Cutters & Shredders in Tomball, TX

High enough to clear what's hiding in the growth. Most cutters set height with the tailwheel and the tractor's three-point hitch. On pasture you want to keep, leave some grass standing rather than scalping it to the dirt. Grass cut too short dries out and comes back slower. In brush, run a little higher so the blades clear stumps, rocks and old fence posts. Keep the deck about level front to back. Your operator's manual shows how to set your cutter. Its settings are the ones to go by.

Slower than you'd think. Run the PTO at the speed your operator's manual calls for. Then pick a gear that lets the blades keep up. In thick brush, that's a slow walk. If the engine bogs or the cut looks ragged, drop a gear. Light grass lets you pick up speed. Going too fast pushes growth over instead of cutting it. That leaves stems standing and works the gearbox harder. Taking a narrower bite in heavy growth helps too. Overlap your passes a little so you don't leave strips.

Thick weeds, saplings and brush that got ahead of you over a season are exactly what a rotary cutter is for. It won't finish-mow a lawn, but that's not the job it's built to do. Ground that's gone from pasture to young brush and heavy weeds gets knocked back down to where you can manage it with regular mowing again. Walk it first, though. A season of growth hides stumps, old wire and junk. Set the deck a little high for the first pass, then drop it once you know what's there.

Ruts, stumps, uneven pasture and brush along fence lines are normal work for a rotary cutter. It isn't built for deep washouts, large rock, or anything that could catch a blade and stop the deck cold. Walk a new patch of ground before you cut it, so you know what's hiding under the growth. A grade is where you slow down. The operator's manual for your tractor and cutter is what to go by there. Stay well back from ditch banks and drop-offs while you're running it. A cutter is there to knock back the overgrown stuff so regular mowing can take over again. That's the work it's for.

It protects the driveline when the blades hit something solid. A slip clutch sits on the PTO shaft. When the blades catch a stump or a rock, the clutch slips. It doesn't pass the whole shock to the gearbox and tractor. Some cutters use a shear bolt that breaks instead. Either one is there to give way first. A slip clutch can rust tight if it sits unused through a wet season. Your operator's manual explains how to check and set it. Around Tomball, stumps in old pasture and timber edges make that protection worth having.