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Converting a 3pt finish mower to front

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earthwrks
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 3853 Home Office in Flat Rock, Michigan
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2007-11-22          148611

I'm looking at buying a used KK 3pt finish mower. I' need to mow under trees, up to and around some ponds and mow some berms. Having the mower rear mounted tends to allow the CUT tires to lay down the grass. Recently someone posted an 8N with a woods belly mower. It uses what I think would be need to start getting the PTO out to the front to drive the possibly front-mounted mower. I can fabrictae pretty much everything I need to make it work aside from a gear box. I have a MM PTO but I'm thinking it's too fast to use. Anybody have thoughts/ideas on this?

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DennisCTB
Join Date: Nov 1998
Posts: 2707 NorthWest NJ
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2007-11-22          148612

My Kubota B7610 uses a ground engaging belly mower I also have the front sub frame for the snowblower with the hydraulics for lift and float. Seems like that set up would give you the easiest path to sticking that deck out front. If you could find the same stuff used for whatever tractor you intend on using. ....

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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2007-11-22          148616

Jeff, every old tractor that drives a belly mower I've ever seen either belt drove a jackshaft that drove a pulley on the input shaft of the mower decks 90° gear box, or (most commonly) just belt drove the decks gear box off a front pulley on the tractors motor.

To shaft drive a belly mower off the rear PTO is a PITA since the mower needs to be facing 'forwards' in order for the blade rotation and deck shape to maintain correct air flow & clippings direction along the contours not against them. This means you either have to spin the gear box 180° and drive it with a double reversed direction PTO shaft, once to get it going forwards, another to get it back to the proper clockwise rotation, or belt drive it off a jackshaft.

As a wise old engineering prof. taught me years ago, nothing is impossible, but lots of things are just too expensive to be practical.

As both an engineer & a fabricator, I can tell you, by the time you do the necessary work, you may as well just go out and buy a Ferris or some other FMM, it will be faster and cheaper.

Best of luck. ....

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JAZAK5
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 276 coxsackie,ny
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2007-11-22          148622

sounds like you need to trade the tractor for a VENTRAC or a STEINER they both have front mounted mowers like anything else theres a will theres a way. how about a rear pto hydraulic pump and reservoir and use a hydraulic motor to drive the gear box. Modify a skid steer brush hog ,they use direct hydraulic motors OR just mow backwards/ kidding of course ;)
....

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hardwood
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 3583 iowa
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2007-11-22          148628

EW; I've been toying with the idea of a side mount system for a RMFM to mow the slopes of ditch banks while driving along the road. For simplicitys sake I would like to keep it on the three point of the tractor and power it with a hydraulic pump on the mid PTO of the 4310 and a slave motor on the mower deck. I don't know if my setup would work as well for mowing under trees, bushes, etc. as a front mount, but puting it on the three point would simplify mounting, (I've never had the FEL off my tractor). I have most everything needed, pump, motor, valves, resirvoir, etc. hydraulic wise but haven't got a second RMFM yet, I'm watching the dealer lots for a used one. keep us up to speed if you get something going. Frank. ....

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earthwrks
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 3853 Home Office in Flat Rock, Michigan
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2007-11-22          148632

I thought about a full-hydraulic system but I was trying to get away cheap on this. I saw a Woods(?) set up on eBay that like Murf mentioned used a jackshaft off the rear PTO. I used a really long belt going all the way from the rear PTO under the machine and out the front. In short the belt was routed through idler pulleys. It was all mounted on a 4x6-ish beam fron to back. You just backed up and over the front-mounted mower and over the beam then hook up to the 3pt, hook up the belts and yer off. If I can't find one long belt then two or three running around a double pulley would work too. And the belt(s) could be criss-crossed to get the right rotation coming off the PTO. Frank you could the same thing but off the back with a longer jackshaft to get the belt past the rear wheels. Where the mower goes it could be pivoted in such a way the the pivot area would be aligned with the belt idlers to kep constant tension, which is waht I will have to consider if mine is to go up or down in the front under power (cutting), versus not getting power when raised as the final belt loses tension. ....

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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2007-11-23          148646

Jeff, in THEORY you could make up a double sheave B section pulley that slipped right over the PTO output shaft on the back of your tractor and then just using idlers and tensioners run the belts down and under and then forward to the mower, but God help you if they ever came loose or slipped off and started whipping!!! :(

If you want to do it the fastest easiest way, make up a hanging gear box with a forward facing output shaft that runs in a carrier bearing hanging down from the front grill guard with a pulley or two mounted on the end of it.

I know from experience, and belt running under a machine that isn't completely covered by shrouds is a PITA, it collects all sorts of twine, grass clippings and weeds. Tough on the belt too.

Best of luck. ....

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kthompson
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 5275 South Carolina
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2007-11-23          148653

EW, I had a farmer tell me he uses a step down PTO set up off of his 1000 RPM pto to drive his 504 equipment that did not need a lot of power so he could run his tractor at low rpms. It would seem if that is made then there may be a gear box made to drop the mid(what is it like 2500 rpm) pto to 540 but if the gear box would handle the rpms could you not use a smaller diameter belt pulley to drive the blades and keep the proper tip speed? If so that would seem to be the lowest cost option. kt ....

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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2007-11-23          148655

I think the mid PTO option would be as much problem as solution.

I may be (probably am? ;) ) wrong but I seem to remember that aside from the fact the mid PTO is 2,000 rpm, it turns the opposite direction too.

Most front mounted stuff spins the opposite direction to rear mounted stuff.

Best of luck. ....

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yooperpete
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1413 Northern Michigan
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2007-11-23          148659

LandPride makes an articulating boom side mounted mower that connects to the 3 point. Most State and County Road commission offices have them. Suggest looking at the design and make a cheap imitation using your KK mower. ....

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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2007-11-23          148661

If there's a large pro turf equipment dealer near you, check and see if you can get a single old deck off a Toro Groundsmaster or similar WAM (wide area mower) style mower.

It is a rotary deck with it's own subframe and caster wheel setup that it is designed to roll along on, it also includes a hydraulic drive motor and all the brackets to mount it on the end of an arm.

I've used them before, they work very well, and you can usually buy them as scrap for a fraction of what it would cost to build it yourself.

Best of luck. ....

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leejohn
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 71 Doniphan, Missouri
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2007-11-23          148668

Why don't you use your MM PTO by making a shaft with 2 pillow blocks mounted to the weight holder in front and to the frame just back of the front axle. Then a reg. Pto shaft from MM PTO to it. Then all you need is some brackets to mount a MM mower after you put wheels on it. You can also buy Left or right hand blades. The MM mower has the right gearing in the gear box for the 2000rpm MM PTO.

Lee


Lee ....

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earthwrks
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 3853 Home Office in Flat Rock, Michigan
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2010-08-16          173188

Well it's been about three years and I've made some progress. Found a front mounted 60FS mower made by Case-International on Craigslist for $250. Came with the rear PTO speed inducer box and a long drive shaft to the front. Needed a $25 midship bearing. It resembles a mid-mount mower combined with two sets of sophisticated 3pt-style linkages on top. A single hydraulic cylinder lifts it via the 3pt-style linkages. This thing is HEAVY but well-made and for being over 20 years old and barn-stored is in near excellent shape. It came from a 1989 Case 235 which had a similar front frame so I had to fab an extended front frame mount which is bolted and welded to the New Holland, which worked out great. 4 spring-loaded pins hold the mower assembly onto the mounting bracket.

Installed the drive shaft to the midPTO and took it for a maiden voyage around the yard. Didn't cut worth crap though.

DOH! The midPTO spins it the wrong way. So I cut the rear PTO inducer box in half width-wise since it was 3" too short to attach to the rear PTO shaft and drop down below rear axle. So with the box separated I plan to splice/section/make taller the box tomorrow. ....

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