Mikie
Admin/iMTB Hooligan
THE BEAST
With "The Beast" and 3 other dudes with pitch forks, you can clear some serious mileage in an afternoon...
Disclaimer:
I have to make a very clear and concise statement about "THE BEAST":
It is one very dangerous tool for cutting trails. It is very sharp. Even when it's dull, it's very sharp. It will kick back, it will get jammed in shrubs, it will throw things like rocks, branches, and debris, etc, etc. You have to wear eye protection. A face shield is even better. It will propel things in all directions. I expect that people stay clear of me at a minimum of 12 feet. This is no toy, and it can, and will injur someone if given the chance. Especially since we are working in very remote areas at times, that can be fatal to the operator, or an assistant. I hope I have made this very clear.
*1985 Echo SRM 3000 Two Stroke 30cc Commercial Weed Eater with a Shaft Drive. That's important because a lot of smaller Weed Eaters have that "curved shaft" which means it has a cable drive. Not only do those not have enough horsepower, you'll destroy the cable in no time.
* The blade on this unit spins counter clockwise as represented by the direction the blade is installed. This also means the nut that tightens the blade onto the unit is reverse thread. There is no guard cuz it only gets in the way and gets caught on brush. You want to use at least a 24T "RIP" Blade just like on a Skil Saw. Any finer and the blade gums up with wet saw dust. This particular blade has a lot of metal in between cutters which is good. Anymore space and the uncut branches get caught in between the cutters and it turns into an all day tug a war with no cutting.
*As well, the blade is carbide (<--correction ) tipped ($12.00 to $15.00 bucks!) If you use anything less it will last you a couple hours and your done. Carbide tipped will last you the whole day and then you throw the blade away at the end of the day. Trail maintenance eats blades for breakfast!
* The blades usually have a diamond knock out for Commercial Skil Saws. Leave it in. I just happen to have NAS Washers (aerospace) that both fit the shaft of the Weed Eater as well as fit exactly inside the whole of the typical Saw Blade.
* This Weed Eater was originally set up with the "option" for a Brush Blade (which are usually a special plastic, a waste of time for what we do) so the adapter plate came with the Weed Eater. They still make Weed Eaters like this. But it's not cheap. I think I paid around $350 bucks for this unit in 1985! However, as you can see, that was money well spent. Pay the price, and cry once . . .
* I have a method of cutting the trail with it that is pretty effective. But I will share that with anyone that is seriously thinking of putting one together .
There you go! I hope this helps. It would be great to find others so we can totally knock badly overgrown trail bush out of the park! (like 5 Deer).
~Mikie
With "The Beast" and 3 other dudes with pitch forks, you can clear some serious mileage in an afternoon...
Disclaimer:
I have to make a very clear and concise statement about "THE BEAST":
It is one very dangerous tool for cutting trails. It is very sharp. Even when it's dull, it's very sharp. It will kick back, it will get jammed in shrubs, it will throw things like rocks, branches, and debris, etc, etc. You have to wear eye protection. A face shield is even better. It will propel things in all directions. I expect that people stay clear of me at a minimum of 12 feet. This is no toy, and it can, and will injur someone if given the chance. Especially since we are working in very remote areas at times, that can be fatal to the operator, or an assistant. I hope I have made this very clear.
*1985 Echo SRM 3000 Two Stroke 30cc Commercial Weed Eater with a Shaft Drive. That's important because a lot of smaller Weed Eaters have that "curved shaft" which means it has a cable drive. Not only do those not have enough horsepower, you'll destroy the cable in no time.
* The blade on this unit spins counter clockwise as represented by the direction the blade is installed. This also means the nut that tightens the blade onto the unit is reverse thread. There is no guard cuz it only gets in the way and gets caught on brush. You want to use at least a 24T "RIP" Blade just like on a Skil Saw. Any finer and the blade gums up with wet saw dust. This particular blade has a lot of metal in between cutters which is good. Anymore space and the uncut branches get caught in between the cutters and it turns into an all day tug a war with no cutting.
*As well, the blade is carbide (<--correction ) tipped ($12.00 to $15.00 bucks!) If you use anything less it will last you a couple hours and your done. Carbide tipped will last you the whole day and then you throw the blade away at the end of the day. Trail maintenance eats blades for breakfast!
* The blades usually have a diamond knock out for Commercial Skil Saws. Leave it in. I just happen to have NAS Washers (aerospace) that both fit the shaft of the Weed Eater as well as fit exactly inside the whole of the typical Saw Blade.
* This Weed Eater was originally set up with the "option" for a Brush Blade (which are usually a special plastic, a waste of time for what we do) so the adapter plate came with the Weed Eater. They still make Weed Eaters like this. But it's not cheap. I think I paid around $350 bucks for this unit in 1985! However, as you can see, that was money well spent. Pay the price, and cry once . . .
* I have a method of cutting the trail with it that is pretty effective. But I will share that with anyone that is seriously thinking of putting one together .
There you go! I hope this helps. It would be great to find others so we can totally knock badly overgrown trail bush out of the park! (like 5 Deer).
~Mikie
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