Weed Eater cutter mod

[chucketn]

I wish to make a modified cutter head for my weed eater. I have several clumps of pampas grass and other tough stuff to cut back before the new growth starts. I know most folks burn them back, but some are not in a good place for that, such as too close to the house, on the property line, in fences and among plants/shrubs I want to keep. Standard weed eater string just doesn’t stand up to the task.
The head I want to make will use either swiveling hard blades or wire cable segments on screw eyes, attached to a hub that will screw onto the driveshaft of the weed eater.
Has anyone made something like this? I need ideas…
Chuck

 

[mcostello]

They make hard plastic vanes on a dedicated head for what You are describing. Name escapes Me at the present. For a temporary fix, why not see if the next size string will work. that's what I have done with mine.

 

[GailInNM]

Chuck,
I looked at doing something like that a few years ago.The general opinion was that metal line frayed quickly on the ends and wore out very fast. Also it was very hard on the legs if you slipped.There are some swiveling plastic blade heads on the market but I have never tried one.

After I had a stroke my solution was to hire a part time gardener to come in every few weeks. I would point and grunt and the jobs I did not like or could not do were done. I could still plant flowers and do the things I liked to do but the flower bed was clean when I started.

Cut down on the tooling budget but gave me more time in the shop.
Gail in NM

 

[mcostello]

There is no metal strings involved, just plastic sticks about the size of Ice Cream sticks.

 

[obrian]

My weed eater came with a all metal blade for heavy cutting. It was like a skill saw blade with only four large teeth. You might try an old saw blade. Just don't try to cut down a tree.

Dennis

 

[dnalot]

I put the plastic blades on my weedeater last summer and they worked great. And they didn't need constant attention and were very easy to change out for new blades.

Mark T

 

[chucketn]

Ya'll can relax, now. I bought a straight shafted brush cutter attachement for my weed eater. If I have to design and build something better I will, and send you all the bill...
Thanks for the constructive and even the not so constructive input.
Chuck