Spring Cleaning: Here Are 7 Brush Cutting Attachments for Compact Track Loaders

Spring is coming (says a hopeful Northeast Ohioan), and with that comes clean up. So if your property or jobsite is overwhelmed with twisted grasses, thick-barked brush and tiny trees, it might be time to think about what you need to clear it. Enter a brush cutter. You can equip your mini excavator or compact track loader with the right brush cutter and tackle all types of land clearing and land management tasks. Let’s take a look at some brush cutter attachment options.

John Deere

The MK76 and MH72D mulching heads from John Deere are powerful brush-cutting attachments designed for efficient land clearing and vegetation management. Both models integrate seamlessly with John Deere skid steer loaders and compact track loaders. These mulchers excel in handling dense, fibrous and fast-growing vegetation, especially in environments with tough plant material. Additionally, both attachments produce the finest chips of any John Deere mulcher and evenly distribute discharge to minimize pile buildup. The MK76 is optimized for land clearing projects, featuring a specialized knife-style head perfect for dense, fibrous vegetation in minimal passes. The attachment features replaceable cutting-teeth, bolt-on shear bar and wear liner to help maintain performance and attachment life. The MH72D, on the other hand, is a versatile option for light to medium duty tasks. This model features a balanced rotor and oversized sealed rotor bearings to provide optimal stability and durability on any jobsite.

Blue Diamond Attachments

Blue Diamond Attachments offers a full line of brush cutter attachments. The line has been widely accepted by contractors for their ability to handle site prep and clearing. With that success, Blue Diamond has grown its offering — now providing Heavy, Extreme and Severe Duty models.

Blue Diamond provides 13 different models of brush cutters for use with mini skid, skid and track loaders:

• 36-, 42- and 50-in. Mini Skid Steer Closed Front
• 36-, 42- and 50-in. Mini Skid Steer Open Front
• 60- and 72-in. Heavy Duty models
• 60- and 72-in. Extreme Duty models
• 72-in. Severe Duty model
• 44-in. Swing Arm Cutter
• 84-in. dual motor brush cutter

The company also offers seven mini excavator and excavator brush cutter models:

• 60-in. Extreme Duty for excavators
• 60-in. Severe Duty for excavators
• 36-, 42- and 50-in. Heavy Duty for mini excavators
• And a 42-in. Severe Duty for mini excavator

The attachments come with the Blue Diamond Satisfaction Guarantee, and all are backed by a 1-year warranty.

Bobcat

Bobcat heavy-duty brush cutters make fast work of clearing heavy brush and trees as large as 10 in. in diameter. The brush cutter’s high-efficiency, direct-drive motor maximizes hydraulic horsepower for optimal cutting of tall, thick vegetation. High cutting speeds, heavy-duty blades and a unique star-shaped stump jumper work together to maximize inertia allowing operators to cut through dense vegetation in one pass. Compatible with a variety of compact track loaders and skid-steer loaders, the heavy-duty brush cutter is available in 62-, 74- and 86-in. cutting widths. Five motor options are available to align with standard- and high-flow auxiliary hydraulics. 

Loftness

The Loftness Battle Ax 10 Series can be used on smaller excavators ranging from 7,000 to 10,000 lbs in a variety of applications, such as right-of-way vegetation management, site preparation, fire prevention and more. The 10 Series’ rotor has an innovative depth gauge design. The depth gauges optimize the amount of material being fed into the drum at one time, resulting in easier operation, faster production, and more desirable particle sizes. Additionally, the 10 Series includes the exclusive Loftness two-stage cutting chamber, which uses two shear bars to help process material more thoroughly than competitive mulching heads. The 10 Series Battle Ax is powered by a 45cc fixed-displacement gear motor, which requires 20 to 70 hydraulic hp and 15 to 35.9 gpm hydraulic flow to operate. It has a 25-in. cutting width and overall weight of approximately 620 lbs, depending on options.

IronCraft

The X-Treme Tree Reaper from IronCraft is a stout brush cutter attachment engineered for demanding applications. It is available with two direct drive motor options — a 16- to 26-gpm gear motor (case drain not required) or a 17- to 30-gpm bent axis piston motor (case drain required). The attachment’s robust design includes bolt-on replaceable skid shoes and a tapered deck for lower ground cutting. Three 5/8-in. AR400 blades cut dense brush, limbs and trees to 7-in. in diameter. The non-welded blades are quick and easy to changeout in the field. An optional grill and mulching teeth which produce finer, more aesthetic output available. With cutting widths of 60-, 72- and 78-in., there’s an X-Treme Tree Reaper to suit a wide range of applications and carriers. They’re ideal for on-farm clearing of pastures, land reclamation projects, clearing fencerows and more.

Werk-Brau

Werk-Brau‘s FHX66 Defender Forestry Mulcher is a rugged mulcher that eradicates materials up to 10-in. in diameter with just 17 gpm of hydraulic flow and 3,350 psi. A 12 ¾-in. diameter cutting drum is ¾-in. thick and fitted with 36 Quadco Quad Tooth cutter knives. Constructed of alloy steel, these 1-piece, easy-to-change 2-in. knives are rotatable with four positions (cutting edges). An abrasion-resistant liner ensures wear resistance and strength. High strength, cogged carbon chain timing belt increases efficiency, power and torque. An electronically balanced cutter drum with serviceable hubs ensures straight shafts that run smooth for years of reliable, vibration-free operation. With a wider cutting width than comparable mulchers, the FHX series maximizes production with each pass. The stout FHX66 features a 54-in. working width, making it ideal for property maintenance, right-of-way clearing, creating and maintaining defensible spaces in wildfire zones and more.

Seppi

The Seppi MICROFORST cl is the perfect forestry mulcher for small and midsize compact track and wheel loaders. Designed with advanced technology typically reserved for high-powered mulchers, this lightweight machine (under 1,300 lbs) excels in performance, durability and versatility. Built with robust AR400 steel, the MICROFORST cl mulches brush and woody plants up to 5-in. diameter, offering clean results and exceptional efficiency. Its standard CUT CONTROL rotor, featuring MINI DUO hammers with tungsten carbide inserts, ensures minimal maintenance and long service life. For enhanced precision, the rotor’s depth limiter prevents “choking” during operation. Ideal for landscapers, land owners and farmers, the MICROFORST cl is a reliable solution for seasonal cleanups, land clearing and general right of way maintenance.

Pam Kleineke is managing editor of Compact Equipment.