Skid Steer Loader Powers Sicklebar Mower

Skid Steer Loader Powers Sicklebar Mower TRACTORS Skid Steer Loaders 31-1-11 "I took an old Allis Chalmers sicklebar mower and made a few changes so I can mount it on front of my skid loader," says Chuck Smith of Attica, Ind. The unit works great to mow roadsides that Smith couldn't previously get to with a riding mower, and other tight spots where he can't get a tractor into. He bought the original sicklebar mower for only $50 at an auction. When Smith was finished, he had a detachable unit that will cut tall grass or small trees at a variety of heights. "First, I made an angle iron frame to fit the loader," Smith explains. "The mower had been mounted on a two-wheel trailer, so I removed everything except for the 7-ft. sicklebar, and the gearbox. Then I bought a used 8 hp gas Briggs engine for $40 and mounted a 6:1 gear reducer off an old lawn mower before making an adjustable frame on the sickle bar to mount the motor on." The adjustable frame is what allows Smith to tension the belt. It folds up "similar to a coffee table hinge" and has a control lever with different notches for various settings. The resulting 48 hp mower sticks out to the right side of loader and has a pivot point at the gearbox, so it'll fold up vertical for transport or storage. A rod holds it in place. "To detach the mower, you just flip a lever and set it down," Smith says. "I spent about $125 on this project in total. At the time I was working on it, I didn't have auxiliary hydraulics control on my loader, but you could make this mower hydraulic-driven if you wanted to." Thanks to several other attachments he's modified for use with his skid loader, Smith has made the rig into a very versatile unit. He already has a set of forks and two buckets, and is currently working on a backhoe attachment. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Chuck Smith, 3286 E Flint Rd., Attica, Indiana 47918 (ph 765 572-2436; lariat @peoplepc.com).

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