Ganged Front Mowers Cut 80 Inch Swath

Ganged front mowers cut 80 inch swath FARM HOME Lawn Mowers (31h,38) 16-1-16 Mounting four brand new 20-in. Lawnboy mower decks in a frame attached to the front of a garden tractor helps Ontario fanner Basil Leonard give his 5 acres of farmyard a hand-groomed appearance that he says he couldn't get with a pull-behind mower. "I had been using a Woods mower on the back of my 1035 Massey tractor but I wasn't happy with the quality of the cut and the fact that the tractor had to rev at a high rate of rpm's to power it. I wanted to find a way to cut the grass before driving on it and get the quality of a hand mower cut. I also wanted to cut a wider swath to save time mowing," says Leonard. He first designed a tube steel frame which attaches to the front of the tractor on a pivoting universal-type joint. The front of the frame is supported by two caster wheels. Inside the frame, he mounted four new 20-in. rotary mower decks. "They're connected by link chain in such a way that they float up and down yet are held in perfect relationship to one and other," says Leonard. The wheels on the sides and back of the frame are caster-mounted except for three inside wheels which are mounted on a common axle - one wheel between every two mowers. The four connected mowers are then attached to the steel frame by a series of chain links and brackets. "The net result is that I can now mow approximately 81 in. per pass. I cut the grass in half the time and achieve the quality of a hand-mown job. Not driving on the grass before I cut it makes a big difference and, most important, the tractor runs virtu-ally at idle. "Total cost of the project was $1,800, including four Lawn Boy mowers at $300 apiece and $600 for the frame, wheels and modification to mowers." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Basil J. Leonard, Rt. 4, Sunderland, Ontario LOC 1HO Canada (ph 705 357-2406).

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