they are junk if it hits a rock or any obstruction the plastic blade with break off you will constantly be breaking them and replacing them they already make a trail mower that does what you want try a search for swisher mowers maybe you can build one like that,
regards
rod

Why wouldn't the DR contraption do the job for you? It looks like it swings out of the way of posts and does a credible job of trimming. I suspect it has a metal blade like a small lawn mower. The only disadvantage I can think of is it will bust glass bottles.

MM

It won't do the job because it cost money to buy one.
I'm good at scrounging material and redneck engineering.
So why can't I make my own to fit the 3point hitch on my tractor.

Pooh Bear

Pooh Bear,

You must have more free time than I do. And you are probably a much better "redneck engineer" than I am, because I usually find it is much cheaper to buy a piece of equipment than to make it.

And safety issues would also be a concern for me. I wouldn't want a piece of equipment that I made to hurt me or somebody else.

MM

I have an enormous amount of free time and very VERY little money.
Scrounging material and making do are a way of life for me.
And it's extremely satisfying to design and build stuff myself.
No, some of the stuff I have built wouldn't pass OSHA approval.
But I still have all my body parts (except my mind, lost that a long time ago).

I saw something like I want to make once.
A guy had taken a lawnmower and mounted it on the end of a long pole.
It stuck out to the side of his tractor and he could mow
around his pond and along ditch banks.

I want to build something like this.
3 point hitch mounted string trimmer for tractors

Pooh Bear

Pooh Bear,

I clicked on the link to Testimonials about the PTO Powered String Trimmer and the page it went to was blank. Apparently no testimonials for this puppy. If it were me, I wouldn't provide a link to testimonials until I actually had some. That seems like an error in judgement on their web site.

I have used a string trimmer and some of them are quite light weight. I could swing it around quite easily. It never occurred to me that it needed the power of a tractor with a PTO. But if you want to have the fun of building one, more power to you. However, it might be cheaper to hire a kid to follow along behind your tractor with a regular string trimmer. (grin)

MM

Pooh Bear

Had a friend that made a "weed whacker" to fit a tractors 3 point hitch.

He used 2 x 6" box tubing, C channel, 90 degree gear box with a ratio of about 4:1, bearing blocks, pulleys. 1" shafts and a piece that he machined to hold 3/8" winch type cable that he cut to lenghts of about 48".

When the cable was attached about 21" of it stuck out from the "head" on each side.

It worked great for what he wanted it to do. Which was to trim along and over the edge of a road way which is about a mile long.

If you build one. Dont forget to use an Over Run Clutch like used on brush hogs to protect your tractors PTO system should you hit something that could suddenly stop the trimmer from rotating.

I have an ORC on my tractor.
I probably couldn't get it back off it I wanted to.

I was thinking about building a cutter head and using
piano wire or guitar strings for the cutters.
But I am not sure how they would hold up to cutting.
Something like 3/8 cable is made up of several smaller strands
of wire. What keeps it from fraying after a few hour's use.
Maybe take a welder and fuse the ends so it doesn't fray.
And that's awfully thick. More like beating the grass to death than cutting it.

I don't have to worry about hitting anything solid.
And I'm not looking to get a clean manicured look.
Just something to keep the vegetation at bay.

Use RoundUp around the house and outbuildings and such.
But that's too expensive to use on fence rows and ditches.
Once a month around the house is all it takes.
I go through about 2 gallons of generic RoundUp a year.

Pooh Bear

Hey, Poohbear, go for it! I know what you mean--lots of ideas, but not much money!
Sounds just like me! When i need something, i either build it, or look on garbage night for one!
Yankee ingenuity is what it is called, although you could say Red Neck Reality, too!
Kevin Beitz, over in Eastern Pa. is a good example of how someone can build stuff! He used to be in Lawn & Garden web, but i haven't seen much from him lately!
Rustyj

Come to think of it, I haven't seen any posts from Kevin lately either.
Yep, I'm a redneck engineer from way back.

Pooh Bear

I usually find it is much cheaper to buy a piece of equipment than to make it.
Posted by: maineman z5a
***********
The problem I find with this approach is I can almost always bet if I need it they don't make it.

Back in the early fifties my cousin and I wanted a motorized go cart.
Why did we build it instead of just buying one>?
Because back then nobody made them.

Go to the link below, click on "Products", then click on "Weed Chopper", which will take you to a product page entitled "PTO Powered String Trimmer".

http://www.koschco.com/

These links will show tow behind, self powered models:

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_757532_757532

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/9807-fence-line-trimmer.html