Yes it is that easy! This is exactly the idea I was looking for when I got the idea to search KZfaq while gazing at my spent corn crop and thinking “man I hate dealing with these corn stalks, but I’m not going to burn them.” If you are a seasoned DIYer then you’ll realize right away that this method is not nearly as dangerous as it may look to others. Mowers collect like flies at my place because nobody else can keep them running, so extra uses for them are a nice find.

This thing works great. I made one years ago after seeing this, and it's still going strong. The natural air flow from the blade helps the cornstalks go right in and you never get close to the blade. Much better than a top feed, because air would be flowing out, the blade pushing it upward.

Found this video looking for a way to use the mower to chop corn stalks..nice to see others are already doing it..good video,thanks

my grand dad did almost the same when I was a round 9-10 yrs old. 55 yrs old now. but he took off the wheels and sat it on the plywood flat, the cut about a 5''x 5'' hole in the top connecting a hopper on the hole with screws. then mounted all of it to a swivel top table. after the gardening season was over, he wood pile all the left over plants up and come next spring would feed it into the mower and spray the clippings/ mulch by rotating the table, in whatever area he wanted it. he also used or saved all his tobacco spit to mix in the dirt where he planted. the man had the biggest and pretties garden you ever saw and no he did not die of cancer. he died of a broken heart. from missing my grand maw that passed a few months earlier. lol guys... OH, I still do just as he did back then !!!

Thank you for posting this 10 years ago. I have been looking for a solution for this exact reason. I almost purchased a used electric chipper/shredder but I was unsure if it would work for the fibrous stalk of corn. I won't even need to purchase anything, I already have a mower. I just need to build the feed platform. And it totally makes sense to use a lawn mower on corn as it is for grass and corn is technically grass.

If you have goats, pigs, or cows, this makes EXCELLENT silage. They will eat every bit of those ground up stalks (especially when green), and this silage can be stored for fermentation which is even better. Look up silage on youtube for those with animals.

Best idea I found on KZfaq so far!🙌🏽

Aside from your poor safety demo it's a useful idea. I copied it except made the chute 1/2 wide x 8 inches long for feeding newspaper and cardboard in for shredding prior to making paper fire briquettes. Works like a charm. Slot too narrow for fingers. Fixed also to dump directly into a leaf bag (must have a screen vent for air out). Thanks for the idea.

Great vid Conrad! really helped me out with my potato farm! Thanks so much and keep up the good work, You're going to be huge!

how you lived to be an old man escapes me but my hats off to ya dude :)

Built mine today. Love it. Works excellent.

that's a serious hillbilly wood chipper and it's awesome

I sat watching this video with a dumb grin on my face....this is f'n insane. I love it. I'm thinking about growing sorghum this summer and didn't want to invest in a chipper shredder for that purpose. Thanks for the vid !!!!

I usually let my four-year-old do this job. Nice idea. Really. I'll be using this.

Just too simple for KZfaq :D Great thinking.

I chopped up everything in my garden that is a pain to compost; dried pepper bushes easily scrunch together with my hands to fit into the 5”X5” ID shoot (designed to be very secure, so I could be somewhat aggressive with my chopping. Next season I am going to try keeping the grass-catcher cover down for a few seconds to ensure thorough mulching of the stalks, etc.; stalks really zip through the mower leaving some bits 4”-6” in length, which is probably just fine and not worth the extra trouble.

Now that's Awesome! American Inganuety at it's Best!!! Way to go!!!

We will be seeing this dude on the cheapskate show next season... Congrats Conrad

Geez....you are the man.. I take my hat off to you Sir..

They now call him "stumpy"...😁 All kidding aside...exactly what I need for my biodigester. THANKS

You do understand if you raise the deck as high as it can go, tilt the mower deck up to about 45 degrees you can just run over it a couple of times, and it is mulched just fine to break down for next year. In fact you want to leave the "trash" on the ground to help prevent the topsoil from washing away. It works with the whole garden. A garden tractor works a bit faster, just because it knocks the stalks down easier. :) I do my whole 15000sqft of garden that way. and it is less dangerous.

its a two stroke. I own one and it runs really nice yes.

LOL, gotta luv it!! You know why they have all the warning stickers on the deck of the push-style lawn mowers now don't you? Someone had the bright idea of using it as a hedge trimmer.

Hey bro im the only subscriber!

That's awesome

Genius. I love it.

Good thinking. btw: The amount of people think this is dangerous is pretty insane. Using a mover the normal way is considerably more dangerous...

Personally, I would suggest that you add a cover to the top of your chute to make it safer so your hands don't get close enough to be pulled inside the chute area. I would also suggest that the belt be attached to the saw horses instead of just to the modified wood base so that any bucking of the mower keeps it in place more securely than how you presently have it rigged. I do believe that the base is good, but that there is likely a way to make a chute that enters into the standard side opening on the mower so you don't have to put the mower up on a saw horse to begin with. I would work on designing that sort of chute as it would just seem a bit risky to have the mower elevated onto saw horses where it is less stable or ergonomically unfriendly. Look at some of the chipper/shredders at places as Home Depot and see how their chute is located. To me, that is the biggest problem for you with this present setup. I am wondering if there are any issues with kick back or with what is fed into the machine? Pine cones and wet leaves would be interesting to know how it handles them, but also small twigs and such. Thanks for the ideas this video promotes. It is creative and thought provoking. I know any sort of video with comments allowed always brings out the worst in those who are the self-appointed Safety Police or simply useless trolls , but aside from that it is an idea which can spark some thought and perhaps even some improvements in design. Again, thanks for posting the video.

cool idea

That is awesome!

good one

Thank you

Most people cut a hole in the top of the mower deck.

Great idea. Seems to work really well. Thanks. Janice

That's better than some on You Tube !

Very inventive and resourceful. Slightly dangerous though, IMHO.

What's with all the concern about safety? His set up is less dangerous than operating a mower normally. I'd put an extra strap on the back of the mower to secure the wood plate to hold it in place in case the mower falls off the mount, but other than that, short of deliberately jamming his hand up the chute all the way to his elbow, he's covered.

Muy bien

Perfect

2:58 Jim Carrey's Dad? Lil Juice Weasel in there

I usually just pick my mulcher up and throw it right on top of what I want destroyed. After that, I just keep running it over until it disappears

That's we called smart invention

Bloody smart 😅👍👍👍

Thats smart

Not so easy on the back, maybe tilt it back a bit more for easier feeding. Great idea, new life for old mowers.

genus!!! A+

Genius! Do you compost the shreds? I wanna try this with my corded electric mower. Also, you're feeding it at 1 o'clock position (front of mower is 12 o'clock)?

Hi, Great design! I notice this was 6 years ago, is it still going? What type of blade do you need in your mower? any other mods to the mower?

Chipper was great. Machete in ground scary!

Smart

What brand is that Lawn mower,? I haven't had a 2 stroke lawn mower in years.. I want one.

This is dangerous and crazy as hell... I'm definitely doing it.

Looks like it works great. i'd like to see a guard that would prevent your hand from going past a certain point (safety). Also you need shoes - your skin even on your feet is a place for bacteria and parasites to enter. Not good.

I see someone doing this and losing a hand - this is an accident waiting to happen. Regular chipper shredders with a push device aren’t that expensive - you see them used for as little as $100 or less if they have been sitting and just need a carb kit. Also the higher you sit it - the more chance for a small child or pet to get too close to the whirling blades.

I was waiting for the Nylon strap to get pulled up in the blade.

nice!

How much are replacement hands or fingers?

Safety glasses, ear plugs, no shoes.

awesome

Interesting but wouldn't a small wood chipper with a limb tube work much better

And stil have two hands?

Ps one thing Your forgetting That's shoes

EASY VERY GOOD CONGRATULETION

efficient but a little dangerous is't it ?

Wonderful idea I wish he cut entry hole with a half circle profile approx 1 .5feet diameter using a door veneer or metal than he didn't have to bend over that much I wish I didn't give away my mover

Do you still have both hands?

I riding mower would chew that corn up in seconds. I till mine in with my tiller behind my tractor.

I'd love to build this but have a question: what's the over-under on this guy still being alive 5 years later, i.e. today?

I just drive my riding mower over it, and plow it under.

seems legit

that's a two stroke lawnmower ,rare these days cuz no longer allowed to manufacture them and worth more than a chipper costs if he were to sell it to someone that does commercial work.

your gonna end up with a couple a stumps mate.. would be safer to feed it in horizontally or from the top.

he looks like Jim Carrey

Laugh about SAFETY now...wonder why it's taking so long to see the doctor later!

video is about a corn stalk chopper NOT about SAFETY great video maybe he will make a video featuring the SAFETY DANCE get your shit together when using ANY equipment

puts in earplugs but no shoes !!!!!

Sorry, but this is a terrible idea, thank God your watch didn't got caught in this process...

looks fucking dangerous and i not care much but this.... c mon... how to order beers in a bar with no hands ;)

as stupid as this sounds this is a built version of an idea i had in my head

Efficient, but dangerous as shit. Why don't you just mow the stalks down, or buy a $150 Harbor Freight electric chipper?

Danger Will Robinson ! Danger !

:D:D

I was just worried of the blade flying out.

F*** that!

Couldn't you have done the same thing by just pushing the lawn mover over the standing stalks?

Safety first. Not.

Don't know why the guy reminds me of Jim Carrey. I don't really need to point out what troubles me most about this video, since there are many highly objectionable issues at hand, if he still has both of them... IF I were going to do this, I would secure the mower on the plywood, on the ground and cut a hole in the top of the deck and feed material down through it. That feed port would be on the opposite side of the exhaust port, and the feed port would have a chute to keep your stupid hands away from the blade. The blade does not demand you feed it from the bottom, but seeing this fool jam his hand under a mower is the most unsettling nonsense I have ever wished I never saw, and I juggle chainsaws for a living... -- North Central Florida -- 12.5.2022 -- The Era of Depopulation. -- Please, do NOT get stuck with any experimental chemicals.

Bad sound !

That design looks like crap

How dangerous and stupid