Shop-Built Rotary Mower Saved Him $2,000

Shop-Built Rotary Mower Saved Him $2,000 MOWERS Mowers (31H) 21-4-6 "The biggest problem with commercial rotary mowers is their price, with some of the new ones selling for $2,600 or more," says LeRoy Ream who built his own 6-ft. rotary mower out of odds and ends for about $350. The Sarasota, Fla., farmer built the 6-ft. deck, which is 8 in. deep, out of 7 ga. sheet steel. He mounted an Acme gearbox off an old rotary mower on 3/8-in. thick steel plate that mounts on lateral braces. Ream notes that the gearbox and blade units must be anchored securely for safety's sake. Two 28-in. blades are fitted with knife blades off reel-type golf course mowers. They're welded to the top and bottom of the mower blades and extend 1 in. beyond the forward cutting edge. Blades are carefully weighed and balanced to prevent vibration, Ream notes. He used the rear wheel off an old rotary mower on the deck and built an A-frame bracket to mount it on the 3-pt. hitch on his 50 hp Massey tractor. He uses a chain running from the top link back to the deck, in-stead of a metal brace used on most commercial units, to allow the mower to rise and fall with the contour of the ground. "I use it to mow 50 to 100 acres a year, including eight to ten acres of horse pasture I mow every two weeks," says Ream. "In good conditions, I can mow two to three acres an hour running it at 540 rpm's at a height of 3 in. Because the deck is 8 in. deep, it doesn't plug as easily as some commercial units with shallower decks." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, LeRoy Ream, Sandhill Farms, 5846 Old Ranch Rd., Sarasota, Fla. 34241-9774 (ph 941 924-9992).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.