[TulsaFan]

I am not sure who that is.

 

[Mightyquinn]

Why didn't you just buy a Tru-cut/McClane/Cal Trimmer? That's basically what you invented?

 

[GreenLand]

Last season I found my rotary starting to smoke while running. Just so happens a bud who also uses/ used a rotary introduced me to a guy with a mclaine. I gained interest in the reel side of cutting. Figured "There's no way I am gonna spend $x.xxx" and not be able to cut in the range I want. That's why.

This thread isn't for the purest at heart. Sorry if You guys hate or think I am dumb for posting such a monstrosity of an idea like cutting over an inch with a reel mower.

 

[Mightyquinn]

There is nothing wrong with wanting to reel cut your lawn above one inch which is what the TruCut/McClane/Trimmer mowers are designed to do.

By all means, keep doing what you are doing and enjoy, it's your equipment, time and money. I think most people here were just trying to give you some corrective criticism and maybe open your eyes to something you may not have been aware of. I will say that I'm curious how this all will turn out!

 

[TulsaFan]

I will say that I'm curious how this all will turn out!

+1 :thumbup:

 

[GreenLand]

Well it seems to of been more of you can't and won't make it happen. I love to hear that as those comments are what motivated me to be successful where I am in life now.

Down the line If I find a mower with a honda engine that cuts in the 1"-3" range I will pick it up. Currently I have seen a high of 2-1/4". That's a little low for a high cut that I prefer.

For most here this is a hobby. For me its just cutting grass and not beating the crap out and vacuuming that fert I just put down.

This^^^ is my concern with rotary mowers. Looking at the toro; it seems to be the next best thing with a honda engine and an aftermarket support that is unparalleled to the JD greens mowers. Still I find it wont cut where I want without mods.
So I'd still be in the same boat with modding. After seeing the reviews of failure with allet and swardsman I'll pass on those. Cal trim and mclane are out with the briggs.

I'm so done with briggs it ain't funny lol. Honda for life!😂💯

There is nothing wrong with wanting to reel cut your lawn above one inch which is what the TruCut/McClane/Trimmer mowers are designed to do.

By all means, keep doing what you are doing and enjoy, it's your equipment, time and money. I think most people here were just trying to give you some corrective criticism and maybe open your eyes to something you may not have been aware of. I will say that I'm curious how this all will turn out!

 

[Guest]

I will say that I'm curious how this all will turn out!

+1 :thumbup:

+1 :thumbup:

 

[Redtwin]

A TLF-member friend of mine bought a 26" Jacobson from a guy who had added the higher HOC brackets. I want to say he was cutting around 2 1/2" to 3" with it. I don't know if they make the same brackets for JD mowers or not but that would be a heck of a lot easier than what you are doing. I think the first order of business when he brought the mower home was get rid of those brackets.

 

[GreenLand]

The aftermarket support for this mower is like non- existent. Pretty sure I cant find those brackets. I've heard of the brackets your talking about, but haven't seen them.

I am interested in what they look like and where they are installed on the mower.

With that if all they do is raise the front roller I'll pass as that alone will not work for this mower. The rear roller must be raised to allow the bedknife and reel to be at the proper angle. Thus the reason for keeping the transport wheels and adding casters. If it were any easier I'd have this done by now and test cutting dormant grass😁

Was the mower your friend bough a toro flex? If so that's a different setup then I have. Better mower actually

 

[Redtwin]

It only raises the front roller. It was a Jacobson 526 Greens King and is an awesome machine.

 

[GreenLand]

Ok, so I checked out the 526. It looks like a spitting image of the jd lineup I have. Idk what the quality of cut looks like when using the bracket but with the little I know I would say thats the reason the mower was sold.

Then again I could be wrong. From the looking at the geometry between the reel and roller at factory settings it really seems the rear roller dictates the range of hoc then the front roller does. From my point of view the front roller makes the hoc adjustable , while the rear gets the bedknife and reel up where most want to cut there grass. Not sure if I'm saying this in a way that is understandable.

 

[Redtwin]

The seller bought it for his zoysia lawn but only wanted to mow weekly or less often. Obviously that is not going to work with a reel mower even if you are able to raise the HOC so he just switched back to rotary mowing. The machine was practically brand new. The new owner mows his Palisades Zoysia with it at around .5" and it has an excellent cut quality.

 

[GreenLand]

Just thought about that. I remember guys saying the grass would not spring back up to its vertical position so I am sorta holding my QOC statement as that mower really is just like mine in terms of the reel and front roller placement. Idk if that leaving the front roller on mine will hinder QOC Time will tell. Once I get another tire I will see. I have to buy another tire as I poked a hole in one trying to get it on. Side note it was my first time swapping tires and I fudged it lol.

I will say speaking of geometry... for whatever reason after lifting the rear roller up it looks like the distance between the reel and front roller is greater. Idk it's likely not, but does look so.

 

[MasterMech]

A TLF-member friend of mine bought a 26" Jacobson from a guy who had added the higher HOC brackets. I want to say he was cutting around 2 1/2" to 3" with it. I don't know if they make the same brackets for JD mowers or not but that would be a heck of a lot easier than what you are doing. I think the first order of business when he brought the mower home was get rid of those brackets.

He did more than just add brackets if he got to 2"+ with a 526. 1 1/4" is just about max with the tall roller brackets and running on the traction drum.

 

[MasterMech]

.... Cal trim and mclane are out with the briggs.

I'm so done with briggs it ain't funny lol. Honda for life!😂💯

....

Cal Trimmer and McLane both sell mowers with Honda GX series engines. But all top out well before 3".

Ok, so I checked out the 526. It looks like a spitting image of the jd lineup I have. Idk what the quality of cut looks like when using the bracket but with the little I know I would say thats the reason the mower was sold.

Then again I could be wrong. From the looking at the geometry between the reel and roller at factory settings it really seems the rear roller dictates the range of hoc then the front roller does. From my point of view the front roller makes the hoc adjustable , while the rear gets the bedknife and reel up where most want to cut there grass. Not sure if I'm saying this in a way that is understandable.

Re QoC on the 526: There's more to be done than just jacking up the front roller. The bedknife controls something called "Behind Center" and the "Reach" dimensions of the cutting geometry.

By jacking up the rear roller and tilting the whole machine forward as you have done with the Deere, you are moving the cutting plane further behind the center of the reel circumference. This allows the reel to "reach" a little deeper into the turf and gather better before shearing the grass against the bedknife. It's usually referred to as a more "aggressive" cutting geometry. By adjusting the rear roller to adjust HoC, you naturally achieve a more aggressive setting when adjusting for taller heights. Deere's QA5 (and I think the QA7 as well) cutting units do this. Jacking the whole rig up to 3"+ probably negates much of the benefit as you're working with a 5" reel and not something like an 8-9" reel which would be preferable for such heights. A 5" reel is only going to be able to reach so far beyond the knife before the cutting plane is moved too far behind center to be effective.

 

[GreenLand]

Ok now I see what you are thinking about the way I am going with this project. I will try to explain my process a bit better.

First when I consider lifting this mower I keep in mind the bedknife and reel placement and angle in relation to the ground.

With that. I look at lifting this mower front and rear in such that the reel and bedknife will remain in the same angles and placement they were where the mower is(within factory specs/ alignment) set to less then 1/2" >as that is where the mower cuts at its best QOC correct? Lifting the mower equally from the preferred HOC many in the industry state will give the best HOC.

Hence the reason for adding brackets and casters up front.

What I am leading to --- the rear roller alone indeed changes the bedknife and reel
Angles for the lack of better a term. Since the aforementioned is true as you have stated attempting to use the front roller is out and not just because the grass wont spring back up in time, but due to not having a bracket capable of lifting the front up enough to put the reel and bedknife back where they need be.

So this is how I plan to keep things in line and achieve the HOC range I am after.

.... Cal trim and mclane are out with the briggs.

I'm so done with briggs it ain't funny lol. Honda for life!😂💯

....

Cal Trimmer and McLane both sell mowers with Honda GX series engines. But all top out well before 3".

Ok, so I checked out the 526. It looks like a spitting image of the jd lineup I have. Idk what the quality of cut looks like when using the bracket but with the little I know I would say thats the reason the mower was sold.

Then again I could be wrong. From the looking at the geometry between the reel and roller at factory settings it really seems the rear roller dictates the range of hoc then the front roller does. From my point of view the front roller makes the hoc adjustable , while the rear gets the bedknife and reel up where most want to cut there grass. Not sure if I'm saying this in a way that is understandable.

Re QoC on the 526: There's more to be done than just jacking up the front roller. The bedknife controls something called "Behind Center" and the "Reach" dimensions of the cutting geometry.

By jacking up the rear roller and tilting the whole machine forward as you have done with the Deere, you are moving the cutting plane further behind the center of the reel circumference. This allows the reel to "reach" a little deeper into the turf and gather better before shearing the grass against the bedknife. It's usually referred to as a more "aggressive" cutting geometry. By adjusting the rear roller to adjust HoC, you naturally achieve a more aggressive setting when adjusting for taller heights. Deere's QA5 (and I think the QA7 as well) cutting units do this. Jacking the whole rig up to 3"+ probably negates much of the benefit as you're working with a 5" reel and not something like an 8-9" reel which would be preferable for such heights. A 5" reel is only going to be able to reach so far beyond the knife before the cutting plane is moved too far behind center to be effective.

 

[FATC1TY]

So you are going to change HOC via air pressure in your tires?

 

[FATC1TY]

Keep in mind you are also changing the ground speed with the wheels, thus your frequency of cut. Adding wheels will allow it to bottom out on not so level surfaces, coupled with the frequency of cut, you may have to do a lot of testing and adjustments to get it to give the intended cut.

 

[GreenLand]

So you are going to change HOC via air pressure in your tires?

Not just the rear tire air pressure. The caster height up front as well.

If I hadn't poked a hole in one of the tires this probably would of been easier to understand as you guys would see what I see when I am lifting the mower.

If you look at your mowers bedknife and reel just imagine the mower lifted equally front and rear as it sits currently. Nothing changes except ground clearance.

Now I still plan on swapping the bedknife to the fairway or High cut knife and if need be take a shot at modding the 14 blade reel as a last attempt.

 

[GreenLand]

I totally agree. FOC may very well just be my next thing to tackle.

I most definitely have leveling to address and this will seem to take for ever due to my all organic fert program. Organic provides overall better plant quality, but man I really miss the fast filling/ growing turf From years prior. Seems to take forever> 2 weeks to really see small results compared to a week tops with synthetic.

Keep in mind you are also changing the ground speed with the wheels, thus your frequency of cut. Adding wheels will allow it to bottom out on not so level surfaces, coupled with the frequency of cut, you may have to do a lot of testing and adjustments to get it to give the intended cut.