High Wheel Double Bladed Brush Mower

High wheel double bladed brush mower FARM HOME Lawn Mowers (31h,38) 16-6-10 "It absolutely destroys everything in its path," says Daniel Krenzel,Cullman, Ala., about the "high wheel" double-bladed brush mower he built by mounting a plywood deck between a pair of 26-in. dia. bicycle wheels, then bolting a 3 1/2 hp Briggs & Stratton engine on top of the deck with a double set of mower blades under it positioned 9 in. off the ground. The 3/4-in. thick deck is bolted to an angle iron frame that bolts onto each bicycle wheel hub. Krenzel wired puncture-proof, 2-in. dia rubber gas hose onto each wheel rim in place of tires. He screwed a circle of sheet metal to the inside of each rim to keep chopped material from plugging up the wheel spokes. Handles from a junked-out lawn mower are bolted onto the back of the deck. "It'll grind up almost anything in its path, including heavy weeds and woody brush or trees up to 1 in. in diameter," says Krenzel. "I use it in ditches and other areas thick with tall grass and weeds. By cutting 9 in. high I can clip off the seed heads on weeds without having to cut off the entire plant. It mows right over tree limbs, stones, cans, bottles, and even cinder blocks without touching them. I can tip the deck back so that the blade is at a 45 degree angle while mowing. Be-cause of the big wheels it's much easier to push than a conventional lawn mower. Another advantage is that vines don't wrap up on the wheels. "The underside of the deck is open all around the blades to keep them from plugging up. A wood shield at the back protects the generator. The double blades chop like a hammer mill and pulverize everything they touch. Because there are twice as many blades I can run the engine much slower so it runs smoother." The gas hose used on the wheels was difficult to bend so he used a hacksaw to cut 3/4 of the way through it at intervals spaced 3 in. apart and used copper wire to tie it to the wheel rim. "The copper wire won't deteriorate like steel wire when exposed to grass acids," says Krenzel. Krenzel used the same double-blade idea to modify an old Murray lawn mower. It has an open front and wheel extensions that allow it to cut 5 in. high through small brush. The blades stick out almost 1 in., in front of the deck so they can cut through small trees before the mower frame hits them. "I call it my hand-operated Bush Hog. It really grinds up brush," says Krenzel. "I built it two years ago to clear a brushy area that had some nice pine trees I wanted to keep. I was going to rent a Bush Hog, but a tractor would have ruined the trees and would have been harder to turn." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Daniel Krenzel, 510 Elizabeth St. N.E., Cullman, Ala. 35055 (ph 205 739-5241).

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