Abstract: A vegetation cutting apparatus of the filament type comprising a cutter head including a spindle adapted to be rotatably driven, a keyway in the spindle extending axially of the spindle, and a key member carried by the spindle and slidably movable in the keyway. A clutch means is coaxially mounted on the spindle, and a filament storage spool is mounted on the spindle, the spool being carried by and lying radially outwardly of the clutch means, whereby the clutch means and the spool rotatably move as a unit. A spring means normally biases the key member into driving relation with the clutch means whereby normally the spindle rotatably drives the clutch means through the key member to rotatably drive the spool.

Abstract: A rotary cutting and finishing head of the flail type can use common commercially available sandpaper or emery cloth or other sheet material. A hub of the type rotatable by drill press or hand drill, mounts, in plane, uniform length and width strips or ribbons of any of these materials on slotted tube posts coaxially fixed to the hub. Each slot is of a size to capture a fixed end of a respective ribbon on assembly. In one version, every second post is provided with a ribbon. The ribbons are then wound in a substantially circumferential direction in and out among the posts, the odd posts being merely supports for the staggered partially overlying ribbons. On rotation of the hub at high speed, when the flail end of a ribbon wears from flexing at a post, it may part and release a fresh length or flail end at adjacent location. Alternately, fresh lengths of ribbon may be deployed manually by cutting off or tearing off worn flail portions.

Abstract: A vegetation cutting apparatus of the filament type comprising a cutter head including a spindle adapted to be rotatably driven, a keyway in the spindle extending axially of the spindle, and a key member carried by the spindle and slidably movable in the keyway. A clutch means is coaxially mounted on the spindle, and a filament storage spool is mounted on the spindle, the spool being carried by and lying radially outwardly of the clutch means, whereby the clutch means and the spool rotatably move as a unit. A spring means normally biases the key member into driving relation with the clutch means whereby normally the spindle rotatably drives the clutch means through the key member to rotatably drive the spool.

Abstract: An automatic development reel type cutter head for a filament trimmer comprises a circular base member having a circular array of post-like upstanding members and a filament coil disposed about selected of the post-like upstanding members and inside of the remaining post like members. The filament coil has a free end portion which is automatically deployed outwardly from the coil as the cutter head is rotated by a drive shaft upon which the cutter head is mounted against one of the post-like members so as to project radially outwardly therefrom. As one free end portion wears and breaks off as a result of frictional contact with the post-like member from which it projects, another free end portion is automatically deployed outwardly from another post-like member. In one embodiment of the invention a filament retainer plate is disposed over only those post-like members about which the filament is to be wound.