"Self-Powered" 60-In. Mower

Self-Powered 60-In Mower FARM HOME Lawn Mowers 31h 38 Glenn Fisher Homer Ga came up with an easy way to get power to a big 60-in mower by building a self-powered model using the front half of an old riding mower and a 60-in Woods mower deck He pulls his 4-wheeled trail-a-mower as he calls it behind his IH Cub 70 15 hp tractor but says it could be pulled behind any garden tractor or ATV The 60-in deck bolts to the underside of the riding mower which faces backward The deck s 3 blades are belt-driven off the riding mower s Briggs & Stratton 11 hp electric start engine A trailer coupling welded to the deck matches up with a homemade hitch with a 2-in ball on the 3-pt s lower lift arms The riding mower s original clutch is used to activate the drive belt on the mower I ve been using it for years to mow my 2-acre lawn It works great says Fisher I got the idea from a FARM SHOW story Vol 16 No 5 The mower deck was originally belly-mounted on the tractor but the tractor lacked enough power to operate it I later found there was a mechanical problem with the tractor that caused it to lose power under load but by that time I had already converted the mower to a pull-type model However I actually prefer the pull-type model because I can quickly remove it from the 3-pt hitch and use the tractor for other jobs Fisher cut off the riding mower s rear wheels and axle seat and steering wheel then welded lengths of angle iron onto the deck and bolted it the deck on underneath the riding mower s frame The engine belt-drives the mower deck s 3 blades The mower s original caster wheels are still used to help support the deck He also replaced the riding mower s original 6-volt battery with a 12-volt car battery mounting the battery in a metal box that s bolted onto the mower deck I can loosen 4 bolts on the deck mounting system to move the deck forward or backward as the drive belt loosens with age It was surprisingly easy to put together says Fisher The tractor has a float setting for the 3-pt hitch and the mower just follows along on its 4 wheels To adjust the deck height I just reposition a couple of bolts If I drive over uneven ground or see a rock coming up I can raise the 3-pt to lift the front part of the deck off the ground and go over the rock without stopping During the summer I like to cut grass at night when the weather is cooler I mounted halogen lights on the Cub tractor s fender to shine backward and together with the riding mower s lights I can see forever To sharpen the mower s blades Fisher says he blocks the riding mower s wheels and then raises the 3-pt as high as it will go until the deck is almost vertical Contact: FARM SHOW Followup J Glenn Fisher Jr 751 Boling Rd Homer Ga 30547 ph 423 364-0158

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