Finding a mower for a Cub help

[indy61]

I’ll need to figure out if this has been modified from stock.

It looks heavily modified from that pic. A lot of tubular steel. incorrect rear wheel weights, head lights.

[Crimson Tim]

The white box in the front is some sort of roof/awning, isn’t it? That mounts on the tube steel behind the seat?

Something is in the space where the hydraulic control box goes under the gas tank, but doesn’t look quite right. Can’t tell what that is. I don’t see lines to the pump, rock shaft or control lever. So probably a no on hydraulics, though better pictures would help.. They are not difficult to add. Or keep using the winch it has. Or install a hand lift.

Don’t forget to send off for your free recall fuel cap.

[Dale Finch]

It has front weights, too! Nice.

[cpy911]

Have you thought about purchasing a slightly more modern tractor than the Cub. One with standard PTO, hydraulics and more HP on the drawbar and PTO.

I own a standard Cub with 42" woods belly mower. Mow pasture, not really. Well I could, but it would take me a week to mow the 16/17 acres in 1st gear. WD Allis and 5 foot tow behind mower, $1000-, 2nd gear, about 6 or 7 hours.

Edit. More photos of the tractor from all sides and any attachments.

Yes, something with more power would be better. I am being gifted this machine and thought about using it to mow our 3 acre and 2 acre pasture after grazing is done for the season. I may still try it tough. I will take a look at a WD Allis.

[cpy911]

The white box in the front is some sort of roof/awning, isn’t it? That mounts on the tube steel behind the seat?

Something is in the space where the hydraulic control box goes under the gas tank, but doesn’t look quite right. Can’t tell what that is. I don’t see lines to the pump, rock shaft or control lever. So probably a no on hydraulics, though better pictures would help.. They are not difficult to add. Or keep using the winch it has. Or install a hand lift.

Don’t forget to send off for your free recall fuel cap.

I only have that picture for now. The tractor is in Idaho out of state for me at the in-laws. Yes to the awning. He used the tractor in AZ and lots of sun.
It is free to me, so I suppose spending a little bit of $$$ to get it to do what I need may not be a bad deal.

[cpy911]

I’ll need to figure out if this has been modified from stock.

It looks heavily modified from that pic. A lot of tubular steel. incorrect rear wheel weights, head lights.

It is the only pic I have right now. The machine is not yet in my possession, have been learning about it.

[Dale Finch]

I use my 5 Cubs to tinker on, but mostly to mow our roughly 10 acres of pastures. I have all belly mounted: 1 Mott flail, 1 Woods 59, and 3 Woods 42 mowers. They do fantastic jobs mowing the fields, even when they are overgrown. In really bad cases, you just whittle away at it a bit slower! But those Woods 42 mowers with sharp blades will cut down just about anything they can roll over!

If you find one out east, Cub Express, as mentioned, might be an option, but also Fastenal has restarted (on a limited basis) their shipping palletted items, "store-to-store".

Oh, and if your cub has no hydraulics, you can either add it or get yourself a Manual Lift Assembly. You DO need a functioning PTO, though. Or else a self-powered pull-behind as previously mentioned.

[Eugene]

I will take a look at a WD Allis.

There are other makes and models of tractor out there in the same price ball park. I mentioned the WD Allis because that's what I own, IH and Allis. Allis Chalmers was a popular tractor make locally 70 or so years ago.

On the pasture grass, I have fescue. Good pasture, very tough grass. A lot of the ability to mow depends on the grass type.

I mow pasture once or twice a year to keep the weeds down. Weeds the cattle won't eat.

[Glen]

Hi,
I don't think the Cub in your pic has IH Touch Control. It looks like something else in the space under the hood for the Touch Control.
The Touch Control has a sort of small engine driven pump, on the left side of the engine.
The Cub in your pic has no Touch Control lever, it would be by the throttle lever.

Below is a page from the 1950 Cub operator's manual, showing the parts of the system.

http://farmallcub.com/rudi_cub/www.clea ... e%2060.jpg

There is a rockshaft lift arm on the right side also, to lift implements on the right side.

Below are pics from TM Tractor of the IH Touch Control, showing the parts of the system.

http://www.tmtractor.com/tm-tractor/ghy/hydsys1_001.htm

You have to have Touch Control, or the hand lift lever, for Cubs without Touch Control, to lift implements made for the Cub.
Some of the heavier implements for the rear of the Cub need Touch Control, the implement owner's manuals say.

Below are pics from TM Tractor of the hand lift lever IH made. This bolts on to the top of the transmission housing, to the left of the seat.

http://www.tmtractor.com/tm-tractor/gdr/handrrs_001.htm

These pics show it on the Cub, and the front rockshaft, which bolts on in the position the Touch Control rockshaft would be in. The front rockshaft lifts the mid mounted rotary mowers.

http://www.tmtractor.com/tm-tractor/gdr ... ub_001.htm

[ajhbike]

If you want to have a vintage tractor mow your pasture maybe consider an C, Super C, H or M with a pull behind bush hog with sharp blades. I recently bought a 6 ft pull behind vs my 5 ft and found it took 20% less passes. Think about that for a 4 ft belly mower.

The first time I had to cut a property out in the boonies with only a bike trail access I used the cub (it could snake through the trail) with a Kub Klipper belly mower for thick brush. Fun for a while, but it took alot of time. Switched to the Ferguson with a 6 foot mower and it was mucho less time. After all, I only get 2 days off a week!!

[cpy911]

If you want to have a vintage tractor mow your pasture maybe consider an C, Super C, H or M with a pull behind bush hog with sharp blades. I recently bought a 6 ft pull behind vs my 5 ft and found it took 20% less passes. Think about that for a 4 ft belly mower.

The first time I had to cut a property out in the boonies with only a bike trail access I used the cub (it could snake through the trail) with a Kub Klipper belly mower for thick brush. Fun for a while, but it took alot of time. Switched to the Ferguson with a 6 foot mower and it was mucho less time. After all, I only get 2 days off a week!!

More good advice, maybe the cub is not the machine for this job...but at least it can pull a manure spreader!

I am thinking my best option for a stop gap is to find a gas powered pull behind unit and use the cub as the "mule" to pull it around. As I mentioned, I have nothing right now, so anything is helpful. I think someone earlier on mentioned this. My plan would be to mow the pastures 1x to 2x a year when I rotate the cows around.

[Crimson Tim]

More good advice, maybe the cub is not the machine for this job...but at least it can pull a manure spreader!

I am thinking my best option for a stop gap is to find a gas powered pull behind unit and use the cub as the "mule" to pull it around. As I mentioned, I have nothing right now, so anything is helpful. I think someone earlier on mentioned this. My plan would be to mow the pastures 1x to 2x a year when I rotate the cows around.

Yes, it can pull a small spreader as long as it is not PTO driven. The PTO on a Cub spins the wrong direction and way too fast (1800 rpm vs 540 rpm) for anything not specifically made for it. However, the IH 100 spreader is a perfect size if you can find one. There are many modern wheel-driven options, too. Many smaller options made for lawn tractors or ATVs. The next notch up from those would be good.

There is a PTO reverser and despeeder out there, but those a *very* hard to find and therefore $$$.

As long as you have reasonable expectations of what these little guys can do, you’ll be fine. There’s no reason it can’t do everything you want to do, just on its own terms, and at its own (slow) speed. Keep in mind it only has 9 hp, but it’s pretty amazing what it can accomplish with that 9 hp. Any newer tractor of comparable size is likely to have triple the power and be way safer, faster and easier to operate. On the other hand, there’s just something really relaxing about seat time on a Cub. Don’t expect to blast through an overgrown field at warp 9, but nevertheless many of us are doing real work with these little guys.

[Mht]

I have a 1950 cub set up as a dedicated mowing tractor with a woods 42 mower. With a tractor in good condition and sharp blades I regularly mow in second gear. My cub has no problem mowing heavy grass and light brush. With the mower raised up it mows just fine in heavy pasture grass and with the mower lowered it cuts my yard just as good as any riding mower I’ve ever had. It’s certainly not as maneuverable as a riding mower for close quarters around trees and buildings but I don’t have any problems cutting the yard with it. For Cutting five acres of pasture twice a year I think your cub will do a fine job if you can find a mower for it and the woods 42 with the swinging blades would be the perfect mower for that job. If I were in your position I’d find a mower and try the cub before deciding I needed a bigger and therefore more expensive tractor and mower.

[cpy911]

This is what I was thinking. I was inspired by this guy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUEnVAKDL1Y&ab_channel=UncleBZ
He seems to be doing nicely with his Danco mower.

These two gentlemen are tearing it up with cubs!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfLz7B60qEI&ab_channel=bobperry

We have two new to us pastures. One is super flat with 2 acres and I painfully mowed it with a cheap 20 year old craftsman rider in June. Took me several weeks widdling away at it 30-40 minutes each day plus using my hand held brush cutter in dense spots! So anything is a step up. I don't believe in financing anything other than real estate (my personal taste..not for everyone!) so a 30K tractor and mower setup is a long ways off.

The other pasture is 3 acres with the top 1 acre on a slight slope, we put our friends cows in there during the spring growth, rotated them out and then I paid a guy to mow it in August to knock down the dead stuff the cows did not eat. That pasture has a spot that has a 20° slope that I probably will just avoid (or very carefully go straight down on), but the rest of it is easy. I don't know how stable cubs are on slopes, so have to ease into that carefully.

Bottom line, I think a clip of pasture in August after grazing is doable with a cub and a woods 42...not so dense and I can just mow down hill. It is better than a craftsman rider!

Thanks!
Justin

I have a 1950 cub set up as a dedicated mowing tractor with a woods 42 mower. With a tractor in good condition and sharp blades I regularly mow in second gear. My cub has no problem mowing heavy grass and light brush. With the mower raised up it mows just fine in heavy pasture grass and with the mower lowered it cuts my yard just as good as any riding mower I’ve ever had. It’s certainly not as maneuverable as a riding mower for close quarters around trees and buildings but I don’t have any problems cutting the yard with it. For Cutting five acres of pasture twice a year I think your cub will do a fine job if you can find a mower for it and the woods 42 with the swinging blades would be the perfect mower for that job. If I were in your position I’d find a mower and try the cub before deciding I needed a bigger and therefore more expensive tractor and mower.

[Don McCombs]

Since you don't have the Cub yet, continue to look for a Woods 42 setup for a standard Cub. Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace and, to a lesser extent, eBay are good places to keep an eye on. Be prepared to do a little driving if one turns up. UHaul rents trailers if you don't have a pickup. I'd look for a complete Touch Control setup while you're at it.