Need a better weed wacker

[Highbeam]

Think about how fast a mower spins. Now think a bout that mass breaking off and going into your ankle. That could sever a foot.

That's what I was getting at. The first few times you mow will be the nastiest. You'll be hitting sticks and rocks as you lower the deck. After awhile, the big ones will be gone and it will be much easier on the equipment.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

Take out that muffler screen, that will wake it up some.

 

[maple1]

Update. I did a search on you tube, and I'm not the only one that has tried to convert a mower to brush hog. One guy took two mower blades, cut of the two ends off and bolted two swing blades on the ends. he says it has worked well to save the blade and motor shaft when you hit a rock.
My daughter had almost new Sears 21 inch push mower she donated to the project. Maybe 20 minutes to do 300' of the ditch. What a time saver over the weed walker method.

Now the issue. On section is almost rock less so I got carried away and lowered the deck, for a manicured look. Bad move, another section has a lot random size rocks. After hitting one after another I started hitting every one I went over. What had happened was the blade ends.bent, straight up and down. Jammed a rock between the blade and the bottom of the engine. Luckily it didn't go thru the engine. I took a trailer load of rock out of the ditch. I will replace the blade a raise the deck and give it another try. If I find time I will make a swing blade for it. Any one know if they make these type of blades for mowers?

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The old family farm house here got tore down last year, and where it stood plus the immediate yard around it got quickly covered with stuff that was way more gravel than top soil. I am mowing it this year (more cutting weeds than grass), and it has taken a few passes of the mower and picking of rocks to get to where I am now - doing it with the deck at same height as the rest of the lawns. After the initial rock pick, start with mower all the way up, and do another rock pick. Next time you can lower a notch, and do another pick afterwards. Repeat. I thought I had it nice & level & most of the rocks out before I started over it with a mower last fall - but they seem to grow.

 

[Lake Girl]

but they seem to grow.

Same here ... just surrounding soils settle away from the larger rocks so there they are! Wind & water in all it's forms can do some interesting things

 

[begreen]

We grow rocks, lots of them on our property. I can have a garden bed completely stone free and the next year there will be several rocks in it. This is life on pile of glacial moraine and till.

 

[semipro]

We grow rocks, lots of them on our property. I can have a garden bed completely stone free and the next year there will be several rocks in it. This is life on pile of glacial moraine and till.

Its interesting how that happens: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granular_convection

 

[Grateful11]

We grow rocks, lots of them on our property. I can have a garden bed completely stone free and the next year there will be several rocks in it. This is life on pile of glacial moraine and till.

We live in the middle of a full-time farm that our son owns and some fields have quite a few rocks. They still do tillage so that most likely brings up more rocks each year. He can pick up a tons of rocks one season and there's more the next. I've been told this happens more during a severe Winter like we had last Winter, many nights in single digits. The freezing and thawing of the ground supposedly pushes up rocks, no proof just what I've been told. Most of the soil here is red clay.

 

[Ashful]

Interesting. This joint was farmed from at least 1773 until maybe 1986. I hand-dug and planted 42 Norway Spruce trees, and noted that on tree number 40, I had not yet hit a single rock. Not one. I figured maybe all those years of farming had turned up every rock there was, and they'd been removed to another location.

On tree number 41, I think I found that location. Nothing but rocks. Still amazes me I dug the first 40 without a single rock, tho.

 

[Lake Girl]

Had to pile those rocks somewhere right? I've got three rock piles on 2.25 acres and still have large rocks hiding around the edges and mostly buried in the yard. Lots of material brought in from when the highway ditches were re-dug over 10 years ago.

 

[firefighterjake]

Interesting article . . . makes sense now why every so often my mower hits another rock that wasn't in the yard a year or so previously.