Site maintenance involves a number of activities. Their implementation is mandatory. Including lawn mowing. Traditional methods of harvesting greenery are becoming a thing of the past. They were replaced by equipment with additional units and devices. To date, a walk-behind tractor with various devices that come with it is used to cultivate a piece of land. It is not always possible to purchase ready-made mounted units. Then a homemade rotary mower for a walk-behind tractor comes to the rescue.
Rotary Mower Features
Mower rotary mounted for walk-behind tractor is used for mowing grass. If the grass is low, then the mower will simply grind it. The unit will cut higher grass. It can be dried for hay. Already with a grass height of 6-8 cm, you can use a mower. Moreover, the degree of grinding still depends on the speed of movement. At high speed, the grass is more crushed. And if you need to mow the vegetation for hay, then you need to go slower. On average, an 8-12 km long strip can be removed per hour of work. This means that the device is able to work when the walk-behind tractor is moving at a speed of 8-12 km / h.
The device of a rotary mower for a walk-behind tractor is quite simple. Therefore, it is made independently. The grass is cut by knives which are established on working disks. Discs are assembled in pairs. The lower disk rotates, and the knives rotate with it. The movement is transmitted from the walk-behind tractor through the power take-off shaft (PTO).
Homemade mowers most often allow you to capture a plot with a width of 110-115 cm. The working bodies rotate at a speed of about 1500 rpm. Elements of the device that rotate must be covered with a casing. This is necessary for safety reasons.
Required Materials
As raw materials choose:
- Discs from a seeder for planting grain in the amount of 2 pieces.
- Chain from chainsaw gearbox.
- Metal knives (8 pcs).
- Shinka.
- Opener.
In addition, you may need bolts, nuts and other small parts that are usually in the garage of any owner.
Tools
For the manufacture of a rotary mower for a walk-behind tractor you will need: a drill with drills,screwdriver, grinder with cutting wheels, pliers. If the elements are connected by welding, then you will need a welding machine. All parts can be bolted together. But this will take more time and effort. But if there is no welding or a familiar welder, then you can do the work in a similar way.
Prepare all the necessary materials and tools in advance. In this case, you will not need to be distracted by searching for the necessary details. Work will be completed faster if everything you need is at hand.
Frame Making
The process of manufacturing a rotary mower for a walk-behind tractor begins with the manufacture of a frame. All work items will be attached to it. The frame is made of a metal corner or other metal parts. The frame must be attached to the walk-behind tractor and hold the work items.
Preparing knife discs
The second stage in the manufacture of a rotary mower for a walk-behind tractor is the preparation of disks with knives.
You need to take 2 discs from the seeder. Each of them is attached to 4 knives. Knives are made from hardened metal. In order to save time and effort, you can use the rotor from the tractor. Only in this case, you need to remember that the length of the rotor should be reduced by about 4 cm. This will improve traction.
To fix the knives on the disk, you need to prepare holes. Each disc is drilled with a drill with a diameter of 6 mm. Knives are fastened with a shank. For the correct operation of the device, a gap is left between the tavern and the knife, the heightwhich is a couple of millimeters (1-2 mm is enough) more than the thickness of the knife itself. In addition, the gap will allow you to perform 2 nuances at once. The knives will rotate 360 degrees. Due to this, when hitting something hard, the knife will turn, but not break. As the disc rotates, centrifugal force will be generated. Under its influence, the knives will straighten and cut the grass.
Knives are fixed on the axis. It is made using carbon steel. Moreover, it is not recommended to make the axis too thin. The minimum axle diameter must be 0.8 cm. To avoid unnecessary free rotation of the knives, the axle is tightened to the stop.
Connecting parts
When all the individual parts of the rotary mower for the walk-behind tractor are assembled, they can be connected together. The discs are attached to an already finished frame. After that, a connection is made between the power take-off shaft of the walk-behind tractor and the working elements. In this case, it is necessary to strictly observe the direction of movement of the disks. They should rotate in different directions, that is, towards each other. This is done with the aim that the cut grass is folded in a row, and not scattered throughout the site.
In the manufacture of the mower, it is very important that the fastening of all elements is reliable. When mowing, the discs rotate at high speeds. In the event of a breakage of the fastening, the parts will scatter in different directions. They can hurt others.
Connecting the mower to the walk-behind tractor
Rotor mower toThe walk-behind tractor will work effectively only if it is properly connected to the equipment. Therefore, a few simple rules must be followed.
To perform work, the walk-behind tractor is switched to the "reverse" mode. A connecting node is installed in the hitch socket. Only after that the power take-off shaft is connected. The connection is locked by pins with a spring. If the spring is missing, the hitch will fail.
During operation, rotating elements (knives in particular) must be covered with a protective cover. Work must be safe. There is no need to rush when mowing. This is especially true when cornering. These sections should be done smoothly. You need to start mowing at low speeds.
For soil cultivation, loads are attached to the wheels of the walk-behind tractor. When mowing grass, they are not necessary. Therefore, they must be removed before work.
User reviews
Reviews of a rotary mower for a walk-behind tractor indicate that all efforts to manufacture the device are not in vain. It mows well, copes with most types of grasses. Of course, small shrubs may not be overcome. The main thing is that the knives are well sharpened.
If we talk about devices with two rotors, which is discussed in this article, then users are quite satisfied. But if you make a mower with only one rotor, then you get too narrow a swath.
As for mowing the lawn, of course, there are some disadvantages. Adjust cutting heightyou can't, like in lawn mowers. Yes, and the grass is scattered around the site, and is not collected in a bag. But these moments are not always important.
Mowed grass is going into a swath. Not quite "beautiful", really. But if we are talking about lawn grass, then it still needs to be collected. And this is better than doing it all over the site. And if we are talking about grasses for hay, then the resulting swath must be scattered. Otherwise, the grass will not dry out. So it turns out that this characteristic is not so important. Most likely, this will depend on the specific tasks that are achieved through the use of a mower. Therefore, we can say with confidence that a do-it-yourself rotary mower for a walk-behind tractor is a good alternative to factory devices. If it is executed correctly and reliably, then it will perform its functions perfectly.
