Stripes 02' continued...

[hoagie]

Just met w/ a former co-worker and he gave me a pic of my work from last summer. Line at the bottom is a scratch on the photo...

[hoagie]

Nobody likes my stripes? :cry:

[Ssouth]

Hoagie, Love the stripes. Very straight. The pattern is also very flattering. Keep up the great work. I'll try to get some new pics up soon to show striping in the south. It's not neer as good as you guys up north do but we can get a few around here.

[SemiPro]

I found your picture doing a search on striping patterns. I went ahead and took the scratch out.

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Originally posted by hoagie
Nobody likes my stripes? :cry:

Nobody likes it because you made a duplicate thread.

[J.Henderson]

...

[FrankenScagMachines]

OK, OK twist my arm!
Does not take much to get me to brag about my stuff or my work so here it is folks. Done with a garden tractor, yes.

[FrankenScagMachines]

2

[FrankenScagMachines]

3

[FrankenScagMachines]

4

[scottb]

Nice work guy's keep up the good work.

[FrankenScagMachines]

5

[Jimbo]

Hoagie,

Any special setup to get such deep stripes? Is you deck pitch at the factory angle?

[FrankenScagMachines]

6

[FrankenScagMachines]

I know, some are crooked but it's hard with some garden tractors and besides its my lawn not a customers. I usually try harder with a customers.
This thread is better than the last one because the grass is green now wheareas before it was all in dormant still.

[FrankenScagMachines]

None of this was cut with the Bush Hog tractor on the left, it was a '93 Wheel Horse 520H with a 48" deck. The Bush Hog is not used to mow.

[FrankenScagMachines]

Another

[FrankenScagMachines]

this one was cut with a '87 Toro 8[hp]-32[inch] rear engine rider with homemade stripe roller. Super high lift blade.

[FrankenScagMachines]

cut with the Toro 8-32 too.

[FrankenScagMachines]

last one (for now!):D
Cut with a '86 JD 316 GT with a 44" deck. Oddball size but it is a good striping combination. It's super hard to keep straight. Nearly impossible.

[hoagie]

Originally posted by Jimbo
Hoagie,

Any special setup to get such deep stripes? Is you deck pitch at the factory angle?



Nothing special at all, besides being double cut... it was done w/ an old bobcat 48 w/b. The yellowish color is due to the bentgrass... it would always yellow up a little at 3", brown out at 2.5"


LG- sorry for the duplicate... I was new to the site and posting pics... my bad buddy.

[gogetter]

Hey Eric, do you have pics of your homemade striping kit? I know you've posted pics of some of your projects, but I don't remember seeing the striper.

[J.Henderson]

new pic

[FrankenScagMachines]

Jonathon-
The Toro stripes even better than that, but those pics I posted with it (next to last one and the one before that) were either still brown partially from winter (one with house in background, my house) or just not that good of grass (first pic where Toro was used). Here's a pic of the roller I made. Email if you have any questions about it or how to make one or where to buy one, etc. I can help!
Eric

[FrankenScagMachines]

Adjustable height bracket. I usually leave it at the same setting but made it so I can change it if I want to. I actually didn't even bore out all of the holes to a large enough to use with these bolts. Usually cut at about 2.5" to 3" or so. It's best at 3", but people like it shorter (2" or so usually) so I compromise at 2.5", enough to keep it green and more drought resistant and still stripe good, resistant to weeds, etc. Just plain better! 3" are best, I have even thought about going to 3.25 or 3.5" on my lawn on a portion to see how it looks. Stripes work better when it's higher and it's greener, but they always like it shorter for some reason?
Good luck and happy mowing!
Eric

[leprechaun_50]

I don't want to sound like a smart*** but I don't know what all the fuss about stripes is. Everyone here acts like stripes were just invented, but I have been stripeing with my Allis-Chalmers 60" deck for better than fifteen years. I must say though that they sure look great. Some of you guys have posted some pretty good pics.

[FrankenScagMachines]

leprachaun, striping is fairly new here and I believe in many areas it is just now catching on. I know that Simplicity and AC have always had full rollers on their tractors but most folks didn't know about striping and didn't wanna make it look like they were outdoing the Jones's... That was back in the days when about everyone went in circles. Simplicity has just recently figured out that those old rollers would stripe, or just recently started advertising it. With a garden tractor it is usually easier to go in circles or squares than back and forth so no one ever noticed them, they just saw a great cut quality. Then when ZTRs came around it was more effecient to go back and forth and people started noticing patterns and companies were quick to catch on and start selling kits to improve this wild new fad in lawn care.
My 'theory' on it anyway.

'Some of you guys have posted some pretty good pics" - would this be me?
:D :D :D
Happy striping,
Eric

[J.Henderson]

Some LCO's in my area also asked how I made stripes. Alot of people still going in squares.

[leprechaun_50]

BushHogBoy

It looks like you know your mowers! I have always used the back and forth method of mowing on my lawn. Also I always change the direction in which I mow so I get a real nice pattern.

P.S. Yes you did have great pics!!

[FrankenScagMachines]

leprechaun -
Yep, I'm also a garden tractor collector/expert! Check out www.simpletractors.com for old Allis and Simplicity machines.
My stripes - I've been working a while on them, for the past year or so and it has really been an obcession to me! I won't let anyone else mow at our house (2 acres) because they can't do it right for me. I'm gonna have to teach my dad though because he might have to help me sometimes. I will change directions most of the time on other's lawn, especially if it's been raining alot so it doesn't rut, and if I don't want to double cut the yard to get a good stripe pattern. Most yards of mine have to be double cut to get a double stripe pattern to stay. They don't usually stay for a week then cut a different angle and still see the first one.. the grass type is different and doesn't do that great. Some do keep a pattern though. Do you have access to a digital camera or scanner? I'd like to see some of your handiwork.
Happy striping
:blob4:
Eric
PS- I heard of a guy around here who had a Simplicity and it wasn't cutting good. They tried everything, blades, belts, all of it, and couldn't figure it out. It turned out that he was mowing in the same pattern every week and it was laying the grass over SO BAD that it wasn't even lifting it up to cut it the next week. A couple of my yards the owners patched it with some Kentucky 31 mix, some sort of bluegrass, not at all what was on their yard but cheapest at walmart :rolleyes: and it will lay over like this too. It doesn't even look good, plus it grows 3x faster than the other grass during spring and winter :rolleyes: :mad: then it still sticks out, but my point is that on some grasses, going on same pattern can mess you up. Now ones that do not hold good stripe I almost always go same direction just to keep the stripe unless it's wet, to prevent ruts.
Later.