What is Mott flail?

Answer 1

A Mott Flail mower is a mower that is pulled behind a tractor, propelled by a power take off shaft from the tractor itself. It has a cutting bar, that has numerous knives attached that are held out straight by centrifugal force. This imower is mostly used for fine lawn cutting. You see them mostly these days cutting the center of the highways. Mott was the first with the flail mower, only they were called The Hammer Knife Mower, As others copied the design, flail became the most common name for this type mower. Mott is currently owned by the Alamo group. As old as these mowers are getting, most parts are available from Alamo (http://www.alamo-industrial.com). Sharpening is a chore. as there are many knife sets to deal with, for example a 72 inch has approx 168 knives. Each set (two) are held in by a clevis pin along with a cotter pin. The heavy duty knives were held in with a self locking bolt and nut that clamped to a steel ring that held the knives. The Flail type mower is well adapted to tall grass. They are also good to use with any rocks or stumps as the knives will flex rather than bend or break when striking them. One that is kept up with greasing /maintenance and not letting it rust out, will last many, many years of use. The design of the knives or blades decide whether the mower is fine or rough cut.