Gravely Mower Cuts X-Mas Trees

Gravely Mower Cuts X-mas Trees FARM HOME Lawn Mowers (31h,38) 17-2-7 "We've cut more than 2,000 trees a year for the past eight seasons with no problems or maintenance at all other than coating the blade with grease to prevent rusting," says Kenneth D. Scheetz, Coshocton, Ohio, about the tree cutter he made out of a Gravely self-propelled mower. He says it would also work great for clearing brush and small trees from land for anyone who doesn't need it for tree cutting. Scheetz simply converted a standard 30-in. rotary mower deck by cutting out an 8-in. wide, 12-in. deep notch on the front. He then replaced the original mower blade with a circular 24-in. dia., 65-tooth carbide tipped saw made with .150 in. thick stock by a manufacturer near his home. "It can be adjusted from 2 1/2 in. to 4 1/ 2 in. off the ground using Gravely spacers provided with the mower. We adjust height depending on field conditions to minimize saw contact with rocks or frozen ground. Since the saw blade is en-closed, except for the cutting slot, I consider it to be safe. It requires minimum physical effort to operate. We fit it with chains in slippery conditions. "Actual cutting time of a 4 to 6-in. trunk is about one second. It helps to have a helper there to pull the tree backwards - either by hand or with a pitchfork- to keep the tree from setting on the saw blade and causing a stall. "We can cut a stand of trees at a rate of 300 trees per hour without the wet knees and needles down the neck which go with the job when using a chain saw." Contact FARM SHOW Followup, Kenneth D. Scheetz, Scheetz Christmas Tree Farm, 2297 Cambridge Rd., State Route 541 East, Coshocton, Ohio 43812 (ph 614 622-3656).

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