Go BottomFinish vs Rotary Cutter
 | Eric
Join Date: Posts: 1 
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2000-02-21 13025
How heavy can the finish mower go? I just bought land with some heavy grass like Big Bluestem and an area of alfalfa. I'm keeping it for wildlife but will need to keep fire breaks and borders mowed. I won't need to mow down any shrubs. Can I get a finish mower to do this along with the mowing around the house or will a rotary cutter be neccessary to get through some alfalfa on occasion? I hope I can find one mower for both.
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| Steve
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 179 UK
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2000-02-22 13051
I have a JD955 with a Woods RM990 rear discharge finish mower. The RM990 is a HD commercial grade deck, very solid. I have used it to mow 3 ft tall field grass in low speeed full throttle. As long as the blades are kept relatively sharp I have no problems using this deck for heavy mowing. It is even rated for cutting through 1" saplings. ....
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| Frank R Taylor
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2000-02-23 13108
There's no doubt that you can cut your pasture with a finishing mower but you are using a pretty expensive tool to do it. Top of the line, rear discharge finishing mowers will run about $2000 at a guess. A light duty bush hog wil cost in the region of $500 to $600. What I did in your position was to get a slightly cheaper, but still good, aftermarker rear discharge finishing mower and a medium duty rotary shredder for about the same price as a belly mower or a Cadillac rear grooming mower. I thought it was a case getting the best tools for the job. Just my two cents worth. ....
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| Doug Huebner
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2000-02-24 13130
I have used both in our prairie restoration. When the growth was small, the finish mower was OK. Once the growth got a bit larger and there were thistle, burdock and other encroaching plants, the rotary was the mower of choice. IMHO the key this is that the rotary has a larger under the body area for the blades to cover [the finish has a shorter area - front to back] and [the rotary I use] is open in front and back. This means that the stuff being cut is not bent over by the housing [as much] and even if it is, it has room to pop up while still in the cutting area.
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| Bird Senter
Join Date: Jun 1999 Posts: 962 
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2000-02-24 13131
Eric, Like the other guys said; yes, you can do it with just one mower, and I'd add that there's no problem at all, IF you KEEP it mowed short. But as one of the other guys said, my rotary cutter cost $495 and my finish mower cost $1,695. So I don't try to do rough cutting with the finish mower. Another point to consider is that the rotary cutter will go through the tall stuff a lot faster. ....
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| Steve Hansen
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2000-02-26 13185
If you are going to use a finish mower in "pasturage" make sure you start out with the cutting heighth set as high as possible. You can always make subsequent passes at lowewer settings but a busted mower won't do you any good at all. Don't go anyplace that is overly rough and avoid ROCKS. If you can burn off your grass before spring green up so much the better. This will give you a chance to get a good look at the ground and clearly expose any ROCKS. Before you start, get the part number for the mandrel used on your mower deck. This is the bearing assembley that holds the blades on one end and the belt pully on the other. Also get the part number for the blades used on your mower deck. Go to the dealer and get prices for these parts. If you hit a ROCK you can plan on buying a new blade. If you hit a ROCK really hard you can plan on buying a mandrel. While you are at the dealer's price a rotary cutter. ....
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