The brush cutter is not a tool that is used a lot inside the garden, if you have to remove the weed in the flower beds, better to remove it by hand or with a hoe because to prevent it from re-growing, the entire root must be removed.
However, this is a fundamental tool for cutting the grass around the cultivated area, anyone who has a vegetable garden will have found himself having to do this. For this reason it can be useful to spend a few words on how to use it effectively and safely.
Like all power tools, without the necessary precautions you can get hurt, moreover, incorrect use can damage the tool. We therefore need to know when and how to work with this machine.
What to cut with the brush cutter
The brush cutter is useful for cutting the grass around the perimeter of the garden, in particular the parts near the fences, small lawns, areas left to rest and slightly steep slopes.
Turf. To cut the cured grass of a garden in general, a lawn mower is used, with the brush cutter at low turns you can finish the edges. Small flower beds instead can be brushed off entirely.
Meadow. The brush cutter is ideal for cutting grass in meadows or pastures, if the grass is dense or very high, it is better to have a powerful, well-engineered “dece”, as well as a rather robust wire.
Edge cutting. Where motor mowers and lawn mowers do not arrive, the brush cutter is used: next to the walls, near the fences, around the plants.
Banks, escarpments and edges of canals: in steep areas, the brush cutter is the ideal solution, because it is a handy tool, You can try Lawn mower for bigger areas
Brambles, undergrowth and small shrubs. The brush cutter also cuts young seedlings and brambles, if the diameter increases and the shrubs are more woody they can be tackled with a blade brush cutter. However, it is necessary to avoid cutting overgrown timber or plants. for these cases there is a chainsaw.
Green manure crops. If you practice the green manure technique, i.e. enriching the soil with nutrients by growing a preparatory crop which will then be mowed and buried, you can use a brush cutter to cut the green manure plants before milling them.
Precautions in use:
Like many tools, it must be taken into account that the brush cutter can be dangerous if not used correctly. First you need to protect yourself: it is good to wear adequate protective clothing, in particular the visor is essential to repair the face and headphones so as not to be deafened by the roar of the internal combustion engine.
The risk is to get hurt, but also to damage people or things: all gardeners have experience of car windows or glass broken by stones hit by the wire of this tool.
To avoid damage there are a few things not to do when using a brush cutter:
- Do not smoke: you are using a power tool with a full tank of fuel.
- Do not cut metal or rigid objects and too large and woody seedlings.
- Avoid the stones, which can splash.
- Do not touch wires or nets with the rotating head in operation, otherwise they will twist around it.
- Do not try to change the wire or disassemble parts of the machine with the engine running.
Some tricks of the trade
To know how to start the brush cutter just read the instructions of your model, while using it well you get carried away with experience. Here are some useful tips that can help beginners.
Blade or wire. The flush head has a large cutting area, but to be effective in thick grass it requires entering with good acceleration, if the grass is very thick you can be better off with a blade cutting head. For even finer shrubs and brambles, it is better to choose the thread, you can work with greater speed and safety.
The right movement. In general, cutting is carried out with a movement of the head on both sides, if the grass is thick it is useful to give a pass and then go over the same area, in the return passage the level of the cut is lowered, obtaining a cleaner job . Working on escarpments, it is better to cut by proceeding along the shore coast, avoiding ascents and descents. We start from below and try to cut by dropping the grass downwards, in this way the mowing does not hinder the area still to be done.
How much to speed up. If you cut with a flush head, you must give constant acceleration during the cut, in general, however, it is better not to put too much stress on the engine, so at the end of the swath you need to decelerate. For efficient work, the grass must be approached after reaching a good speed in turning.
How to perform good maintenance
To keep the brush cutter operational and efficient and to allow the engine and transmission to last a long time, you need to carry out periodic maintenance on the tool. Operations such as cleaning the air filter or greasing the bevel gear are of great importance. The first tip is to read the dedicated chapters on the user manual of your model, then you can deepen the ordinary maintenance operations by reading the small guide of Cultivate.
Choose the brush cutter
The choice of the brush cutter is a long matter, it depends on what types of jobs you are facing and how often you plan to use the tool. Below you can find some brush cutter models analyzed, which I can recommend
