A cutting head attached to a powered rotary weed cutting machine has a generally cylindrical structure containing a plurality of cutting blades. The cylindrical structure has upper and lower portions which may be rotated with respect to one another to expose each entire cutting blade for replacement when required. A lock may be included to ensure that the upper portion does not open until desired by including a rigid plate or arm that, in a first position, extends through portions of both the upper portion and the lower portion to lock them together.