Cutters & Shredders in Silsbee, TX

Build, mostly: the deck, the gearbox rating and the cutting capacity. A light-duty cutter is made for grass and light brush on a regular round. A heavier one carries a stronger gearbox and deck, so it takes thicker stems and rougher ground. Each one's operator's manual gives its cutting capacity and the tractor size it's built for. If your ground is mostly kept-up pasture, you don't need the heaviest deck. If you're reclaiming a grown-up back lot, you'll want more cutter. Ask at our Buna store to compare.

Slow down, and keep the deck a little off the fence. A rotary cutter's blades can grab loose wire and wrap it around the spindle. Walk the line first, and look for sagging or broken strands. Pull out any loose wire you find before you cut. What's left right against the posts is a job for a string trimmer or a saw. On a long fence line grown up in brush and vines, two careful passes beat one fast one. You'll save yourself a tangled spindle and a mended fence.

A tractor with a ROPS, the seat belt fastened and every guard on the cutter in place. The makers' manuals call for the ROPS and the belt. A cutter's chain or band guards keep thrown sticks and rocks inside the deck, so don't run with them missing. Keep the PTO shield on, too. Keep people and animals well back while the blades turn. Stay well back from ditch banks and drop-offs, since an edge can give way. Your operator's manual gives the slope limit, so follow it.

Yes, that's what the wings are for. A batwing's outer wings lift and fold, so the machine is narrower through gates and on the road. Unfold them in the field, and you're cutting far wider than the tractor. The Modern Ag 15' Predator Batwing Shredder works that way. It needs a tractor with the PTO power and weight to pull it, and its manual gives the size. Folded or not, it's a big implement to tow, so measure your gates at home before you buy one.

It's worth having, especially on rough ground. A slip clutch sits in the driveline and slips when the blades hit something solid, like a stump. That spares the gearbox and your tractor's PTO the shock. Some cutters use a shear bolt instead, which breaks and has to be replaced. Brush and vines in Hardin County can hide stumps and roots, so a hit is likely sooner or later. Check your cutter's manual to see which one it has and how it's set. If it's a shear bolt, carry spares on the tractor.