Starting a Field with the KWMI Slab Harvester

When using a John Deere, it is recommended to operate the tractor at a rate of no less than 1400 RPM. The CUTTER SPEED which controls the cutter blade, should be set high enough so that the cutter blade does not stall.

NOTE: Operating the cutter speed flow too fast will cause unnecessary wear on cutter head parts.

1.  Measure off an equal distance from edge of the field (anything up to 100 feet) and at 3 points down the length of the field put stakes in a straight line.
2.  Cut a strip down this line the full length of the field.
3.  As skids are loaded, they can be set off the side on the sod or taken out to the end.
4.  On reaching the end of the field, turn and come back, cutting a strip beside the first cut. Sometimes it is necessary to roll out marks made by the tractor as it made the first cut.
5.  Repeat this until the area is completely cut.
6.  This method provides easy access for trucks to load without traveling over the uncut sod.
7.  By taking a width not in excess of 100 feet from the edge of the field, at which to start, the amount of travel by the harvester while not cutting is reduced. If a greater width is taken, the harvester has to travel over a greater distance to be from one side of the area being cut to the other side, which is wasted time. Choosing too narrow a width creates the problem of too many “starts” and could increase the amount of rolling necessary to remove marks made by the harvester as it starts a new area.