Bat Wing Rotary Mower

Bat Wing Rotary Mower MOWERS Mowers (31H) 29-3-34 Ken Voigt's bat wing rotary mower covers the ground fast and can handle just about anything he sends its way. Mounted on the front end of a Gilson lawn tractor, it even sports its own motor. All Gilson has to do is drive. "I picked the Gilson up about five years ago for $90," says Voigt. "I got it for the wheels, but when I brought it home and fired it up, it worked fine, so I mowed with it. The deck mower mounted on it was so heavy duty that I could jack the whole tractor up with it to sharpen its bevel gear blades." He needed a bigger mower, though, so he rebuilt it using 3-in. angle iron for the main frame. Big caster wheels mount to legs that extend down from the frame. The center mower deck hangs from the frame corners by cables, which feed to a ratchet wheel at the right corner. The two wing decks are hinged to the center deck. To raise or lower all three decks, Voigt simply releases the ratchet dog and turns the wheel. A gear reduction system makes it easy to raise the decks. Two upright posts welded to the front and rear of the middle deck act as stabilizers. They ride between sets of nylon rubbing blocks and prevent excess movement from side to side. A 12 1/2 hp Briggs and Stratton engine mounts on a steel plate on rollers on two tracks over the center deck. A handle that Voigt can reach from the driver's seat allows him to engage the mower drive by moving the engine. This tightens the drive belts in a straight line. Two sets of belts run to each deck. "Belts last a lot longer if they are tightened by pulling them in a straight line," says Voigt. Spring-loaded rods run from uprights mounted from the outside edges of the wing decks to uprights on the left and right sides of the center deck. When down, these rods help support the decks on rough ground as do skid bars underneath the decks. The rods also allow the two deck wings to be folded up when not needed. The center deck has three blades, while one wing deck has two blades and the other a single blade. Voigt mounts special homemade blades on the center deck when chopping up garden residue or heavy weeds. "They have cutting edges made from corn chopper knives and can go into corn stalks, brush or anything," says Voight. To fabricate the blades, he has to score the chopper knives and break off sections about 1 1/4 in. wide. He then welds them to the mild steel centers and grinds them down. Voigt cautions that welding high carbon steel to mild steel requires a low hydrogen welding rod. This prevents formation of a layer of gas between the two metals. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ken Voigt, 9208 Pasture Lane, Wausau, Wis. 54403 (ph 715 842-8471; email: KV57@ aol.com).

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