This is one of my son in laws bush hog. The 3 point hookup was bent, sides bent in. Deck in front of gear box was rusted out also

Straighten them out with a porta power .Once straight ,weld a cross brace in between the two sides level with the pegs. Use some kind of tube as a cross brace as it will be stronger then angle iron .

Looks bomb proof now, Brother hanco

Front bucket was bent also

If anyone can tear it up, be that son in law.

I got one needs desperate attention

What is bent on the bucket?

Reading comprehension, Brother

Bush hog most abused equipment on farm. 2nd is the front bucket on any tractor. Looks like it will take some effort this time. Mighty fine job.

The top of the bucket was bent up, pulled it down, welded strip to strengthen it

Can I send my bush hog down for a makeover?

It's only a 4' KK

Hanco I was just wondering the other day when you'd be posting some fab work again. Nice work.

I'd venture a guess you like to weld! Looks stout.

I have always liked burning rods. We racked and tacked all of our pipe, not much welded in the jacks. Even though I ran the job, I did a good bit of the welding. We put a stringer and a hot pass. We did very few x-ray type projects. They expect thirty 6” welds in an eight hour day.

Yes. Seems a lot of heavy equipment isn't that heavy anymore. Fine for lawn work, but don't go out into the field.

All of my welds were X-rayed

Was out at our club range the morning and could not find ours!

Lucky for him you work cheap.

How much weight do you reckon you added to the bush hog?

Looks good and stout! Extra weight and thickness never hurts.

You going to paint it?

He probably needs to blow the grass off with a leaf blower when done with it. A drilled drain hole or two wouldn't hurt either so it won't hold water on the deck.

Most of the used shredders I looked at before
this last one I bought were effed up from lack
of care and the operator trying to use it for
something that it wasn't intended for.
Top sheet metal rusted away from allowing the
thatched up weeds to lay on there forever plus
2 days and collect and hold moisture, the sides
bashed in from running over sh*t, the gearbox
tore up from being lazy and not checking the
grease level regularly and running over baling
twine etc. and chewing the bottom seal up
and allowing all the grease to run out and
running the box dry. Not taking 2 minutes to
grease the shaft u-joints and wheel zerks,
etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.

If you find yourself in Middle Tennessee with your equipment I could use your help. I'm buying dinner of course. Great work!
Rick

Not to mention the used discs I've looked
at with dry floppy boxes and bushings and
chunks gone from the discs, and discs worn
down to half their original diameter, etc. etc.
etc. etc.

Do you have more daughters?

Nice work.

I bought a DR in the 1990s.
That is a walk behind brush hog.
It had a warranty.
I started clearing the roadsides in my area.
Under warranty, I replaced nearly every part on that machine.

Probably 300 lbs

They are old ladies now

Tack on a strip of Hardox 450 along the drag/wear edges, they will outlast the tractor. Or lay down a few lines of Stoody 31.

He came and picked it up a few minutes ago. It is out of my life now

I bet it'll last awhile now!

Fall '22.
My buddy loaned me his JD 3035E w/tiller to move my box blind and set up a food plot.

Setting up box blind was a no brainer..
Weeds were "thick", so I kicked the tiller in gear and was knocking the weeds down.
Hit a 4"×4"×16" buried in the sand. The tiller jumped and quit working. (?)
Took it to a farmer friend of mine to see if the tiller could be rebuilt or was it destroyed!
That thing was wasted!
The gear box on top hadn't seen gear lube in ages! The side drive works weren't in any better shape!
CRIPES!!!
Rebuild parts weren't available. A new one was $3200!

Ok, it wasn't my fault thevthing catered, but after all, "I" was the one sitting in the seat when it died.
Thankfully, my buddy saw it that way too and kicked in half the cost!
$1600 and all I got was a lousy JD cap! LOL!

I once had to rebuild a 16 ft bush hog that ate its operator. Very messy.

That was a Howse mower. I had no idea bush hogs were so expensive

Howse equipment was built in Laurel MS. Howse Implement Co.

Out of business now.

They're still in business.

https://howseimplement.com/product-lines/rotary-cutters.html

https://www.rurallifestyledealer.com/articles/6205-howse-implements-rise-fall-resurrection

i usually cut those angled back corners off a old bush hog and use it to back into brush. cuts it instead of knocking it down

Definitely much more sturdy and should last a long time. Might be a bit of a pain cleaning the top off after a day of mowing with all the debris that will accumulate in the top. Can't just sweep it off. Also might not allow rain water to drain off if it is stored outside.

He is going to have spray in bed liner put on it. He will keep it inside, blow it off with leaf blower he said. Hopefully he will. The metal was 500.00 to do what I did on it.

They don't necessarily have to be kept
under cover. You DO have to clean the
debris off of the top of the deck no matter
how unpleasant the chore may be.
I used to have a small sapling I cut for
the job of raking the debris off of the top
of the deck. Cut it like a walking cane
and I'll pull off to the side somewhere and
raise the back up all the way and rake all
the crap off with my improvised tool
and be done with it until the next go round.
That and mine is properly adjusted so as
not to drag in the blankety blanking dirt
like so many do. That's what all the adjustments
on the linkage and wheels are for.
If it drags, it's not adjusted properly.
It ain't a plow or a bulldozer ( although it seems
many try to use it for one)

I also can't figure out what the objection is
to keeping the gearbox(es) full and the PTO
shaft joints greased. Gear oil and grease has
ALWAYS been way cheaper and less time
consuming that repairs and replacing parts

At Bush Hog we used to make all our own gear boxes. Then the company cheapened them up to compete with others and started buying Italian gear boxes. Our old gear boxes were tough as hell, the Italian are a light duty set up. We used to have a obstacle course set up behind the factory and invited all other brands to come and show the public their mower. After seeing the course most all packed up and went home. Our old mowers were built like a tank, if you could run over it, it would chop it up. Most farmers knew nothing about adjusting slip clutches or taking care of their equipment.

I can believe that part about cheapening up. I think they all do it.

My 12' batwing cutter is a Frankenstein of outsourced parts. About the only thing the "manufacturer" actually makes is the body... deck and wings. All gear boxes, hydraulic cylinders, and stump jumpers come from elsewhere.

You do nice work Hanco...

I just slapped a coat of paint on mine...

I need to paint mine, it’s just like son in laws, rebuilt it 20 years ago

I've had to redeck and strengthen 2 over the years. Drain holes are a must. Blowing off is a must if kept out in the weather.

Really need to descale the new deck and repaint again. Its been almost 7 years now

Those older Bush Hog designs had the bracing on top of the deck, and they would really hold the grass and water...

The newer smooth top decks are better, but I still use a leaf blower at the end of each day to get all the dirt and grass off. If I happen to skip a day, it never fails to rain that night and cake it all on there...

As much as a big one costs, it’s crazy not to take care of it.

That's no schidt!

When I bought the one in the photo, about 10 years ago, it was $15k new.

They have about doubled in price for a new heavy duty one now.

Nice looking welding project.

Looks like you need a HD Grapple and HD root rake. The rake tongs on mine, made in Perry, FL, are 1" thick. A tree farm is one tough place to run equipment, only can use smaller high power tractors and they need a lot of power, that combination is tough on the equipment.
I run an old Bush Hog bush hog and House equipment. I have a 50 hp Kubota, full manual tranny. That bush hog has a few stories about how stout it is built.

Light weight in tree farming just gets trashed real quick. So it does not take long to figure out that heavy duty is cheaper in the long run.

I manage a 60,000 tree olive orchard when weather permits...

Quit using any sort of tractor a couple years ago, and use my HD tracked skid steer to mow, cull and run the grapple and 50" tree spade.

Operator abuse and inattention, but you are not alone, try to find a used one in good shape.. Great looking repairs ,,Maybe keep SIL off of the unit.

Norm

hey nothing wrong with older mature ladies ,I am older and still kicking , smile

Norm

Your wife runs that does she???????????

norm

Good looking units ,whats the HP in the New Holland.


Norm

Looks like you’ve been mowing raspberry yogurt!

Thanks Norm!

It's 90hp. It'll lift more than I want to lift. Running that cutter when mowing tall stuff between the trees, it doesn't spare the diesel...