The Craftmans Shop > New from Old
Rebirth of a 6 Foot Flail Mower
awemawson:
(Revival of an old thread but this is where the information should go!)
Start of the grass mowing season, so on Bank Holiday Monday I coupled up the Turner 6 foot flail mower to the Ford 4000 for the first time this year.
It was an ABSOLUTE PAIN to get the PTO female spline on the PTO shaft onto the male spline on the tractor. Would have been easier if there was help about but I was single handed. So what's the problem? Well turning the male spline by hand just gripping it is not possible due to drag and suchlike in its gear box. Turning the female spline, which is in the UJ on the end of the PTO shaft is only possible by putting a lever through the UJ, but then it turns back by itself due to the weight of the flail teeth flopping one way or the other.
Now while trying to get the rotational alignment right, you have to press a button on the UJ yoke to allow the male spline to enter the female, and draw the two together all in a confined space between the mower and the tractor.
It actually took me 90 minutes which is obviously not acceptable - something must be done :bang:
Having mowed the 'ten acre' and sitting down to relax I started Googling - I surely can't be the first to have this problem. Sure enough, some one has patented a spanner to go on the male spline in such a away that you can rotate it a bit while offering up the UJ female spline. This would make the job hugely easier. The spanner of course has to be able to be removed once the aligned parts are together, so has to be open ended not a ring which could have been made to fit the splines.
The patented 'spanner' solved this by being a simple parallel jawed open ended spanner, with a screw through one jaw to engage into the low part of a spline - crude but probably effective.
So for goodness sake make one before the next time you have to change the mower over - so I did :ddb:
A quick Autocad sketch into SheetCAM as a DXF and then off to the CNC plasma table would do the job, but the thickest plate that I had to hand was only 8 mm thick. No matter - make two and weld them together - so I did :ddb:
Rough and ready the pair got tacked together, an 8 MM thread popped into one jaw with one half sitting in each plate and lets try it out - so I did :ddb:
I was concerned that a steel screw bearing onto the inner diameter of the splined shaft might do damage, but by reducing the end of the screw and doming it any damage will be minimal and anyway it bears on a bit of the shaft that in practice is never used. I would have used a brass bolt but not only did I not have a suitable one, I suspect that it would shear off in use.
All rather crude, certainly agricultural, but it works :clap:
Hopefully next change over will be less frustrating
seadog:
Now all that you need to do is to make sure you put it somewhere where it can be found when it's needed. Or, chain it to the flail :D
awemawson:
I deliberately made it so it was not too long to go in the tractor tool box :thumbup:
pycoed:
Just be thankful you have the button type yoke! I'd love to know who thought it would be a good idea to use a collar that you have to pull back whilst you are shoving the PTO shaft forwards to engage :bang: :bang: :bang:.
My tractor (Zetor) has a "helpful" metal shroud around the PTO stub as well, not to mention the damned PTO shaft guard that doesn't telescope any more since my old tractor self immolated :Doh:
mc:
I would of thought the flail should be fitted with an overrun clutch?
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