Adjusting a rotary or bush-hog style cutter

There seems to be many questions as to how one should adjust or setup a bushhog to get the best performance from the cutter and the tractor pulling the implement. This article will be considered a "living document" and if you have comments or suggestions as to how to improve or correct this document please leave a comment below and I will modify as necessary to make this as descriptive and helpful of an article as possible.

The first question you should ask is what type of bushhogging will you be doing. The material you are cutting be it thick grass, or heavy underbrush (to include small saplings, shrubs and things of that nature) will determine how you should setup your mower. Another consideration is how fine do you want the expelled clippings to be shredded. All of these factors will come into play in the below setup guidelines.

The front deck height should be adjusted using the three point hitch. Don't let the skids drag the ground, but remember this setting will determine the height of the cut. Once the front height is set you don't want the 3 point hitch to float down. If your tractor doesn't have adequate position control, consider using a set of check chains to keep the hitch from falling below your initial height adjustment.

Once you have your front deck height adjusted you will need to set the rear by adjusting the tail wheel. Typically you want the rear to be 1-2 inches higher than the front. This allows the grass clippings to be expelled and doesn't drag the material along costing vital horsepower. One thing to keep in mind when setting the rear height is this will also affect how finely the expelled material is shred. The lower you have the rear deck the finer the material is shred, but at the cost of more horsepower needed/used.

After setting the deck height, focus your attention to the top link of the 3 point hitch. You should have slack which will allow the brush hog a certain amount of free play to follow the contour of the land. Some folks use a chain or a chain through a piece of pipe in place of the toplink , but this could allow the mower to pivot upwards and on to the operator should the mower strike something solid.

Consider the sharpness of your blades and the material you will be cutting. If you are cutting heavy brush, saplings and shrubs it is not as vital to have sharp blades. In fact a sharp blade may leave behind sharp stubs that can damage tires. A dull blade will rip and tear its way through brush versus slicing cleanly. If you plan to cut tall grass, sharp blades will generate a cleaner cut and use less horsepower. A “sharp” blade's leading edge should have about 1/16” to 1/8” of a blunt surface at the cutting surface.

Prior to putting the mower into service ensure all routine maintenance is complete including checking for loose bolts, cracks, gear oil...etc. Happy cutting

If you have anything to add to this article, click on the add comment button below and I will be more than happy to update/correct any thing you find wrong or misstated.  Remember, these are called "living documents" and can be updated at any time, so comments are most definitely appreciated.