"Lawn Mower" Hedge-Trimmer

"Lawn Mower" Hedge-Trimmer FARM HOME Lawn Mowers (31h,38) 34-5-44 A South Dakota man came up with an inexpensive way to make a tractor-towed hedge trimmer. He mounted a 21-in. wide push mower on a 2-wheeled trailer equipped with an old clothes pole and a metal extension arm. Ray Rokusek, of Yankton, uses the mower to trim a 6-ft. wide hedge that borders his property. He pulls the unit behind his Deere riding mower. The trailer rides on a pair of 10-in. high rubber wheels that hold the mower about 55 in. off the ground. "It's simple to use and results in a nice even cut," says Rokusek. "I have about 150 ft. of hedge to cut and am 68 years old, so I had to come up with a better way. The trailer holds the mower at a uniform height, which results in one of the most nicely manicured hedges in town. He bought a new push mower and removed the handlebars and wheels. He U-bolted the mower to a length of 2-in. sq. tubing that slides through a horizontal pipe on top of the clothes pole. A safety chain secures the mower and can be unclamped and moved in or out up to 3 ft. anywhere along the tubing. The clothes pole is welded to a 3-ft. sq. deck plate floor that's welded onto the trailer's tongue and axle. A 2-ft. sq. expanded metal guard protects Rokusek in case the blade would ever break. Counterweights on the floor opposite the mower keep the trailer from tipping over. "I didn't know if it would work so I tried to get by as inexpensively as I could. For example, I used a long bolt to make the axle. "It's built sturdy. I welded gussets where I welded the pole to the trailer, and I added a second vertical pole to provide additional support and to keep the clothes pole from leaning over, although it probably wasn't needed." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ray Rokusek, 401 Locust St., Yankton, S. Dak. 57078 (ph 605 665-1015; sonia@theohlings.com).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.