Based at Knockcroghery, between Athlone and Roscommon town, John Murray runs an agricultural contracting business alongside his father, Harry. The Murrays began offering a hedge-cutting service to local farmers 35 years ago, when they purchased a used Bomford Turner 25S.

In the last 10 years, the hedge-cutting side of the business has become a lot bigger, and the family now runs three machines.

Today, the Murrays run a Bomford Hawk (6.5m), a 7.25m Buzzard and an 8.1m B8181. All were initially equipped with 1.2m flail heads, but they have two saw heads, which they swap on and off depending on jobs.

The unit comes equipped with a 1.43m heavy-duty deck.

Time to upgrade heads

Three years ago, John was faced with the predicament of once again reconditioning the flail head on his Hawk, or with buying a new head. He had seen the Major rotary head on display and knew the sales team through previous dealings with slurry tankers.

He contacted Major and organised a demo during the 2021 season.

After it, John was very impressed and decided to buy the Major rotary head, and ended up buying a second head a year later, in 2022.

“Depending on the material it's cutting, I like to give the eight blades a quick sharpen every morning with the angle grinder."

The design

Labelled as the MJ39, Major says the hedge-cutting head produces a clean presentation on hedgerows, shrubs and verges, at fast-forward speeds, thanks to its ‘blender-style’ mulching capabilities of the rotary head.

The design is very similar to the firm’s Cyclone, with the gearbox driveline powering twin rotors and eight overlapping blades (four large and four small). The hydraulic motor is fitted with an overrun clutch, protecting the hydraulic system when the motor stops. The unit comes equipped with a 1.43m heavy-duty deck.

The manufacturer claims that the rotary type head outperforms flail head systems for productivity and maintenance, while reducing the overall total cost of ownership. A full-length roller controls the cutting height between 40mm-100mm for verge work and can be moved up and away for hedge-cutting. An adjustable front hood, hydraulically or manually enabled, controls the amount of material entering the cutting chamber. The manufacturer says deep deck sides ensure mulch is retained in the hedgerow.

The main components are made of Strenx 700MC structural steel to reduce overall weight of the unit without compromising on strength. The skids are made of Hardox wear and abrasion-resistant steel. Major says the MJ39-143 has a universal connection for quick attachment to most power arms. Meanwhile, the MJ39-143D, design for excavators, has larger gearboxes and fits booms in the 10-14t range.

A full-length roller controls the cutting height between 40mm-100mm for verge work and can be moved up and away for hedge-cutting.

Fitting and maintaining the head

“It features the same mounting as a typical flail head. If you had the correct fittings, you’d easily fit it in 15-20 minutes. It’s only four bolts and four pipes. When we fitted the two heads, we plumbed the hydraulically opening hood into the tractor spools, rather than through the hedge cutter’s joystick.

“As our flail heads are belt drive, the hydraulic direct drive of the Major means it can take more abuse, but you need to have a good relief valve. The Major head is over 100kg heavier than the flail head, which is a disadvantage, but we have removed the rollers in both heads to lighten the load. It also means that we can cut in reverse, as we have very few jobs where you can cut an even hedge right the way around the field. The two skids each side on the frame are a good guide to help carry out an even cut.

“Depending on the material it’s cutting, I like to give the eight blades a quick sharpen every morning with the angle grinder. If necessary, it’s very easy to take the head apart. Around one hour’s work would completely strip it apart. One stand out feature is how easy it is to remove wire if it gets tangled, in comparison to a flail head. The galvanized finish is also a great job,” said John.

L/R- Harry and John Murray.

Verdict

“We are very happy with the two Major rotary hedge-cutting heads. It’s the first machine I go for in the mornings. In jobs where we need some saw work alongside the flail work, the Major head can do all. I have tackled trees up to and over four inches in diameter. It’s more versatile than a flail head, it’s able to get through work quicker and I feel that it does a better job. It leaves a great finish in all conditions, whether it be cutting leylandii around a house or hawthorns in a field. It’s also able to take a bit more abuse than the flail heads. It cuts out the need to have the rotor balanced and it’s a lot cheaper to run. We have replaced all wearing parts, and aside from that, the only thing we replaced was a seal in a gearbox.

“The only small negative point we have is that it’s that bit heavier than a flail, which you’d feel when it’s hanging out the side by 6-7m. I do think that the mounting bracket could be put a bit closer to the hedge cutter arm”.

“It’s more expensive to buy day one, but it’s more cost-effective overall. We estimate that you would run the rotary head 50% cheaper than a standard flail head, but it is dependent on the type of material that you are cutting. The replacement blades work out a lot cheaper than a full set of flails. Overall, we’re very happy with the rotary heads,” concluded John.