Belly Mower Makes A Great Side Winder

Belly Mower Makes A Great Side Winder FARM HOME Lawn Mowers 31h 38 “My homemade 72-in sidewinder mower can cut road ditches at a 30 degree angle and I never have to worry about driving my tractor off the level road ” says Jerry Scott of St Helena Neb Scott built his versatile sidewinder mower from a conventional belly-mounted 6-ft finish mower using good old-fashioned home shop ingenuity “I found a 3-pt carry-all that fit real well on my 35 hp Kubota ” Scott says “Then I figured out a lift mechanism and a drive system so the mower rides on the right side of the tractor I built reinforcing brackets and attached the mower so when it’s in a flat position on the ground it sits just outside the right rear wheel of the tractor I adjust the mowing height and angle with a 3-in by 3-ft cylinder The cylinder mounts to an adjustable chain that provides about 3 ft of up and down travel ” To power the mower Scott initially used one belt through a double pulley system “I found out pretty fast that wouldn’t work ” Scott says “The belt was tough to keep tight it shredded and since it costs $140 I knew I’d have to come up with a different plan ” His new design included moving the mower gearbox from the center of the mower to a bracket on the far left side of deck The tractor pto shaft reaches the gearbox and flexes when the mower is raised or lowered At the base of the gearbox a second pulley drives the mower pulleys “Since the whole drive mechanism is mounted to the mower the belts run tight when the mower is level or angled and I haven’t broken a one ” Scott says “This mower does a great job on the level or on angled ditches ” Scott says “I use it in my yard and down the township road The gauge wheels keep the mower level and the mower’s 24-in heavy-duty blades cut grass up to 6 in tall and make it look just like a smooth lawn ” Scott’s project cost about $500 out of pocket plus labor to make the brackets and develop the new pulley setup “I looked into buying a mower like this and the cheapest one I could find cost almost $5 000 ” Scott says “That was way more money than I wanted to spend I found the used belly mower for $250 and the other $250 was for pulleys belts and miscellaneous parts ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Jerry Scott 55746 898 Rd St Helena Neb 68174 ph 605 661-2957

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