Shakespeare Ugly Head Replacement String Trimmer Head

[canesisters]

The ugly head is what it says - a super fast string replacement. It DOES cut, but not as fast in tall, tough weeds as the originals. I think this is caused by the little piviting heads. There are 3 little nubs that the string goes in. Each of them twirls - this is supposed to make it work better somehow, but it seems that it makes the little nub spin when it hits something tough instead of just wacking it to death. So for instance, in the little space between the hose caddy and the house: I could stick the original in there and it would wack the caddy, wack the house, and cut the weeds to the ground. With the ugly, I can hear it hitting the caddy and the wall but it doesn't cut the grass because the little piviot nubs take the 'torque' away from the string.
BUT - in just plain ol' weed wacking - it DOES get the job done. When I let the fence line get completely away from me, I have to go slow but it will leave a nice clean trim. Around trees - check! Along the foundation - check! Down the sides of the driveway - yup! Anywhere the mower can't get - you bet'cha! When the string gets worn or breaks I can have all 3 replaced in less than a min if I already have a pocket full of cut pieces.
So all in all - I'm happy with it.

 

[catjac1975]

Thanks-sick of the old string problems.

 

[Smiles Jr.]

Here's a suggestion . . . I heard of this little trick years ago from a lawn mowing company owner and I thought (at that time) he was full of hot air. But I tried it and it works pretty good.

When you purchase new string, line, cord or whatever you want to call it, remove it from the packaging and place it into a bucket of water. If you have to, weight it down with a rock or something to keep it submerged. Let it soak for several days before using it. Put the soaked string into the trimmer head as usual and return the unused string to the bucket. Somehow the water will make the string more pliable and tougher. I found that I had much less breakage when I do that.

I talked to a chemist from a plastics company and she confirmed that water can change the flexibility of some poly type plastics. The plastic string that we use in our trimmers is polypropylene and is somewhat brittle unless soaked for long periods in water.

Some professional bowlers soak their poly bowling balls in water when their not in use. They claim that the water soak causes the surface of the ball to soften and they get more traction on the dry end of the bowling alley.

Give it a try. YMMV

 

[thistlebloom]

That's really interesting Smiles. So, I guess you just store the line in a bucket of water?

I have found that the star shaped line is much more durable than the regular smooth line also.

 

[Mapdoctor]

I've got one of those 4-cycle Troy-bilts, so that's good to know. I only have the attachment with the three plastic cutter heads, which doesn't do as well for cutting grass, so a couple months ago I bought one of the Shakespeare Easy wind Bump & Go heads. Using .105" Ugly Line in it for now and am happy with it so far. I will have to try the bucket of water trick.