The Learning Curve of the Sickle Bar
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- Опубліковано 14 чер 2017
- It is time to cut this hay.....and learn how to use these giant hair clippers!
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I enjoyed seeing someone besides myself enduring the breakdowns that come along with older equipment. Great Video!
When it starts to plug up stop lift the mower and back up a couple feet shut the mower off clear the blockage and take off again. Mowed with a Ford 501 mowing machine for years and boy was I glad when dad bought a rotary mower..lol. You are doing great for your first time
Ahh the joys of owning and running secondhand farm equipment. I constantly have to learn new things about our equipment and come up with creative ways to fix problems. Keep up the good work.
I can relate to all those challenges you faced to complete your project! It never fails to amaze me how many times I too have to stop and make repairs throughout the day. Great video and thanks for sharing!
Great video. You did well and kept your cool. Considering the issues you faced, I am IMPRESSED!
Make one pass counterclockwise around perimeter of field, when your done cutting that first pass on outside of perimeter, turn around and only drive in clockwise motion on the grass you just cut. That will also stop a lot of your clogging. Sickles don't like to cut already cut grass that is laying down. On your 3 point lever, you have a wing nut as a stop. You can adjust that so when you move your 3 point lever to that stop and let the sickle float over the ground a 1/2" or so or all the way down. They can be a pain to figure out but a lot of fun when you do.
Thank you for making videos on your experiences. I am interested in doing this myself. I just was not sure where to start. I just started watching your channel and I love it. Thanks again for showing your experience level, and being honest.
if you make your swathboard longer, it will help reduce the plugging issue that you have on the inside of your mower when ypu make your 2nd pass. mine kichs the last 2 feet of hay in, and it makes mowing much easier and enjoyable.
When everything is working right.... it's beautiful!
I have some experience doing the same thing. I learned that it worked better if I mowed the field going around in a clockwise square spiral, working my way toward the center, with the sickle bar pointed toward the center. That way the tractor tires never bent the unmowed grass over. The sickle bar would cut 5 foot tall grass as long as the grass stand was straight up and down. This technique also makes it easier to get the tractor in the right path to make clean cuts. That fin at the tip of the bar pulls the grass back to leave a guideline so the mechanisms don't clog up.
Turning corners was hard and left unmowed grass at the corners. I had to go back and cut those patches at the end.
Don Rad kind of common sense for mowing any field
I learn so much from your struggles and positive demeanor. good luck with the work Bro.
man i love what you show to us. i almost have the same problems (and the same equipment,only smaller) with mowing,but i had to learn also. so dont give up and keep on smiling
you keep a going the way you are going you will have a brand new one before long....you will have all new pieces. Bless your heart. My dad had a mower like that.
That is sweet glad you got it working!! Thanks for sharing :)
I appreciate your video. I mow with a Superior double articulating guards and sickle. It's a dream to cut with. There is no grass to tall or thick. I can also mow at 8 mph usually. It is however expensive to maintain. Luckily my local coop stocks most parts I need. If you've never mowed with a double articulating machine you don't know how good a sickle mower can be. It also cuts anywhere from 90deg straight up to -45deg sloping down. Most people around here have gone to disk mowers but I'll keep using this Superior until it's beyond repair.
I am 67 years old and have used sickle mowers since the early sixties. #1. Ensure your knife sections are sharp. We sharpened ours daily. #2 Change ledger plates in your guards. #3. Ensure your hold down clips are properly adjusted. #4. Fix your swathboard so it throws the hay inwards making your next pass easier. #5 Cut in a clockwise pattern which ensures your only drive on hay on the first pass. Cut counter clockwise one round to clean that up. Drop your bar into the hay just as you hit it. Dragging the knife in cut hay causes plugs. If the hay is damp you will have problems. Humid climates with lots of dew means you wait until the sun has been up for a few hours.
Just my 2cents worth. On the family farm many years ago we found that storing and maintaining of all the equipment needed to cut, turn and bail was greater than using an outside contractor to do all that bit for 10% of the bails. It was always the case that stuff would break just when the weather was fine but if you were ever having to wait for parts then it could jeopardise the quality of the hay.
Mike
Great video, that sicklebar works well.
I think something is missing on the tractor side of the cutter bar, a guide to push the grass over?
Go a bit slower when mowing if the hay is standing that tall
You beat me to it. Yes a bit slower travelling.
Welcome to the world of mowing , make sure the bar is not driving down have the sickle points up just a hair and it won't plug the bar and make sure the knife has no loose or broken sections . Its fun , baling is even more so , good video
I enjoy watching how a properly-run and well oiled sickle mower cuts hay, especially with my brother's 1948 Farmall Cub with its sickle mower.
It is like the blade sweeps under the tall hay, and it falls over like a forest of trees.
A couple of things to note with a sickle mower, though:
1. Sickle mowers work the best at slower speeds.
2. Sickle mowers have trouble cutting grass when it is matted down in the direction of travel. The best way to slice matted grass is to attack opposite the direction that it is matted down in.
slow down!
It's called a pitman? rod, It's usually made of cherry wood, so if you hit something it will break the wood instead of the mower.
My first sickle bar mower had a metal rod instead of the wooden Pittman arm. Had to be very, very careful with an eagle eye on the ground in front of the mower. Now I have a M-F, 7 ft with the wooden Pittman arm and I feel a lot more comfortable/safer mowing now.
I have used the pto extention often for shafts that are too short.
is the grass shoe working properly? should be laying the grass over from the far end of the cutterbar so that on the next pass you don't have cut hay pinching on the close end. the rod should be angled inward more than it looks.
The wooden piece is a Pittman arm. Slow the tractor down a bit... I use my new Holland and jd cutters always. Mine has metal Pittman arm. Not meant to break like that. Mine trips cutter arm to break away from moving parts if in a bind. Simply reset it and go. Ant hills, and terraces cause it to trip allot, saving blades ect from damage.
Hey dad.... I've got to say your attitude is extremely good to see...breakdowns are going to happen and you keep on trucking. A shining example of self-sufficiency and what it requires. WAY ahead of me... Really appreciate you taking the time to document your learning and growth...The struggle is real. :-) Kudos to you fine sir!
First, when you were mowing the shorter stuff it looked like you were close to the right ground speed. That tall, heavy, stuff needs a slower ground speed so maybe drop down a gear or two.
That broken wooden piece is the Pittman. If you do make your own instead of buying one then make several because they are designed to break. It is not that much more difficult to make 3 or 4 when you're already making 1.
For the tip clogging up like that I don't know the answer but if it cuts halfway clean then Google using keywords Sickle Mower Divider Board Plan and you find an add-on board that flips the hay away from the cut line. Then, on the next pass, the shoe on the inner end of the bar has a clear spot to ride and clogs much less. We always use one.
There are definitely special tools for sickle mowers and I hope that you got the one for putting new sections on the sickle bar. It holds the bar and rivets in place while you drop a new section over the rivets. Then you peen the rivets tight with the rounded end of a ball peen hammer.
Congratulations! You have learned a lot about mowing hay.
Best way to start te video. "hay everybody" get te joke. Awsome vid, nice place you got out there. Keep up te great work!
The wood bar is called the Pitman arm. God Bless from Phoenix.
Pitman Arms break a lot. You can make them out of a 2x2 and try to use the old one to mark were the holes need to be drilled. I would suggest a supply of them before you start, since they are supposed to be the weak point. I suggest you use posi-lock nuts, so they don't come off, on the Pitman Arm. Nice job for your first time. You may be able to sell them if you have consistent square bales.
drive in lower gear,give cutter time to cut,let it do its job!!!
I think he's using a Ford 4000 and depending on the tranny he might be in 3rd in this video. Too fast I agree.
+Michael Lohre you nailed it! Was in third and eventually found a sweet spot with higher RPM and 2nd gear
SSLFamilyDad SHARP blades and slower speeds will be your friend.
Don’t run over the uncut grass
Pittman bar
It'll get better it's a learning experience plus you are working the bugs out of the equipment.
You need a wooden bar on the end of the cutter bar to lay the hay away from your next cut. It will stop toe of the cutter blocking up on the next pass.
there is no such thing as grass too tall for a sickle bar mower
It can still hang up if its too tall but he's going too fast!!!!!!
When it gums up back up the hay falls down then forward again. Check your sickle bar daily see if you have any sections that need replaced or even sharpened. We have taken worn out sections and sharpened them they have replacement bolts for the rivets.A new cutter bar full of knives is very expensive and a pain to replace! I hope this helps you??
Learning curve in hay gathering. Seeing the day in black white film before mechanical machine took over. I wonder what those horse are called. There function were mainly heavy labor. Pulling thousands pound timber logs. They are incredible looking.
it's called the pittman rod. I have never seen a sickle bar mower that did not have hay pile up on the inner shoe.
sounds like dull sections or bent guards?
Great video
What does your inner grass rod look like? To me it almost looks like it's not there or bent back out of the way. That could be one of the reasons your plugging up on the inside. If you don't have a manual get one, there's a ton of adjustments that you would never dream of with a sickle bar mower. You need to set the hight, tilt and verify the timing to make sure it cuts right. Is yours a model 32 or 42?
I have the same story as you. bought a place with a Hayfield. bought some very old equipment and a sickle bar. I was never able to get the sickle bar to cut right. Always plugging up. finally, I cut the back out of my bush hog and I cut hay with that. It acts as a poor mans haybine. been doing it this way for 3 summers and I don't plan to stop.
I have a couple of 'toys' that you might find useful. Would love to see them being an assist to SSL! I'll send them to you bro!
Looks like those wooden pieces would be easy to make yourself.I'm sure you'll break down and buy a welder sooner than latter.Looks like you did a pretty good job for your first try.Looking forward to your next vids.
I agree, I just need some hardwood blanks to use and I might make a couple. Might grab a few oak pallets.
Find yourself some seasoned Hickory to cut those wood pieces out of.
Yes, I've always cut from the outside in, all right turns. Works better. When the grass is wet and mushy next to the ground, set the shoes (on either end of the bar} so it cuts higher off of the ground. A two inch stubble is good.
Need to use anti-vibe fasteners for those bolts. Nylocks and some blue locktite.
Here in TN, the county extension agent can get the hay tested, protein content and such, less the $20 here.
And those wood pieces are the 'forgiving' pieces. Don't hate them cause it could of been a whole lot worse! They knew what they were doing 60 years ago and I wouldn't replace their knowledge for anything! You're doing great!
old tools are working great.
Thank you for sharing your amazing video. Have you considered to slow down your speed in the high grass?
it is tricky, if you go too slow the grass lays forward on the blade and gets gummed up, too fast and it is hard to keep right on the edge of your previous cut. needs to be just right:)
SSLFamilyDad hi again, the reason why I ask you to slow down, was because I have used Taarup forage harvester, but it is a totally different machine, where you had to slow down when the grass was high. But I don't know you have these machines in the US. It is ideal to hay because it crushes the grass. We had on our farm one like yours but with wheels, they was made for horses, but as you said they were difficult to use.
Progress is progress, right?
The swathe board on the outside is critical, early mowers had a stick to clear the grass to give some space
Do you have any extra parts for that baler? Coming from experience a 1950 Oliver baler will have issues and the parts are extremely hard to find. Just an FYI
+Dubois Creek Cattle LLC I have a crate of extra parts for it that came with it. But everything else I will have to fabricate or find used somewhere most likely
it would be neat to run a sickle bar mower like that for an hour! i realise you have small acreage (assuming). i have had all the (sickle) haybine experience i care for as a youngster. and it was not pleasant. disc-bines are heavenly.....sickles are hellish.
If you going to be using the pto get a over ride clutch for it so if your equipment stops it does not stall the tractor
lazy j1001
It won't affect this specific tractor really.
You are missing wire guide on the tractor side of the bar, 2nd you need more rpm or slower speed
Use old oil to keep bar greased while in storage. Regards...
You know it didn't go too bad and your positive mental attitude really helped out. I suggest though that you make sure you are running at 540 RPM on the pto for the mower and the baler. Your baler was a bit slow, I know you said you were going slow to make sure you didn't break things and that's smart, but once you are in your groove bump it up to 540 and let 'er eat! I think if you can adjust your cutter bar so the rock guards angle up in the front you'll have less clogging issues. I am using a New Idea 254 mower and like it a lot better than a 3 point model for the adjustments I can make. Keep up the good work and message me here: facebook.com/thehickorytreefarm/ if you have any questions I might be able to help with.
hello
yes they do need to be sharpened
go a little slower we had an old mowing machine something like yours
and could not go too fast as the blade can not keep up with the volume of strong grass like a rotary drum mower can do also when cutting the verge left where you drive the first opening cut go around anti clock wise but you will have to rake out the first cut so as the blade does not get jammed and get clogged also do not cut the full width of the bar as again if you do it can collect and get a dirty finger and leave a strip along after it
Was your field dry? When it begins to load you need to stop and UNload the cutter bar. Your hay/grass is very very green so I imagine it's wet. Now that doesn't mean it's so wet you can feel it, but the greener it is the wetter it is. You need several good dry days before starting. Here in VA we do round bales and hubby has learned much. The piles mean it's not cutting correctly let it dry some. Sorry about all your breakdowns that is the down side of used equipment.
A good shakedown run. The end marker made it look like there was a cat chasing the bar lol
Just bought another ford 501?? sickle mower needs knives but i will trade bars with the one in the barn that right by the tractor side of the mower arm bentand pinches the knives
when you cut start high up so that it is easier to cut. like when you cut grass with a lawn mower. its makes it easier
How many acres is your hay field?
9
what tractor is that you are running?
+CowMan 1969 ford 4000
You are doing fine. Hopefully the bailer works good but that is farming. Fix work and repeat.
Your land strongly resembles ours in New Hampshire. We are a 350 acre working family farm. Our hay feeds our 50 head of polled Herefords and we sell the rest. Average 6,000 to 7,000 bales per season. Hay does look high. It can be a challenge. If you have an email I will send you a few photos of our farm. God bless.
The wood bar is a pitman rod.And you are going to fast. When you go to fast things get broke. You need to move your tractor over a little pit so you will not drag your uncut hay over next to the inner shoe on the mower. You will get the hang of it when you have cut more hay. Talk to someone and learn more about how to cut and rake hay. I have 50 plus years of of putting up hay so I know a thing or two about it
You need but a sway bar on the tractor to keep the mower at 90° from the tractor the way you're cutting right now it is pulling on an angle that is why is jamming up
There's different styles of blades and to cut thick grass serrated blades are better .. I live and run a farm and that what I found out . and I run a sickle bar mower and with the right blades you can mow really thick hay
As I was watching it cut, it almost seems like it would need a rotating rake above the cutter to help pull the grasses through and keep the blade clear.. (If you only had a welder ;-) I see a new tool in your future)
lol, welder would be awesome, even better would be to sell this thing and use the proceeds from this hay to buy a haybine!
it gos in three
Suggest a lower gear. A little more time but a better cut.All the best with your hay project.
"Got a good 5 inches in there...'
Michael Scott, where you at!
Trey Andrews that's what she said
impressed
Welcome to farming! There will be times where you seem to be a mechanic more than a farmer. Unfortunately that is just the way it is. I realize your time is limited but for better results you might try slowing your cutting speed a little. The cycle will have more time to cut rather than pushing the grass over ahead of it and then the bar sliding over the top. Good luck.
Do the teeth need to sharpened
Larry Sowada I was wondering the same thing
all brand new teeth last year and they are serrated so I don't think you sharpen them just replace as far as I know
hay to wet and need to run tractor 1800 rpm give or take run in high first should do the trick mow with all the time
We made our pitman arm out of oak that’s the best
you could try to slow down a littile making it easier for the knives to cut
Come on newbie you can do it! And btw a sickle mower can cut through very tall grass you might just have to wait for it to dry out or slow down.
The Elder sickle bar using it woke neat Parts still works as old
Guards dont last forever, the knives shout slide right on top of the guard plate. Check the register of your knives. No such thing as hay being too tall. I rebuilt an IHC big number 6, horse drawn ground driven it would cut anything.
The way to get these to cut nice set all the fingers or anvils flat over time these get knocked around knock them so they are in aline with a hammer do it with the knife out when i mean in aline the only part to worry about is the flat part the knife runs against the tips may be up and down next straighten knife then set it up as tight as you can onto the anvils and push towards the fingers. It should have adjustable wear bars the Ferguson ones do for the knife hold down clamps adjust with a hammer but not when you have a knife in there you could also play around with shims the snuger you can get it the cleaner the cut still needs to move freely through allso check knife stroke
I run an older Ferguson one with cast hold down clamps hard to tell but do the newer ones have a spring steel effect to hold the knife down looks like you would not knock them down probably should be a rod laying back at an angel on the tractor side of the cutter bar to try and stop that build up of grass that you can get there that could also be a problem because there is no wooden syth board on the end actually i see you have one but the ones we have are twice as long to help lay the grass over further and give you a much cleaner run next time around as these like to cut clean grass not grass allready been chewd over
You should consider using loctite on all the nuts and bolts.....or some type of sealant
I used lock nuts on all the ones I replaced the second time since I seem to have lost my Loctite!
SSLFamilyDad message me and I will send you a Loctite care package. Farley_dtd@hotmail.com
This thing is like an old Indian motorcycle. Every so often you need to pull over and tighten all the bolts
that is no joke!
You definitely need to slow your ground speed. Keep your engine speed at 540 .
hope you figured this out
but you really need someone who has run a Sickle mower to look over your equipment and give you the secrets
Most sickle mowers have the knife speed that if they are clean and set right they will mow at 4-5 mph or more depending on how clean the field is
In the days we used to have one of these until we had a man with a Disc mower come in and mow the hay.
The cycle mowers were slow, the blades would break off if you hit a big weed or rock in the field.
Before the Disc mowers came along they were the things to use.
Now I am out of that business.... letting someone else have the "fun" :-(
If you replace it get a Kuhn drum.
if i can give you one pice of advice after growing up and still operating a croft in scotland learn to stick weld and buy a stick welder will save you a lot of money in the long run
When you know with that type of mower you need a lot speed to work properly. That grad is not to tall
that PTO shaft needs a cover bud. saftey first
Pitman arm?
yup, Pitman arm
SSLFamilyDad you may want to keep one or two around. Also can you slow down to allow the sections to cut better.
First off I noticed that you are trying to go to fast. You cannot hurry to get the job done. Secondly I would have the cutter sharpened. It appears to be tearing some instead of cutting cleanly. No grass is to tall for a sickle bar mower. I use mine in the small fields all of the time and works like a charm.
God Bless Joe
Doll blades for one thing
You need to set up your mower for the tractor a little bit better. It needs to be shifted to the left so that you don't have to worry about the skipping at the edges. Looks like a Massey 31 mower. You can find a manual here: www.ntractorclub.com/eds_stuff/ford%20tractors/Implements/Massey%20Ferguson%20Implements/Mowers/MF31%20Rear-mounted%20sickle%20bar%20mower/MF31%20Rear-mounted%20sickle%20mower%20-%20owner%27s%20manual.pdf
Slower isn't always better as the faster you go, it will throw the hay over the top better and it won't plug. Faster is definitely better with taller grass. If going slower doesn't help, jump up a gear. I mow with a Massey 41 on an Oliver 1550 in 4 direct, or about 6mph. I have new sickle sections though and they make a huge difference.
it is a Pitman
Gonna have a whole new mower for to long
Is there a shear bolt in the PTO drive train? If not, it would be better to shear a bolt rather than break the driveline.