Dun

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I agree about the 5" of crown left on the orchard grass.
What kind of mower are you using to leave that high of a crown?
We have a Krone disc mower, and it makes a mess when you try to leave more. I am OK with scraggly, but the tractor driver wants it to look like a 5" military hair cut.

What are you doing different?

Chuckie
 
Chuckie":3kyok8uc said:
I agree about the 5" of crown left on the orchard grass.
What kind of mower are you using to leave that high of a crown?
We have a Krone disc mower, and it makes a mess when you try to leave more. I am OK with scraggly, but the tractor driver wants it to look like a 5" military hair cut.

What are you doing different?

Chuckie

Topping shoes. They are devices that replace the normal part that skids on the ground. They raise the cutter by however big they are. I'll be building a new set for cutting the WSG next year. That stuff needs to be around 7 inches.
 
Dun,
The disc mower is down, so I cannot look under the bar where the blades are mounted. I do see a "U" shaped bar just below the PTO shaft area where the mower glides along the ground directly behind the three point hitch area. Then the next place that I can tell that it touches, is the wide bar itself where the discs are.
Are you welding anyting to the bar? I cannot tell if there is a skid plate where the first disc is or even at the end. Or are you just welding the first plate behind the tractor? Are you welding something that completely covers the bottom of the bar?
Chuckie
 
On most if not all mowers there are replaceable skid plates. Ours happens to have 4, some more, some less. Seems like the ones with a wheel on the far end only have one and it's next to the 3 pt. They're removable because the eventually wear through. I looked at the Krone site and a search for topping came back blank, they apparantly call them skid shoes. You may want to check with a Krone dealer.
http://www.krone-northamerica.com/
 
We call them rock guards. Don't know why, cause we don't have any rocks.

Dun, what do you weld to them. Is it ski-like or what. Also, how many do you use? Seems like one on both ends would work or do you replace each plate with a modified plate?
 
Each plat, old truck springs welded to a bracket that bolts in place of the other ones.
 
dun":8osi0nph said:
Each plat, old truck springs welded to a bracket that bolts in place of the other ones.

Gotcha, that's a good idea. I was having some trouble cutting the millet too low and this will be a sure fix for it next year. Thanks.
 
Thanks Dun! You are still my hero. I am going to do a little research since you've headed me in the right direction.

Jogeephus, everytime I see your picture, it cracks me up. If I were to meet you and you didn't look like that, I would be dissappointed.
And yes, I do look exactly like my picture.
Chuckie
 
i put the high skid shoes on my JD (kuhn). It does enable me to cut higher. Downfall is that because the blades are more level than aiming down, the cut is not as clean.
 
Chuckie":1bcggq0z said:
I agree about the 5" of crown left on the orchard grass.
What kind of mower are you using to leave that high of a crown?
We have a Krone disc mower, and it makes a mess when you try to leave more. I am OK with scraggly, but the tractor driver wants it to look like a 5" military hair cut.

What are you doing different?

Chuckie

I kinda collect those sales brochures from the dealerships and I know I have seen those topping shoes on some brand of mower. I remember reading that they use them for topping seed clover in Holland or something. They bolt on in place of the standard skid plate and disc guard that bolts to the front and underside of the cutterbar. Usually you remove 2-4 bolts (depending on the model) and then slide the skid shoes off and the topping shoes bolt on in their place.

If the grass is thin and the mower puts out a lot of wind (some models/brands put out a lot more wind than others) it's going to be a lot more ragged cut as the grass blows away from the cutter disks before it's cut. Same thing if it's heavy and lodged. If it's thick and standing well shouldn't be as bad. Course most bermudagrass fields around here look like they were cut by a drunk with a bush-hog around here because nobody sharpens or changes their blades... Oh well... Good luck! OL JR :)
 
Thanks cowtrek, I appreciate that info. Helps me to understand a little better with what is going on. I have searched for something that might be similar. The wind pushing the grass over makes sense. The Orchard grass and clover is thick, but not strong enough to keep from being pushed around before the wind and blades come.
I still have all winter to work on this problem. I just hope it is enough time!
Chuckie
 

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