 The brush cutter is a useful and flexible tool for clearing roadside areas of brush and excess vegetation. In this program, we'll be looking at the brush cutter and how it works. Specifically, we'll cover pretrip inspections, operating techniques and shutdown procedures. But before we start, let's take a quick look at the brush cutter. The brush cutter is basically a rotary mower. The mower is attached to a boom that extends and retracts. The brush cutter can be attached to a tractor or a grater. In this program, we'll look at a brush cutter attached to a tractor. Okay, let's start with pretrip inspections. The first piece of equipment to check is the tractor that the brush cutter is attached to. Because the daily checks for the tractor are covered in the program on tractors, we won't go into them in detail in this course. Make sure that you perform all the required checks. These include a walk around inspection, engine checks, lubrication, and everything else contained in the operator's daily checklist. When you finish the daily checks on the tractor, you're ready to check the brush cutter attachment. First, do a walk around inspection. Check the nuts and bolts to make sure they're tight. Most nuts and bolts on the brush cutter will remain tight, but a few bolts can sometimes come loose, especially after the machine's been through some heavy use. These include the bolts on the spindle housing, the blade bar bolts, and the blade bolts. Also check the two bolts that fasten the winch motor to the attachment. Check for any obvious problems such as a hairline crack in the housing or excessive wear in the safety flaps. If you think there's any chance that problems like this might damage the machine or injure anyone on or near the machine, notify your supervisor before using the brush cutter. Take a close look at the cables. Inspect them with a more head on the ground and the engine turned off. First, for fraying or loose connections, then check the tightness of the cables. A loose cable will not support the boom when it's extended. If you notice any significant slack, you'll need to tighten the cable according to specifications contained in the operator's manual. Next, check the condition of the hydraulic hoses and the hose protector. If the hose protector is not in place, there will be excessive wear on the surface of the hose. Next, check the hydraulic oil level. If it's low, add oil to the proper level. The next step is lubrication. Using only the lubricant called lubric plate, lubricate all grease fittings. Make sure to wipe the grease fittings before attaching the grease gun. When you're greasing the cable pulley, don't let grease get into the sleeve and onto the boom. Grease on the boom will collect dust, dirt, and debris, causing the boom to drag when it's extended or retracted. Next, check the blades. The blades should be replaced when they're excessively worn, bent, or deformed. If you do need to replace a blade, though, you'll have to replace both blades. Blades must be replaced in pairs because blades of different weights can cause serious vibration. An imbalance can damage the machine and cause injury to operators. And that's it for the pre-trip inspections. Now let's look at operating techniques. The brush cutter is a dangerous piece of equipment. It's capable of causing serious injury or even death. So wear a hard hat and safety glasses or goggles. And whenever you're operating the brush cutter, stay alert and be aware of the dangers involved in operating the equipment. Don't drive the brush cutter unless the boom and mower are in the proper travel position. Swung back and in the cradle. Lock both steering brakes on the tractor before you head out. And when you do head out, maintain a low, safe speed on the road. When you get to the job site, the first thing to do is to set out warning signs and position a flagman. The flagman should also wear a safety vest, hard hat, and safety glasses or goggles. The next step is to inspect the work area. It's important to identify any objects that can cause problems. These can be loose objects or fixed obstacles. Loose objects can be thrown by the mower, damaging both the machine and anyone on or near it. Look for wires, cables, ropes, or chains. Any of these can get caught in the blades. The same goes for gravel, rocks, and other debris. These objects should be either avoided or removed. Fixed obstacles include telephone pedestals, transformer boxes, and drainage pipes. Sometimes these objects are hidden in deep brush, so look carefully for them. Watch for steel guard rails, granite rock, and concrete abutments. The cutter blades can break if they hit these objects. Now, controls. The mower blades are started by lifting this lever located on the left side of the tractor. Always start the blades with the tractor idling, and never leave your seat with the blades going or with the engine running. Even when you've turned off the machine, you should wait a minute. The blades continue to rotate for about 60 seconds after the machine has been turned off. The lever controlling the blades also acts like a safety switch. When the lever is in the on position, the tractor cannot start. There are four levers that control the movements of the brush cutter. The first lever causes the boom to swing. When it's pushed forward, the boom swings out from the rear of the tractor. If you release the lever, the boom locks into position. And if you pull it back, the boom swings back. The second lever runs the winch motor. Moving it forward extends the boom. Pulling it back retracts the boom. Pushing the third lever forward raises the boom. Releasing the lever in that position locks the boom in the raised position. Pulling the handle back causes the boom to float. In this position, it will follow the contours of the terrain regardless of the tractor's movements. The fourth lever tilts the mower head. Pushing it forward tilts the mower up. Releasing it in that position locks the mower in place. Pulling the lever back causes the mower head to float. And those are the brush cutter controls. Now let's look at operating techniques. The brush cutter is capable of throwing objects great distances and inflicting serious injury. Never let anyone get within a 100 foot radius of the machine when you're working. And make sure your flagger warns you of approaching cars so you can stop the mower until the cars pass by. Always cut from the bottom up. This way you can get the cut material from the bottom out of the way before moving up. It's a good idea to cut with the mower in front of you. That way you can see where you're going. Also the cut material will be thrown away from you rather than toward you. Operate the tractor in the low gears and at slow speed. As you cut, watch out for the obstacles we talked about earlier. Electrical wires, transformers, hard objects of any kind. Watch also for certain types of wood like cherry wood or other types of hardwood. These are difficult to cut and may be thrown by the mower blades. Sometimes obstacles will be more visible after you've made your first cut and before you start the second cut. If you see anything, either remove it or avoid it. When you take a break during the day, you should make a general walk around inspection. Look for any problems that may have developed that need to be fixed before you continue working. Check the blades, the cables, nuts and bolts, anything that might cause a problem. Remove any debris that may have collected on the machine, like these tree branches and brush, for example. And remember, if you have to work on the cutter for any reason, make sure to shut the machine off first. Also, as we mentioned earlier, the blades continue to spin for about a minute after you shut the engine off. So make sure they're no longer spinning when you check them. Parts of the cutter may have to be lubricated again. Lubricate the fittings at the spindle housing. This is where the moving parts get a lot of wear and tear. And that's it for operating techniques. Now let's look at shutdown. If you're leaving the unit at the site or bringing it back to the yard, first park on level ground. Place the boom in the moorhead in the cradle. Follow the normal shutdown procedure for the tractor. Let the engine idle for a few minutes before turning it off. Then engage the emergency brake. Finally, walk around the unit one more time and inspect it for any sign of damage. Look closely at the cables, the hoses, the blades. Anything that may need attention before the machine is used again. And that's it for shutdown and this program on the brush cutter. Remember, the brush cutter can be a dangerous piece of equipment if it's not used properly. Keep in mind the precautions we've mentioned and use common sense. You'll get the job done better and safer.