# how well does a disc mower cut?



## IHCman (Aug 27, 2011)

I'm interested in buying a disc mower or disc conditioner and was wondering how well they cut compared to a sickle mower. I know that the disc mower works very well in afalfa and other thick crops but how well does it cut on say shorter grass hay? Some people tell me they don't work very well on short harder cutting grass hay and another guy told me you have to set a little more downward angle on the discs. I know very little about disc mowers so any information would be appreciated.


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## C & C Cattle and Hay (Sep 6, 2011)

In my experience disc mowers will cut just about anything as long as the blades are sharp. I'm from Alabama and I mostly cut just Bahia grass, which I've been told is supposedly a very tough grass. These mowers cut very well, I don't think you would be disappointed by upgrading from the sickle mower!!!


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Get a disc swather and you will never look back except to say I wish I did that sooner. Grass hay is the reason to have one. Sickles just can't cut the grass hay around here. And I will agree with the above that the blades need to be sharp. I was cutting some heavy 3rd cutting yesterday and was having problems with the disc speed surging and balling up the hay. I didn't realize my blades were so dull. Flipped them over in about 20 minutes for a 15 foot head and everything was right again with the world.


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## hay hauler (Feb 6, 2010)

They work Great!!!!! UPGRADE!


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## IHCman (Aug 27, 2011)

Teslan said:


> Get a disc swather and you will never look back except to say I wish I did that sooner. Grass hay is the reason to have one. Sickles just can't cut the grass hay around here. And I will agree with the above that the blades need to be sharp. I was cutting some heavy 3rd cutting yesterday and was having problems with the disc speed surging and balling up the hay. I didn't realize my blades were so dull. Flipped them over in about 20 minutes for a 15 foot head and everything was right again with the world.


So generally how long does it take to dull a set of blades before you have to flip em? I'm sure it depends alot on how many mole hills and stones and things you hit but curious how many acres you can cut before changing em?


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

I cut probably probably 400 acres before having to flip them. So I suppose about 800 acres for me before having to totally replace them. Lots of sand and mole hills in one field I cut for my cousin. I didn't expect to have to change them this year, but I did. They are cheap compared to sickle sections and much much much easier to change. No sliding sickles out of the cutter bed then putting it back in and having to maybe adjust guards or even replace guards that get broken or bent. We used to spend way more on sickles in one year then we have in 5 since having the disc swather. I've heard in sand with lots of mole hills that the turtles (plates on top of the knives) wear out pretty fast but ours are looking good still after 3 seasons. We haven't actually bought new knives in awhile. We stocked up on them about 3 years ago. I think they are about a dollar or 2 a piece. So I think you replace about 18 knives a time depending on how wide your swather is. Pretty cheap compared to a whole sickle. The type of knife actually matters too. There are a couple of different angles. The steeper the angle is better for grass.


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## KerryAll (Jun 4, 2011)

Our soils are fairly sandy, and I've found that sickle bar blades wear a lot faster than disc blades...plus, you can't flip sickle blades!


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

I make around 200 acres of hay, normally I make sure I have a good sharp edge going into the lighter cuttings and I usually don't have to flip or change any blades till the next time around making 3rd and 4th cuttings. Not a lot of moles though and we've spend days picking all rocks out of the fields before they get planted to hay.


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

As far as I can see they cut about the same, except the sickle has a 5 mph working speed and the disk mower still cuts well at 11 mph. 
For the corners and ends I down shift two gears to keep things controlable. 
I usuall cut bermudagrass at 7.5 mph becouse if the blades are not really sharp the mower will slow the engine some. Also the bermudagrass fields are never plowed and the ride becomes too rough.


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## RockmartGA (Jun 29, 2011)

Never had a sickle mower, so I have no basis for comparison. About the only complaint I have with disc mowers is that in a late cutting (I should say, for example, a late first cutting), it will sometimes wrap around the outer cutter head "cap". This is especially true if the hay has a little extra moisture due to high humidity or dew.

If you catch it in time, you can stop and let the cutter sling it off. If not, then you have to pull/cut it away.


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## Mike120 (May 4, 2009)

I think a lot depends on the size of your fields and what added features you have like rocks, sapplings, etc. In smaller fields, the speed/time difference won't be very much. In my fields, I can cut T-85 Bermuda or Common/Bahia with a NH 456 9' sickle in about the same time I would take with a disc. On larger fields, the disc will win every time. I have however, gone into new fields that had been shreaded the previous year and the sickle would plug about every 10'. After I've cut it with a borrowed disc, raked up the trash, rolled it up and taken it out of the field, the sickle works fine. Burning it would probably have been better and less work. I've got a second section bar, and it takes me about 10 minutes to swap it out if it gets dull or a busted section. I usually get a year out of a set and my ground isn't hard on them.


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