the back wheels rather than the rear axle of the quad. This should also aid in keeping decent traction of the mower on uneven ground as I have been told the engine is about 25kg with the battery and key start etc.. hopefully I can get it in the coming weeks so I can start refitting parts and organising where everything will go.

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Here's the setup for the front linkage, I'm happy how it has worked out, when the mower is at its lowest height, the top link is at its shortest length, so it now has a minimum cutting height at the front at least. I will double check this when the rear wheels are fit and it's attached to the quad. I'm currently waiting on a 16mm steel drilling bit and 6x 16mm steel pins for said top links so I can bolt them in place.

 

More to come later today.

 

Next step is to modify the tow hitch I bought for the quad, it's far too long and high, so I'm going to modify it into a swan neck type hitch that can tow with a ball or a pin.

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Update from earlier**

 

I spent quite a lot of time thinking about how to fix the rear wheels independently of eachother, and the pictures show what I have come up with. I don't expect I'll get the 16mm steel drill bit this week but if I do all the better!

 

I just etch primed the new bracket on the deck and the wheel castor frame, I will make the other side tomorrow and give them all another coat.

 

I also sprayed the inside of the belt and pulley housing with a few coats of yellow, it will need more as it's a difficult colour to bring out perfectly, even after 2 or 3 coats.

 

Overall I'm very happy with what I've done, also eliminating any fixed steel cutting across the path of the outfeed chute. More tomorrow folks!

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nicce work...almost makes me want to learn how to weld.  what I really wish I had was a ATV front mount brush mower...most everything OEM and affordable seem to be pull-behind....most times I need to enter with the blades first..ie like you would with a DR walk-behind.

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55 minutes ago, Bighanded said:

nicce work...almost makes me want to learn how to weld.  what I really wish I had was a ATV front mount brush mower...most everything OEM and affordable seem to be pull-behind....most times I need to enter with the blades first..ie like you would with a DR walk-behind.

Thanks @Bighanded! I decided to make my own due to the lack of small scale ones available on the market and at a reasonable price. I also will need to make a 2 wheeled trolley for this to fit it through my side gate for storage as I won't have room for it in the garage when its built.

 

I learned to weld through a farmer friend of mine that I met during a forestry course we did together 11 years ago, it took me a long time to get the knack of it and I'm only getting good at it now!

 

I had thought about making up a front mounting bracket for my own bike but for now, I just want to get out and mow some grass!😁

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Got a lot of paint work done today, I also welded up the other wheel frame, it needs a slight adjustment to widen the opening where the top link will bolt on, I left it a bit tight!

 

I just used whatever bars I could find to throw it all together for a few photos! Overall I'm very happy with the result, with the 3 top links it's so easy to tweak the height of the deck in 3 areas, front, left and right, even when the engine is fit this should be easy to adjust.

 

I contacted the engine seller today about getting the engine sometime in the next few weeks. He is back working again due to demand of maintenance from those with lawn mowers issues.

 

For your interest @_Wilson_™, the engine is clockwise rotating, so this will suit the existing setup just fine. The guy suggested using a manually operated spring loaded tensioner pulley rather than an electrically operated one, he reckons they give less hassle down the line.

 

The old blades sure are wrecked! I dry fit 2 new blades but am finding an issue with the blades not tightening up against the drums?? Would the excess paint in the hollowing of the metal drums be the problem? Either that or I think I'll need to use a spring washer between the drum and lock nut?!

 

I also replaced the 4x bearings in the bearing houses for the spindles that rotate the drums, this project is moving along nicely.

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looking good! i think from the looks there not suppose to be tight against the drum.... this pic kind of gives an idea ... say.. you were to strike a rock.... the blade would pivot on the bolt ... causing less blade / belt .. and drive shock. 

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23 minutes ago, _Wilson_™ said:

looking good! i think from the looks there not suppose to be tight against the drum.... this pic kind of gives an idea ... say.. you were to strike a rock.... the blade would pivot on the bolt ... causing less blade / belt .. and drive shock. 

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I thought about that alright. I just hope they're not too slack that if I was to fit all 8 blades on the 2 drums, none of them would clash. Although I think there's plenty of room for them to move.

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i think you'd be fine with eight  blades ... being that cog pulley, and drive belt would keep the blades  in time ... however .... i am curious as to why the original owner had only two on each disk ?? .... my 1st thought would be not enough power to spin eight , OR he was using it in very heavy overgrowth... 

 

I've been looking at a few engine driven flail mower's i figured you'd like to see some of these ... lol I've used these bigger pto driven models ... one main issues is vibration .... and rotor wrap from twine, wire etc etc.. 

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just gotta ask !!, why didn't you make those rear wheels so they could pivot ? ( like caster wheels do ), seems it will be hard on the wheels and deck when you go to make turns ?. 

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2 hours ago, shadetree said:

just gotta ask !!, why didn't you make those rear wheels so they could pivot ? ( like caster wheels do ), seems it will be hard on the wheels and deck when you go to make turns ?. 

It looks like it would tow like a trailer to me, with 360 casters and a trailer hitch it would be wonky backing it up..... just my thinking...

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i would think so, to  it would be walking all over the place .... a caster on farm equipment is usually used on rigid mounted implements .... but a locking caster might ?? would work good, for off setting the deck ? and sence there's no direct drive line ... (pto shaft) to bind up... 

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4 hours ago, shadetree said:

just gotta ask !!, why didn't you make those rear wheels so they could pivot ? ( like caster wheels do ), seems it will be hard on the wheels and deck when you go to make turns ?. 

The issue with castor wheels for me anyway, would be the deck creeping to one side if running across an elevated bank, at least with fixed wheels the mower should stay behind the bike. But I did think about rotating castors, I have another plan up my sleeve to have a detachable pair of wheels that fixes to one end of the deck, so that I can remove the drawbar and rear wheels, lift up the other end and wheel the mower through my side gate into storage, I might even use the wheels I have, but have 2 uses for them. I'll draw that on paper later on if you don't get what I'm saying, I have to make this quite practical too.

 

The other advantage is that because the wheels are so far away from the hitch, turning shouldn't be an issue. I might attach it to the quad later today and test the turning capabilities of it in my garden

Edited by Turbo Twister
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I hate to be the Devil's Advocate , but I don't think you are going to control the mower with your ATV too well , it is going to control you , from watching a ATV with a cultivator on the back of it trying to do food plots , it doesn't work very well  , you are going to tear the ground all up when you try and turn , are you looking to do rough cut or a fine cut , fine cut I doubt is going to happen 

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10 minutes ago, Fishfiles said:

I hate to be the Devil's Advocate , but I don't think you are going to control the mower with your ATV too well , it is going to control you , from watching a ATV with a cultivator on the back of it trying to do food plots , it doesn't work very well  , you are going to tear the ground all up when you try and turn , are you looking to do rough cut or a fine cut , fine cut I doubt is going to happen 

It was designed for a fine cut for a ride on mower, but it lacked the height adjustment for rough cutting. Now it has the height for rough cutting, I would say if you wanted a fine cut just use a ride on mower?

 

I see where you're coming from though, I would say that maybe the rear wheels should be wider perhaps? To reduce rutting of the ground should it be soft in places?

 

I still have to add bolting points for the offset positions for the drawbar, and from working with silage harvesters in the past, I know it's a lot easier to turn an implement that is offset to one side than one that is directly behind a tractor/atv.

 

Now is the time to fix any issues though before I get the engine on so thanks for your input. 

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I had a bit of fun on the front lawn, not that it's very big! I figured out the the outer turning circle of the quad is approximately 7.4m.. the mower directly behind it follows as I'd hoped and turning with it is pretty good too. Obviously if the ground was wet I would probably be tearing it a little, more so with the quad than the mower I would think due to the thread? It also turns really well in reverse, with the wheels right at the back this is always a bonus. I have a 6x4 trailer and the wheels are too dark forward for my liking, I have found that any trailer with the wheels at least 2/3 the length of a trailer overall back on the bed is the best for reverse steering, otherwise you'll be back and forth all day long!

 

I'll weld on another bracket to the left of the mower so I can offset it to the right, after a lot of thought I dont see the point in having the offset on both sides as I can do the same cut driving in one direction.

 

Very pleased also with the height adjust, it's very easy to fine tune it with a pin to twist the top links, and a nut to secure the height from vibration.

It should be a lot less wobbly when I finally drill out the holes to their correct size but I'm still waiting on the drill bit!

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Thanks Wilson, it's coming along nicely alright, even the father was impressed. I didn't do a lot today ad I ended up cleaning the van out, the only thing I did do was cut an angle off the tops of the 3x mounting points for the the drawbar because I cut myself badly when turning the top link, so no more sharp edges. 

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10 minutes ago, _Wilson_™ said:

man! i hate to hear that! buddy.... hope it's not too bad. 

Still breathing lol! I just nicked a big lump off the back of a finger, second time this week, nothing major thanks!

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My donor engine has arrived! Along with most of the mower it came with! Initially, i was due to receive a 13.5hp engine but it turns out that it was seized, so I was given a 10hp engine instead, and I didn't have to pay a penny for it, I will give something back in return though, a favour for a favour etc..

 

I have a big repair job to do on one of our parapet walls first so once that job is done I can start stripping back to the engine and electrics, more photos in a few days time.

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Just a quick ? ... what did you use for under coating this deck ? I've been thinking of under coating mine ... .. after all some of us actually wash the underside of the deck ... to keep rust down due to THAT crud (wet grass dirt ) build up.... seen quiet a few rusted out decks ... mostly around the spindles .... but I'm sure vibration (blade balance) is also an issue ... 

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