My Swiss Army Knife F400 now has blades

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My hedge is 7' high and 7' wide. I had this IH balanced head mower on my 4000# forklift. Because it rained every other day in June and July, I wasn't able to use it. Plus I couldn't see the top of the hedge. Now I can if I flip the seat and stand up for good visibility.

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The sickle bar will cut vertical and horizontal. It is rotated into position with electric/hydraulic power pack controlled from the operator's position.

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The Borg-Warner clutch pump runs the knife. I can turn it on and off from a switch near the left headlight. I also have a switch for the lift.

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I can even mow at night. It runs off the Electrall. I have been thinking about getting an antenna rotater.

I now have 15 V-belts installed on the tractor.

Somebody stop me before I mount the air end, oil cooler, and oil separator from my first air compressor. It's a Sullair 150 CFM. Takes about 45 hp. It's that or a welder (or maybe both).

Now, that's one sharp lookin, knife you have there! The light tower is neat but, I fear that it might be a tree magnet. Yet, the antenna rotor would be a nice touch. I still think the mower/forklift is great & it gave me a great idea. Hydraulic POWER! I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner. Here I was trying to figure out where to run shafts & belts. Hoses & motors are the way to go! What kind of motor is on there & are they easy to find? I'm also wondering how big of a pump I'd need to run three of those motors. Sorry for all the questions - Mike

P.S. A Swiss Army knife can't have too many options. :^)

Absolutely in keeping with the concept.
At some point it will need duals (or 1/2tracks) to reduce compaction! Jim

Yeah, the light is too high. I just grabbed a piece of pipe from my junk pile and stuck it in there. The light is an after thought made possible by the pipe socket on the bottom of the mast carriage. I was wondering what I could use the socket for.

To start with hydraulic motors, one has to know the cubic inch displacement per revolution of both the pump and motor(s). CharLynn has most of the motor market. I am using a CharLynn geroter (model S). There are also H and T geroters made by CharLynn. Among those three types, there are probably fifty different displacements combined with port configs and output shaft options. I purchased this new motor on eBay for less than $100. That would probably be a savings of 80%. You will need to use the CharLynn site to identify the model number used in the eBay listings.

Fortunately, I had the clutch pump. Northern Hydraulics has three of these pumps with different displacements. They are not Borg-Warner. In fact, I think that B-W is out of the business. Pricing is around $520. You might find something cheaper on eBay.

I am out of easy PTO sources on my 400. My next four sources will come from the bottom of the IPTO driven gear. I will have to fabricate a double shaft PTO box that is double ended. It will bolt up to the underside of the center section with the eight bolts holes already provided.

Funny you should mention half-tracks. I bought an Arps set (metal) at an auction that were installed on a 400. They were sold separately. I had to remove them before the tractor buyer left with his new (to him) tractor.

I removed three grousers and installed the tracks on my H. Yeah, they will stay there.

Duals are no longer an option with the creeper drive and future MFWD alteration. Thanks for the suggestion anyway.

: D Hilarious! A real Rube Goldberg if I ever saw one!

Wardner, I now call you "Edward Scissor Hands". GOOD JOB!

CT

Thanks for the info. I'll have to work over the details, this winter, when I need a break from train time. Hopefully I'll have something to show for it by this time, next year. Keep up the good work! - Mike

Clamp-on duals.

You will need a reverse fan to keep the clippings from clogging the radiator. One more idea might be air conditioning using a heat houser, with the reverse fan the air would go forward so the evaporator could be mounted right behind the seat and pull a nice cool breeze forward. I love seeing all the contraptions you come up with, keep up the tinkering!