String trimmer to blade trimmer - YIKES!

[DCarr2]

My neighbor put a steel blade on the end of his trimmer to trim his yard, he says it works awesome:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-Bladed-Trimmer-Head-2-Pack-ACFHRL2/204589660

his is all one piece... no moving parts... but that thing spinning at 2K rpm just scares the **** out of me...

However, I have 3 acres of grass and trimming to do, and I dont have a tap and go head on mine so you have to manually put new pieces on when they break (i never liked the tap and go head anyways...)

thoughts?

Oh and I also have a craftsman walkbehind trimmer as well which is pretty bad ***, but I have to wait til the end of june cause gumpy's doctor is super busy

 

[Jazz1]

Seen it done. Broke the shaft on the unit. A string trimmer is not built the same as brush saw. Just because you can does not mean you should. Ya I'd stay clear of that machine.

 

[ADSR]

buy a speed feed head and good to go.

 

[mike93lx]

People do it all the time for brush cutting. There are two common blade styles, one that looks like a circular saw blade and one that it is like an x

 

[cowboy73]

You wanna see scary...my dad has an old Hoffco brush cutter with a 3HP Tecumseh 2 cycle engine on it. It weighs about 60 lbs. It would cut down 2" diameter trees easily with the triangle shaped grass blade. It also came with a 10" saw blade for "heavier" brush. This is one that's real similar. It's a beast.

 

[Hornman]

Did your neighbor ever say, "Hold my beer!"?

 

[rburke65]

"Oh and I also have a craftsman walkbehind trimmer as well which is pretty bad ***, but I have to wait til the end of june cause gumpy's doctor is super busy"...... Ok, I'll bite. What does this mean?

 

[ilikedirt]

I have a Stihl 131r and have a fixed blade I can throw on it. Works awesome.

 

[58Yeoman]

I have one with 3 metal swinging blades that works well for me. It will cut some good sized saplings.

 

[Firebrick43]

I have a stihl fs90r that I trim 10 acres with. I have one of the 3 point one piece blade and use it no to trim but to take down areas that are overgrown and the bushhog can't get to. These areas are typically at the steam and power show grounds pre show. They make quick work but to final trim I switch back to a dual string head. The are lousy and dangerous to trim upto buildings, fence post, trees and other objects. They also shine to cut back brambles and woody weed along the edge of woods but keep saplings to the size of your thumb or smaller. An actual saw blade you should have a trimmer with a crossbar so a bad kickback can't push the blade back into your leg or feet.

As far as the heads with swinging blades, if their nylon blades ok, steel swinging blades are for fools and idiots. Been around mowers with swinging blades all my life (disc mowers, bushogs, and flail choppers and it not a matter if they will break a pivot pin but when and where will it go. I won't run a disc or flail mower without a wire guard on the back window of the tractor. When a steel blade departs a trimmer it may miss you are May severe your artery and you could bleed out right there.

As far as auto feed heads go, I thought the same as you until I bought my stihl fs90r with I belive an auto cut 25-2 head. It has been flawless and with the .095 x line is awesome. I have an edgeit Gaye's which doubles your cutting speed against buildings and fence post.

Another quick tip for any line trimmer. Take the bump head cartridge out or your precut line and place them in a plastic container (I reuse a cool whip container) filled with water. It will make your line last maybe twice as long! Most of the time the line doesn't wear away but the flexing as it hits an object causes it to fracture off. The water soaks into the line and keeps it supple, like Corinthian leather.

 

[Jon_E]

If I can't take it out with my Echo GT251E (with a manual head - takes precut line), or my Craftsman walk-behind trimmer, it doesn't get taken out. Those spinning blades on a brushcutter scare me too. Woody brush and brambles get dealt with by either pulling them out with a BrushGrubber and my tractor, or cutting them with a pair of loppers or a chainsaw.

Am not a fan of auto-feed heads (same as the bump heads, maybe?). Always seem to burn through line much more quickly with them.

 

[Jeepster04]

Ive put the 3 sided metal blade on my craftsman trimmer and it works great. It actually came with it as an attachment. Its horrible for grass but works great in brush. No resistance at all really, just cuts right through it.

 

[shoot summ]

I have a blade for my Stihl trimmer also, makes quick work of cutting down ornamental grasses in late winter. Like any tool you have to be aware of what it is, and what it is capable of. If you are running a string trimmer already there is no difference with a blade.

I have had past issues with tap and go heads, but the Stihl head works great, no issues at all. You do have to spend a little time and wind the line on neatly. That goes for any string head.

The plastic arm heads look like gadgets to me, never had a need to use one.

 

[My Old Tools]

The grass blade on my Stihl FS85 makes quick work of snakes too.

 

[bighead51]

All Metal Blades are very Dangerous on a string trimmer or a brush trimmer! So if you are going to that try to find a blade thats called a "Beaver Blade" it is a metal blade with a chainsaw chain that runs along the outer edge. The metal blades will Kick back at you if you something, the "Beaver Blades" chain is made to slip if you hit something very solid, it acts like a clutch. Still Dangerous but is the Best way to go if you must.

 

[James-W]

All Metal Blades are very Dangerous on a string trimmer or a brush trimmer! So if you are going to that try to find a blade thats called a "Beaver Blade" it is a metal blade with a chainsaw chain that runs along the outer edge. The metal blades will Kick back at you if you something, the "Beaver Blades" chain is made to slip if you hit something very solid, it acts like a clutch. Still Dangerous but is the Best way to go if you must.

I have seen those chainsaw type blades, can't recall just where though, could have been the hardware store or maybe Harbor Freight.

Personally, I think if you are cutting brush, a small electric chainsaw would be a better choice of things to use.

 

[Blue XJ]

I bought a Pivotrim years ago from a 2am infomercial on TV. I have no complaints whatsoever with it. It holds 4 pieces of precut string (and comes with a lifetime supply) and the attachment points swivel out of the way when the string hits something. I can make it all summer with only replacing the string a handful of times. Home Depot and Ace by my house carry them now as well.

 

[engineer2]

I once ran out of line and tied on a piece of stainless steel lock wire. I found out it will cut through aluminum downspouts.

 

[bighead51]

If you are trimming under a barbwire fence long distances removing saplings and heavy weeds an old edger works well as long as its head turns all the way flat to the ground. You can install a metal Skill saw blade! Have used one of these several times and it works great ! Just push it along and it takes care of all saplings. just have to be careful of your posts.

 

[isb cornbinder]

Since my son does the yard work, I let him chose the machinery. WE have a Honda mower and a $1000 Honda weed-eater. It has optional blades and the touch and go string trimmer. The engine is a four stroke with overhead cam and pressurized lubrication. The Hondas are powerful and quiet. We drain the fuel in the fall. Both machines start on the first pull in the spring. We have not tried the blades, yet.

 

[zak77]

I've used a brush cutter with a chainsaw type blade on the disk and it worked pretty good. When i bought my house there were a ton of small saplings in the woods and it worked to cut them all down.

 

[greasyfingers01]

I've got the Echo PAS 280 with the standard quick feed attachment as well as the brush cutter attachment. The brush cutter came with a fine tooth blade which was ok for .750" or smaller woody brush. I picked up one of the chainsaw tooth type and it's a beast! You have to push cut, clockwise rotation you are cutting at the 2 to 4 o'clock position, not climb cutting with the blade otherwise you will get kickback. So far I have cleared over an acre of densely grown saplings, up to 4
" trees with it and it's been one of the best tools I've bought in a long time.

No way in hell would I have done that with a chainsaw. I would have to be on my hands and knees in thick thorny brush in prime snake habitat. We have all the deadly ones so I'll pass on that. A Dr. walk behind trimmer with a blade is on my short list.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

I got a strimmer of Craigslist that had a hybrid Stihl head which holds 3 precut(I make my own) strings and 3 knives pivots I use the broadleaf shaped plastic knives with a serrated metal insert. in light stuff, the strings stay out and cut a lot of grass, but when you get up against something heavy, the strings flap out of the way and the knives cut the thing down. Trimming up agians a building or whatever, you just keep back to where only the strings make contact so as not to chop up your downsputs. I don't think I've seen one in a store, but it feels like the best of both worlds.

 

[rockettgpw]

A life time ago we had a Tanaka straight shaft brush cutter that came with a steel 4 'toothed' blade. It was ok on long grass but it was very effective on Dads truck tyre...whoops.

 

[Warrenator]

Brush Destructor! I have one, took a few days to get here from Australia, very nicely made. Haven't installed it yet, but it looks like it will make short work of our overgrown mess.

http://brushdestructor.com