Belly Mower Makes A Great Side Winder
“My homemade 72-in. sidewinder mower can cut road ditches at a 30 degree angle and I never have to worry about driving my tractor off the level road,” says Jerry Scott of St. Helena, Neb. Scott built his versatile sidewinder mower from a conventional belly-mounted 6-ft. finish mower using good old-fashioned home shop ingenuity.
“I found a 3-pt. carry-all that fit real well on my 35 hp Kubota,” Scott says. “Then I figured out a lift mechanism, and a drive system so the mower rides on the right side of the tractor. I built reinforcing brackets and attached the mower so when it’s in a flat position on the ground it sits just outside the right rear wheel of the tractor. I adjust the mowing height and angle with a 3-in. by 3-ft. cylinder. The cylinder mounts to an adjustable chain that provides about 3 ft. of up and down travel.”
To power the mower, Scott initially used one belt through a double pulley system. “I found out pretty fast that wouldn’t work,” Scott says. “The belt was tough to keep tight, it shredded and since it costs $140, I knew I’d have to come up with a different plan.”
His new design included moving the mower gearbox from the center of the mower to a bracket on the far left side of deck. The tractor pto shaft reaches the gearbox and flexes when the mower is raised or lowered. At the base of the gearbox a second pulley drives the mower pulleys. “Since the whole drive mechanism is mounted to the mower, the belts run tight when the mower is level or angled and I haven’t broken a one,” Scott says.
“This mower does a great job on the level or on angled ditches,” Scott says. “I use it in my yard and down the township road. The gauge wheels keep the mower level and the mower’s 24-in. heavy-duty blades cut grass up to 6 in. tall and make it look just like a smooth lawn.”
Scott’s project cost about $500 out of pocket, plus labor to make the brackets and develop the new pulley setup. “I looked into buying a mower like this and the cheapest one I could find cost almost $5,000,” Scott says. “That was way more money than I wanted to spend. I found the used belly mower for $250 and the other $250 was for pulleys, belts and miscellaneous parts.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jerry Scott, 55746 898 Rd., St. Helena, Neb. 68174 (ph 605 661-2957).
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Belly Mower Makes A Great Side Winder FARM HOME Lawn Mowers 31h 38 “My homemade 72-in sidewinder mower can cut road ditches at a 30 degree angle and I never have to worry about driving my tractor off the level road ” says Jerry Scott of St Helena Neb Scott built his versatile sidewinder mower from a conventional belly-mounted 6-ft finish mower using good old-fashioned home shop ingenuity “I found a 3-pt carry-all that fit real well on my 35 hp Kubota ” Scott says “Then I figured out a lift mechanism and a drive system so the mower rides on the right side of the tractor I built reinforcing brackets and attached the mower so when it’s in a flat position on the ground it sits just outside the right rear wheel of the tractor I adjust the mowing height and angle with a 3-in by 3-ft cylinder The cylinder mounts to an adjustable chain that provides about 3 ft of up and down travel ” To power the mower Scott initially used one belt through a double pulley system “I found out pretty fast that wouldn’t work ” Scott says “The belt was tough to keep tight it shredded and since it costs $140 I knew I’d have to come up with a different plan ” His new design included moving the mower gearbox from the center of the mower to a bracket on the far left side of deck The tractor pto shaft reaches the gearbox and flexes when the mower is raised or lowered At the base of the gearbox a second pulley drives the mower pulleys “Since the whole drive mechanism is mounted to the mower the belts run tight when the mower is level or angled and I haven’t broken a one ” Scott says “This mower does a great job on the level or on angled ditches ” Scott says “I use it in my yard and down the township road The gauge wheels keep the mower level and the mower’s 24-in heavy-duty blades cut grass up to 6 in tall and make it look just like a smooth lawn ” Scott’s project cost about $500 out of pocket plus labor to make the brackets and develop the new pulley setup “I looked into buying a mower like this and the cheapest one I could find cost almost $5 000 ” Scott says “That was way more money than I wanted to spend I found the used belly mower for $250 and the other $250 was for pulleys belts and miscellaneous parts ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Jerry Scott 55746 898 Rd St Helena Neb 68174 ph 605 661-2957
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