Most cutting problems can usually be narrowed down to dull/worn knife sections and finger condition.. keep the knives sharp and if the fingers aren't needle sharp they'll plug up super fast in a heavy crop. I've cut 100 and 100's of acres with a sickle bar mower and those were the two main causes of problems.
The sickle mower I used to have was a J.I. Case trailer type mower. It was easy to hook up and use. It also had a PTO stub shaft on the rear for a hay crimper. These were made right before the haybines came out. The one safety item you didn't mention was to keep your fingers out of the way of the sickle sections/bar while lowering the bar from the transport position.. There used to be some older farmers around that lost fingers by not paying attention to those sharp sections when either lowering the bar, or raising it up for transport.
You are absolutely right about being lucky not losing a finger with those old mowers especially when raising and lowering the bar as the cutting teeth would move and fingers just naturally seem to end up in that area.
As a kid of 12 years I spent many many summer days mowing hay with a Farmall Super A which had a belly mounted mower. We also used it to mow road allowances and I remember cutting willows and young poplars and never had a problem that my Dad couldn't fix.
If you're using for hay use the mowing board on the outer shoe. Get a 9 inch link and attach the mower to that instead of directly to the top link hookup, it gets it away from the three point and keeps you from tearing up the assembly with those bars. To bring it up to the top link, attach a strap from the top bar of the mower to the bucket and slowly pull it up to position. Thanks for the video.
That was the first mower I saw when I first came down to visit my Grandfather. Things I remember was him sharpening and replacing the blades. He always used it on his Orange tractor think it was an Allis tractor. Funny the things you remember. Thanks for some memories Mike.
C'mon tractor mike, you forgot to mention how mesmerizing it is to watch the grass fall! I like to watch my dad with a sickle bar mower...showing off his tractor driving chops. He doesn't move very fast at anything else in the world, but put him in control of a tractor and SBM and all of the sudden he's an Indy car driver. They used to gang up on the hay fields as kids. We still have a fast hitch SBM to fit the old farmall 230 but we haven't used it since 1990 or about. I've been thinking of bringing it out of retirement to do about 8 acres of hay for fun.
After those 10 acres you'll probably park it again. Seriously though, it's mesmerizing to see that grass fall with the clickety-clack of the wobble box and bar.
So glad you mentioned the pet safety factor. When I was about 6 years old my dad mowed our fields with an old Allis-Chalmers and a converted horse pull sickle mower. My best friend, my Sheperd-Collie mix dog jumped a rabbit and jumped in front of the sickle bar. Didn't loose his feet, but seriously messed up his life and he didn't live much longer.
I grew up on a ford 3000 and a sickle mower, side delivery rake and a compact 65 new holland baler. We averaged close to 20,000 bales a year with that set up. We started very early for hay season and didnt stop till snow was sometime starting to fall. Then sold hay in winter. Some of my best memories growing up despite the hard work. I was a teenager back then back in the 70"s.. My how times have changed since then.
It's funny I have a deere #5 sickle that I used on a deere A. I run it now on a small diesel garden tractor and love it. Hydrostatic means I can just creep along and on 1000 rpm PTO instead of 540 I can run it at lower engine speeds and full ahead on the hydro in low gear really chops away
This video takes me back to my haying days with my 450 new holland sickle mower.it was a wonderful time till I hit the cheat grass and the work of unclogging began.thankfully I moved on to the drum mower.it would cut the roughest hay in 2 gear.my haying days are long gone but not the memories.thanks for a pleasant step back in time!
Mike, i.have the same old 251 cutter you have. It's a love and hate thing here as well. I do favor it over the disk. It's clean to cut with, and grass has to be very dry. No night or early a.m. cutting. And if it's really thick, slow down allot as well. Thanks for all the great videos. Top of the line education !!! Thanks, Richard
Had a beagle that ran through the sickle bar when my dad was cutting hay . Outcome ended positive for her as it only nicked 3 of her legs and only partially cut through the other. Very traumatic for a 7 or 8 year old to see happen.
Dairy farming the central valley of California, my dad is 81, he worked both with horse drawn equipment and small tractors like Ford and Ferguson. In my time growing up on the dairy, we only used the sickle mower for weeds around the fields and ditch banks. After downed weeds were dry we would burn. Everyone did. But now it's hard to get a burn permit for that. And I did find a Ferguson sickle mower for myself.
Nice video. I've got an International sickle mower and it's great for the reasons you mentioned. I use it on an Oliver 1650 and the mower was converted from a IH fast hitch to 3 point, the bar level is controlled with a cable and pulley setup. It's pretty easy to hook up because the mower sets flat on the ground. One thing you did say that I agree with is having to stop and back up to clear the grass off the bar.
Thanks, I've been watching videos on sickle mowers to help me decide if one will help me with maintenance around my wheat farm, and I especially appreciated your last comment about the dogs; your video is the only one that mentioned the danger to pets.... I have two dogs and three barn cats. The dogs are not afraid of the tractors and the cats tend to hide under things... like mower decks.
There is a double rock guard that will cut a lot cleaner. Sickle bar is great for one cut hay process as it does not grind up the material but it is a lot slower. Agree with the maintenance and possible injury. Mike you did a good presentation.
Growing up we had a 6ft and 7 ft Ford mowers, once my dad showed me how, too set them up and we basically left those blocks set up in the equipment she'd, and it was not much a chore to hook or unhook, and I think they cut fantastic.
The Sickle or Finger mower, is the best for cutting low & clean, better than all your rotter mowers for quality. If you are looking for a quick job at the expense of damaging the grass stems, normally due to the fear of pending rain, then it is a balancing act of stunting the grass or getting it in the barn. For the small farmer, it is best to keep the revs down and cut nice & low gaining more bales per acre. Nice to see one in use though, thanks.
My Pop was pheasant hunting, I think in the 70’s. He went out with a friend and his dog, I think it was a Irish Setter. The field they had permission to hunt was adjacent to another field the farmer was mowing with, you guessed it, a sickle bar. Dog ran out beside the tractor, had all four legs taken off. They shot the poor thing right there. No way for a good pupper to die, he was young, healthy, and from what Pop said a good hunting dog. The owner of the dog never went pheasant hunting again. Play safe everyone and don’t let that story turn you off of these neat pre-historic machines!
The progression in making hay wasn't really sickle mower --> disc mower; there was the Haybine [conditioner] that came in between, and that also used a sickle to cut the grass.
Greetings Mike. Great video fun to watch. I have three Ford tractors. Two equipped with the NH 451 sickle mower and one with a heavy duty Woods rotary cutter. I mow fields and conservation lands in the towns of Bedford, Concord and Lexington Massachusetts. I grew up with this type of equipment on a farm in Lexington which is now conservation land, approximately 20 acres deeded to the town through the years by the owner which I mow and maintain, enjoyed by all. It is the Chiesa Farm Conservation Land of Lexington. I have excellent luck working with the NH 451 both with seven foot bars. One mower is attached to a 1958 Ford 841 and my other is attached to a 1987 Ford 2810 diesel. The Woods cutter is attached to a 1983 Ford 2310 diesel. You are so correct in stating the 451 is a difficult implement to attach and detach. I purchased the 2310 to attach the rotary cutter to, so not to have to swap mowers on any tractor. It's great just to get off one tractor and get on the next one. I have spare knife assemblies to slide in the cutter bars when needed. One weakness we realized is the bracket that holds the small pulley where the lift cable passes through will crack and begin to separate from the mower frame from the cutter bar weight hanging off to the side. We had both mower pulley brackets reinforced by a welder. That ended any chance of the bracket breaking. Many thanks for your most informative and fun tractor operating videos. Paul Jenkins p2048j@juno.com
Hi Mike. As a follow up to the above, the lift cable on the 451 is subject to breaking in half on occasion. I keep a couple of extras on hand in case one snaps from the cutter bar weight. They break where the small pulley is. I was able to have one of my spare cables replaced by bringing both broken halves to a local cable/wire rope shop. The thimbles on the ends of the cable were reused in making a new lift cable for me. I recommend bringing a broken lift cable to such a shop if one is in your area, otherwise it can be obtained through a New Holland dealer. The 451 is an awesome mower for me for the work I do.
Hi Mike, I have the same mower on my NH TC 45D which I think is the same size frame as yours. I ordered a manual from Ebay and learned a couple tips to make it easier to hook up. First, drive out the spring pins on the solid rods and reinstall in the lower holes, and cut off the excess rod. That will give you more clearance from the lift arms. I also bought a top link extender to mount between the tractor and loop to put more space between rods and lift arms. Best thing I did was make a 6 caster cart for the mower to sit on when not on the tractor. Mower is locked to cart with 4 pins to prevent tip over. I can roll mower to back of tractor and attach in 5 minutes. I use mine to mow sides of driveway, around a small pond, and along the riverbank. This and grapple bucket are my favorite attachments. Really enjoy your videos, and hope this helps.
Mark, I was considering just what you suggested. There are already holes there and if the roll pins came out and the tops were cut off I thought it would fit. Did you experience any problems with the new set up? I didn't show it, I do have a little cart with wheels that my dad and I made for it to sit on, I like your idea about pins to keep it locked on the cart. Thank you for sharing the tips!
Tractor Mike, no problems, just a little scary cutting off original equipment parts. But that's what the manual said to do. Gives more room from lift arm and rods, but I still have to position crank on right lift arm to the side to keep away from rod.
you can get a drum mower just as cheap in england and they require a bit more HP but a 50 HP tractor will tasaly run a 2 rotor drum mower, ours doesn't have an extra thing for the top link, it does take up a bit more room as it folds behind the tractor but it's better than a sickle in every application it even rows what you cut up
That looks like my old New Holland mower. It easily fit my old Ford NAA but when I replaced it with a Kubota L3200 the troubles began. The three point hitch is so much smaller. The top link would not fit up to the tractor and the lower lift arms were too narrow. I attempted to get a conversion kit but they were priced from $1200-$1800. I made my own conversion for $50. I moved the top link back and up by using an old trailer hitch and drilling an extra hole in it. I had a u- shaped bracket welded up to replace the hitch ball. I bolt it to the tractor top link which moves the new u-shaped top link bracket 4"higher and 5" farther back than the original top link. The lower lift arms are not wide enough to clear the mower frame so I put three large washers on each pin of the mower allowing just enough length to protrude to attach the lower arms with the pins an hold them out for enough clearance. It works great but I add one caution. My old Ford NAA with a loader was wide enough that it would slide sideways long before it tipped over. The new compacts are much narrower and very tipsy. To make it safer for mowing hill sides I purchased 3" spacers for each back wheel to widen the rear track by 6" and had beet juice added for weight to the rear tires. It is still not as stable as the old Ford which was 12" wider with a low slung loader but it is still much better than it was. It works perfectly but is still a pain top take the sickle mower on and off.
My dad and I did a lot of hay when I was a kid some 50-60 years ago and we just used an old pull-behind wheel-driven sickle mower. (It even still had an operator seat for when it was horse drawn!) Lot of the same sharpening/jamming problems you mention, but hookup was a snap. If I recall correctly, ours was rigged to lift the bar with a rope. I bet there are some Amish farmers still using similar equipment and I wonder if a smaller implement manufacturer might get a fair amount of business by offering a similar model to hobby farmers such as ourselves today.
Great video Mike! I've got a few videos on my channel using sickle mowers to make hay. I can tell you after making hay that way for over 10yrs I'll never do it again! Sickle mowers are great for getting in ditches, around ponds, or edging. With prices on pull behind disc mowers, and mounted disc coming down I have to say that's a no brainier. Your absolutely right on sickle mowers being incredibly high maintenance. Every year we had to rebuild both of ours before hay season started and usually on 40-60acres of hay we 2-3 days down time and had to stop every few hours for repairs. Usually it was replacing sections, guards, or hold downs. Sometimes it was a pitman arm (you didn't mention these), They are a wooden arm that transfers the back and forth motion to the sickle. Unfortunately even the best oak can only take so much beating and would fail. Sickle mowers in my opinion work a lot better on old Row-Crop style tractors. Those tractors are what the mowers were designed for primarily. They also tend to be lower rated HP, such as 20-30hp. A higher horse power tractor tends to tear apart a sickle mower unless you use a slip clutch that slips under too much load.
Yeah, I didn't go into the Pitman Arm thing. We had an old New Idea pull type before the New Holland. It was a lot easier to hook up but it had the Pitman Arm and you had to work on something on it about every time you went to the field. If I remember we were pulling it one day and it just kinda dissolved...came completely apart at the frame. Dad traded it for the New Holland which was so much more maneuverable but SO much harder to hook up. If you could mount the New Holland on the New Idea frame and make it a pull-type...that would be something I would like to own. BUT...it would be hard to store in the barn because it would take up a lot of space.
Years ago, an oldtimer I was helping had me use his sickle bar mower to lay down the fully mature and somewhat tough intermediate wheat grass for his cows to consume in late summer. He said they didn't touch it while still standing, but would readily eat it once cut. Any experience with this? Also, his one rule was no pets in the field... I concur.
Thanks Mike, all great points! I still have an original sbm made specifically for the old 2N/9N, and it works well but I just hate installing the ungainly thing. Supporting it from a barn rafter with a come-along was a help, but the best I ever did by myself was about 45 minutes getting that bugger on the tractor. Nasty job, so I only used it once/year. Went to a new tractor & 5' brush hog 7 years ago & never looked back. ;-) Anyway, great video, thank you! PS: As someone else mentioned, I really appreciate your high quality audio with no annoying bg music, too.
Great video, Mike. Ah, yes the sickle! Growing up on a golf course, i was pressed into service helping out when the guys got behind during the growing season. We used a ford, and i, being a tomboy teenager, was always breaking the stick. Finally got a massy, i loved how versatile it was as long as somebody else hooked it up.lol i still own a massy today, i modified it so i can hook it up with my quick hitch, making the mounting & dismounting way more pleasant. And you are so right, there are some situations where nothing else will do!
Just pull out the sickle bar. Vice it up. Angle grinder away. Remember grease and oil-always. It really stinks replacing individual blades though. Careful to attach all connections (take your time) reminds me when I was twelve years and forgot a connection. It dropped. Counting my blessings that I wasn't hurt and equipment wasn't damaged. Practice good safety
I got a Ford side mount, goes on my 50hp Ford. Hydraulic raise and tilt. Excellent mower. Knife maint. is not that bad if you don't mow dirt. Keep 2-3 knives, sharpen when OFF the mower.
I hook and use a M-F, 7 ft sickle bar mower on a B3300SU Kubota compact tractor of 33 HP, works excellent mowing along our creek bank and around the banks of the 3 acre lake. I also mow down saplings of up to about 1 1/2 inch diameter, with no problems at all. Have bigger tractors but I'm afraid to drive one of the heavier tractors too close to the creek banks or around the lake, because there are a lot of old beaver dens and muskrat dens all around the lake that could cave in at any time with a bigger tractor.
Sounds like a lot of complaining and not much knowledge. Sickle bars do not take much power - 30 hp powers one just fine. They were made to be pulled with horses or the IH H model tractor - no need for a 60 Hp tractor like a drum mower. They will cut down all saplings I have cut a bunch of 2.5" cottonwood with mine. They are great for maintaining treelines because they cut back under the trees and keep the treeline from continually expanding. If running right they can leave a nice even cut.
I have seen those here in Arkansas, and the ones I saw looked nice, and kept up real well. I knew they was old, and not in production any longer, and they must have been used rarely, since the owners had other equipment to cut their grass. Those who cut hay here usually have the modern mowers and use them instead.
The good old days lol not, We had a couple Ford models with the wood pit arm, from that breaking, to going in case. Always kept fingers clear when lifting it back up
We use a NH 451 for cutting hay, works great for our coastal Bermudagrass. As far as trees, I wouldn't worry about them too much at the size you showed as it's no problem for these mowers to cut through steel t posts. Don't ask how we know! Lol. Parts are getting a bit pricey though and it is a pain to raise and lower the knife bar. I found a video of a guy on UA-cam that installed a winch on the loop frame and he can raise and lower with a wired remote, going to try doing the same for ours before next season I think. Great video!
Cut many acres of Bermuda grass with a 8n ford with only a 6 foot blade and never really had many problem,s and changed a many of blades and knives and fingers and also rode on the running board of the same tractor with my granddaddy while he cut hay all day long, in a 10-15 acre field you could be out there all day, and two days after if the weather was right, we raked with a dexta and bale with a Minneapolis moline 335 and new Holland baler , mower probably wore out two or three square hay balers, those where the good old days, also baled a lot of peanut hay and bean hay and that was rough on a hay baler, a lot of sand especially the peanut hay
Awesome! Never considered these to be that much of a problem other than all the moving parts. Of course, I've never used one so I have zero experience with them.
Thanks Mike I'm about to become a new owner of an frontier 81" sickle bar mower. I've also gotta J.D.3025e with two rear remotes. You think a 25 H.P.is enough tractor for this mower?? I ordered these together and the salesman said it would. I appreciate your comments on this. Thank you Mike
Hello sir my pet Johnie loves to be around the tractor, I was cycle bar mowing today and had to put him up to keep him safe but the little burger drove my wife nuts by him trying to get to me , great video
A child-hood memory of a sickle mower used to mow a large field adjacent to my family's home. The property owner would hire someone with a tractor/sickle combo and more than once our family cat, the wild rabbits, etc. were caught off guard and went running to get out of the way. Our cat actually had his tail broken and required and expensive vet visit including stitches to patch him back up. Definitely not a pet or animal friendly device at all.
We always locked the cats inside when the farmer came and cut the grass. But den after the harvest I was going to cut some grass close to the ditches. It is like Mike describes, the animals don't get it. One of our older cats where sitting in the tall grass hunting, without me knowing. I drive the tractor and see the cat like 1 meter in front of the sickle bar and slam the brake pedal. And she just looks up at me like "that is our tractor, that is not dangerous, it is not running over me, just beside me. What's the problem?"
You missed the best use. Right by the horse drawn plow in the flower bed. On sundys we can sit and look at the two and think back to a simpler time when people did things the hard way and tractors didn't have a cab or radio.
Is that a Orchard (Narrow) model tractor? A conventional utility tractor is what that mower needs, just as you said. I've a buddy that's tryin' to rebuild a Sitrex brand sickle bar mower and parts support was almost none existent. The dealer even called Italy (where it was manufactured) with no help. I think he's going to go over to drum mower now.
I've been wanting a sickle mower almost purely for reasons of nostalgia (cut and hauled a lot of hay in my early years!) but now I'm not so sure. Watching you hook that thing up caused me all kinds of pain and frustration on your behalf!
I have a New Holland sickle bar mower which easily fit my old Ford NAA then I got a Kubota L3200 compact tractor. The lift arms were too short and too narrow on the three point hitch. I went to Kubota for an adapter. They priced me $1200 to $1800 for a kit. I looked around and found an old trailer hitch which I drilled an extra hole in and replaced the trailer ball with a U-shaped bracket. I bolted the hitch to the top link on the tractor which effectively raised the top link hook up location by five inches and moved it back three inches. I then used spacers to widen the lower lift arms so that the mower would fit in between. It works great and only cost me $20 for the u-shaped bracket plus my old trailer hitch. I mow around a pond where the mower will angle up or down to match the contour of the ground.
Philip Martin I’m in the same predicament. I have a kubota L2501 and my Massey Furgeson sickle mower is having the same issue with my arms being too short. Can you email me a photo of your setup kubotabumpers@gmail.com thanks!!
so i have used sickle bar for 30 years , first thing is use a pull type, second replace sections with bolt on instead of rivet, my cost is far less than scrambled up dics mower, next thing set the tip of guards according to the conditions , use 80 90 grease on sickle
Great information. Have been looking for a sickle bar. And the ones I have found I thought were over priced. And now im thinking it's not what I need I only have 24 hp pto Will start looking for other ideas to no we a steep hitch. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us GW
A lot of the smaller tractors just don't have enough room in back for the older sickle mowers. I did see a new one that will fit even a sub compact, but that's out of most people's budget (and would be mine).
My grandfather mowed hay using a jd5 sickle mower on a jd50. The dog hated that tractor. One day the dog got ahead of the mower chasing a rabbit and got one of his rear legs cut off. Grandpa couldn’t handle shooting the dog, so got his neighbor to do it. But the dog refused to die, even with one less leg and a 22 bull it in his head. At that point, grandpa decided to leave the dog alone and he lived many more years, walking on three legs, with a bull it in his head, and always hating that jd tractor every time it was started up.
Yea. Thinking of getting a sickle bar for hard to cut areas. My Labrador’s love to chase after the brush hog looking for field mice that have been exposed. Saw this video a couple weeks ago and haven’t been able to get the morbid thought of them getting into a sickle bar out of my head. Good advice. Needed to be said. But damn...
Great video, with the popularity of micro farming and farming in general starting to grow, especially in upstate NY where I live I've tended to notice many people getting into hay production new or good used equipment is way too expensive I've noticed a lot of older equipment being utilized, stuff I haven't seen operating since I was a kid. Like you said that's the way it was done and besides that equipment can be had pretty cheap and you can work on it.
Takes me back to mowing set aside acres with an F-20 and IH 6 foot sickle bar mower. You could spin the steering wheel, hit the brake, and turn a 90 degree corner.
I baled 10's of thousands of square bales and a few thousand 5 x 6 rolls back when I was fooling with hay:all cut with an early 90's NH 9' sickle cutter. Mostly coastal bermuda and some bahia. Greased cutter at start of day and after lunch. Kept a spare knife bar with me and swapped bars when dull then either sharpen or replace teeth.Same with guides. Any machine will be a pain if not maintained. The one and only condition that caused me a slight issue was heavy hay laid over in the direction of the cut.And if angle was right that wasn't even all that difficult. Hook up to my Ford 2810 was 5 minutes on a bad day.But I also read the operators and maintenance manuals front to back before I first used the cutter.
Forgot to mention changing the blades got chizel off the old rivets, hopefully find the right rivets at central tractor back then now called tcs then peen them on blade bar, then need wear kevlar gloves working on blades.
I liked your video on sicle mowers. Have you had any experience with the saber samuri hydraulic driven sicle mower for mowing ditches and roadside bushes?
My mower has its own set of wheels, but. The weight of the drive and bar causes the mower to pull up on the draw bar which creates new complications in hitching.
I need something to mow my creek banks. I’ve gotten too close to the edge and dropped wheels in the creek. My neighbor has had to pull me out with his big Massey.
if you think a new holland is hard to hook up you should try a dearborn with a 4 point hookup, that thing was a beast to hook up man, the tractor had to be just right and you had to change the upper knuckles on the lift arms from short ones to longer ones, then you hooked up the lift arms and toplink, then pto then raised it up then there was a rod that went up under the tractor and that thing was nearly impossible to hookup alone if the tractor was not level. then we go a 7 foot 501 ford that was not as hard but still a real pain to hook up;
Thanks for all your info Mike! Would you comment on how many rpm's the tractor is turning when using a sickle bar mower. I've just used an old JD #9 (It's got a seven foot mowing bar. I found it recently for $800. Which uses a pitman arm/wobble box, no belt) for the first time on my small fields and ran the tractor at about 1500 rpm. The SBM sounded good, ran and cut, fairly well. But I wondered if more rpm's would be better? It did leave some smaller woody stemmed stuff sticking up after I was done.
I usually run mine at rated engine speed, but if it's cutting okay at 1500 rpm that would take less fuel. If you get into really heavy and/or wet grass you'll want to speed the engine up. Sickle mowers don't require a lot of power so lower RPM's in less taxing conditions would be fine.
My old man had one of those expletive deleted NH 451's If the hay wasn't piling up on the inner shoe it was piling up on the outer shoe. I was one of the 3 people who ended up walking along behind trying to pull the hay off. No wonder today I have a pair of titanium hip joints. Finally under the threat of domestic rebellion he finally traded it in on a 479 haybine.
I greatly enjoyed your comment because that's about how our family worked. The guy riding on the tractor seat usually couldn't figure out why the family would be complaining...
Good video. I hated hooking that thing up. Damn near hurt myself every time. Question: what is the extra bar you have bolted halfway down on your ropes bar?
That's the Tractor Caddy, a tray to carry your tools. Something I came up with an a local machine shop is building. It'll hopefully be on the market in about 30-45 days. We've been testing prototypes. Part of our property is down the road about 1/4 mile and I was constantly struggling to find a place to carry my chainsaw on the tractor and the Caddy is the solution.
Nice video great tips. I noticed some of the flail mowers as you had showed in one of your previous videos have offsets. I wonder with your same ditch situation (which I have the same issue in several spots) if an offset flail mower would do just as good. I somewhat assume not since the sickle bar mowers have such a long reach. But I have been wondering as having a mower I could offset and do some small brush cutting with would be handy.
The flail couldn't get that far out. There have been some offset brush hogs designed that are mounted on an arm that extends almost as far as the sickle mower, and mounts on the three point, but they never caught on with anyone but highway departments and county road districts. They're heavy and they put a lot of pressure on one side of the tractor, sometimes requiring multiple wheel weights on the opposite side. There are also boom mowers but they're really not designed to ever come off the tractor and they're EXPENSIVE. Sadly, the sickle mower seems to be the best of the bad choices for a chore like this.
The farmer i worked for when i was a kid did the cutting w one ,but i tedded an raked the hay,once i did bale,but i learned to drive a stick plus load hay in a truck bed,only want to stack it once.Maybe a better truch driver always had a shifter.
my grandfather owns a sickle mower as well as a disk mower. Once he told me that, with the sickle mower, he had to mow slower than when he mowed with the disk mower, due to the fact that, if the grass was wet, it didn´t cut it well. What is the difference of speed between those mowers? so slowly yo have to work with a sickle mower?
You can mow hay as tall as the tractor cab as fast as you want with a disc mower. Put it in gear, rev up the engine and hammer down. In fact, they seem to work better the faster you go as long as the blades are sharp. Where they don't work well is late in the year when the grass is less lush, the turbulence from the discs can blow the crop down before it is cut, and "streak" it, that's where the sickle mowers shine. The most fun in farm equipment sales was selling a disc mower to a guy who had always had sickle mowers. After cutting with it for a day in the spring he'd want to kiss you on the lips because he couldn't believe how much faster he could go. The least fun was in August when he was slicking up the fields and he'd call to complain the thing wasn't cutting right anymore and that you sold him a lemon. It was because of the turbulence.
Most cutting problems can usually be narrowed down to dull/worn knife sections and finger condition.. keep the knives sharp and if the fingers aren't needle sharp they'll plug up super fast in a heavy crop. I've cut 100 and 100's of acres with a sickle bar mower and those were the two main causes of problems.
instablaster.
Hate a sickle mower?.. set it up properly
The sickle mower I used to have was a J.I. Case trailer type mower. It was easy to hook up and use. It also had a PTO stub shaft on the rear for a hay crimper. These were made right before the haybines came out. The one safety item you didn't mention was to keep your fingers out of the way of the sickle sections/bar while lowering the bar from the transport position.. There used to be some older farmers around that lost fingers by not paying attention to those sharp sections when either lowering the bar, or raising it up for transport.
You are absolutely right about being lucky not losing a finger with those old mowers especially when raising and lowering the bar as the cutting teeth would move and fingers just naturally seem to end up in that area.
As a kid of 12 years I spent many many summer days mowing hay with a Farmall Super A which had a belly mounted mower. We also used it to mow road allowances and I remember cutting willows and young poplars and never had a problem that my Dad couldn't fix.
If you're using for hay use the mowing board on the outer shoe. Get a 9 inch link and attach the mower to that instead of directly to the top link hookup, it gets it away from the three point and keeps you from tearing up the assembly with those bars. To bring it up to the top link, attach a strap from the top bar of the mower to the bucket and slowly pull it up to position. Thanks for the video.
That was the first mower I saw when I first came down to visit my Grandfather. Things I remember was him sharpening and replacing the blades. He always used it on his Orange tractor think it was an Allis tractor. Funny the things you remember. Thanks for some memories Mike.
You are absolutely right, love/hate relationship it is. The dual action sickle bar has really been nice to run in the hay field.
C'mon tractor mike, you forgot to mention how mesmerizing it is to watch the grass fall! I like to watch my dad with a sickle bar mower...showing off his tractor driving chops. He doesn't move very fast at anything else in the world, but put him in control of a tractor and SBM and all of the sudden he's an Indy car driver. They used to gang up on the hay fields as kids. We still have a fast hitch SBM to fit the old farmall 230 but we haven't used it since 1990 or about. I've been thinking of bringing it out of retirement to do about 8 acres of hay for fun.
After those 10 acres you'll probably park it again. Seriously though, it's mesmerizing to see that grass fall with the clickety-clack of the wobble box and bar.
So glad you mentioned the pet safety factor. When I was about 6 years old my dad mowed our fields with an old Allis-Chalmers and a converted horse pull sickle mower. My best friend, my Sheperd-Collie mix dog jumped a rabbit and jumped in front of the sickle bar. Didn't loose his feet, but seriously messed up his life and he didn't live much longer.
I grew up on a ford 3000 and a sickle mower, side delivery rake and a compact 65 new holland baler. We averaged close to 20,000 bales a year with that set up. We started very early for hay season and didnt stop till snow was sometime starting to fall. Then sold hay in winter. Some of my best memories growing up despite the hard work. I was a teenager back then back in the 70"s.. My how times have changed since then.
It's funny I have a deere #5 sickle that I used on a deere A. I run it now on a small diesel garden tractor and love it. Hydrostatic means I can just creep along and on 1000 rpm PTO instead of 540 I can run it at lower engine speeds and full ahead on the hydro in low gear really chops away
This video takes me back to my haying days with my 450 new holland sickle mower.it was a wonderful time till I hit the cheat grass and the work of unclogging began.thankfully I moved on to the drum mower.it would cut the roughest hay in 2 gear.my haying days are long gone but not the memories.thanks for a pleasant step back in time!
Mike, i.have the same old 251 cutter you have. It's a love and hate thing here as well. I do favor it over the disk. It's clean to cut with, and grass has to be very dry. No night or early a.m. cutting. And if it's really thick, slow down allot as well. Thanks for all the great videos. Top of the line education !!! Thanks, Richard
Great video.!! I like that he stays right on the subject and no distractions like so many other videos have. Thanks for the info.
I feel the same way as you with your love/hate relationship of sickle bar type mowers. Stay safe.
Had a beagle that ran through the sickle bar when my dad was cutting hay . Outcome ended positive for her as it only nicked 3 of her legs and only partially cut through the other. Very traumatic for a 7 or 8 year old to see happen.
The end was a great point & a reminder! as most of us love mans best friend ,more than our tractors. Thank You for the reminder & video Mike.
Dairy farming the central valley of California, my dad is 81, he worked both with horse drawn equipment and small tractors like Ford and Ferguson. In my time growing up on the dairy, we only used the sickle mower for weeds around the fields and ditch banks. After downed weeds were dry we would burn. Everyone did. But now it's hard to get a burn permit for that. And I did find a Ferguson sickle mower for myself.
Nice video. I've got an International sickle mower and it's great for the reasons you mentioned. I use it on an Oliver 1650 and the mower was converted from a IH fast hitch to 3 point, the bar level is controlled with a cable and pulley setup. It's pretty easy to hook up because the mower sets flat on the ground. One thing you did say that I agree with is having to stop and back up to clear the grass off the bar.
Never had a problem with my ford 501,and they don't damage the hay stems near as bad hay recovers quicker
Thanks, I've been watching videos on sickle mowers to help me decide if one will help me with maintenance around my wheat farm, and I especially appreciated your last comment about the dogs; your video is the only one that mentioned the danger to pets.... I have two dogs and three barn cats. The dogs are not afraid of the tractors and the cats tend to hide under things... like mower decks.
I'm glad you provided the pros and cons of a sickle mower. Your info helps me decide on wether to purchase one.
This might be late. But just in case. You don't want one, trust me. Reasons just as he said.
Always glad to see an enthusiastic endorsement of a piece of equipment by and experienced user....
There is a double rock guard that will cut a lot cleaner. Sickle bar is great for one cut hay process as it does not grind up the material but it is a lot slower. Agree with the maintenance and possible injury. Mike you did a good presentation.
Growing up we had a 6ft and 7 ft Ford mowers, once my dad showed me how, too set them up and we basically left those blocks set up in the equipment she'd, and it was not much a chore to hook or unhook, and I think they cut fantastic.
We mounted ours on a Ford 2000 and left it on for the whole hay season. Just avoided the mount/dismount issues. Except 1x/year. 😀
The Sickle or Finger mower, is the best for cutting low & clean, better than all your rotter mowers for quality. If you are looking for a quick job
at the expense of damaging the grass stems, normally due to the fear of pending rain, then it is a balancing act of stunting the grass or getting it in the barn.
For the small farmer, it is best to keep the revs down and cut nice & low gaining more bales per acre. Nice to see one in use though, thanks.
My Pop was pheasant hunting, I think in the 70’s. He went out with a friend and his dog, I think it was a Irish Setter. The field they had permission to hunt was adjacent to another field the farmer was mowing with, you guessed it, a sickle bar. Dog ran out beside the tractor, had all four legs taken off. They shot the poor thing right there. No way for a good pupper to die, he was young, healthy, and from what Pop said a good hunting dog. The owner of the dog never went pheasant hunting again.
Play safe everyone and don’t let that story turn you off of these neat pre-historic machines!
THIS GUY IS A SILVER SPOON FARMER.. I've Mowed Heavy hay with a Ford 501for 30 years and have NEVER had the issues this guy claims to have.
The progression in making hay wasn't really sickle mower --> disc mower; there was the Haybine [conditioner] that came in between, and that also used a sickle to cut the grass.
I love the clickety-clack sound of the sickle. Especially if it's on an old Farmall or Allis-Chalmers. #farmall
You just convinced me to pass on a sickle mower for my 03 NH TC35, Thanks Mike. I’ll hold out for a disk mower.
Greetings Mike. Great video fun to watch. I have three Ford tractors. Two equipped with the NH 451 sickle mower and one with a heavy duty Woods rotary cutter. I mow fields and conservation lands in the towns of Bedford, Concord and Lexington Massachusetts. I grew up with this type of equipment on a farm in Lexington which is now conservation land, approximately 20 acres deeded to the town through the years by the owner which I mow and maintain, enjoyed by all. It is the Chiesa Farm Conservation Land of Lexington. I have excellent luck working with the NH 451 both with seven foot bars. One mower is attached to a 1958 Ford 841 and my other is attached to a 1987 Ford 2810 diesel. The Woods cutter is attached to a 1983 Ford 2310 diesel. You are so correct in stating the 451 is a difficult implement to attach and detach. I purchased the 2310 to attach the rotary cutter to, so not to have to swap mowers on any tractor. It's great just to get off one tractor and get on the next one. I have spare knife assemblies to slide in the cutter bars when needed. One weakness we realized is the bracket that holds the small pulley where the lift cable passes through will crack and begin to separate from the mower frame from the cutter bar weight hanging off to the side. We had both mower pulley brackets reinforced by a welder. That ended any chance of the bracket breaking. Many thanks for your most informative and fun tractor operating videos. Paul Jenkins p2048j@juno.com
Hi Mike. As a follow up to the above, the lift cable on the 451 is subject to breaking in half on occasion. I keep a couple of extras on hand in case one snaps from the cutter bar weight. They break where the small pulley is. I was able to have one of my spare cables replaced by bringing both broken halves to a local cable/wire rope shop. The thimbles on the ends of the cable were reused in making a new lift cable for me. I recommend bringing a broken lift cable to such a shop if one is in your area, otherwise it can be obtained through a New Holland dealer. The 451 is an awesome mower for me for the work I do.
thanks for the education on a sickle mower.....AND great comment on safety with pets.....
Hi Mike, I have the same mower on my NH TC 45D which I think is the same size frame as yours. I ordered a manual from Ebay and learned a couple tips to make it easier to hook up. First, drive out the spring pins on the solid rods and reinstall in the lower holes, and cut off the excess rod. That will give you more clearance from the lift arms. I also bought a top link extender to mount between the tractor and loop to put more space between rods and lift arms. Best thing I did was make a 6 caster cart for the mower to sit on when not on the tractor. Mower is locked to cart with 4 pins to prevent tip over.
I can roll mower to back of tractor and attach in 5 minutes. I use mine to mow sides of driveway, around a small pond, and along the riverbank. This and grapple bucket are my favorite attachments.
Really enjoy your videos, and hope this helps.
Mark, I was considering just what you suggested. There are already holes there and if the roll pins came out and the tops were cut off I thought it would fit. Did you experience any problems with the new set up?
I didn't show it, I do have a little cart with wheels that my dad and I made for it to sit on, I like your idea about pins to keep it locked on the cart. Thank you for sharing the tips!
Tractor Mike, no problems, just a little scary cutting off original equipment parts. But that's what the manual said to do. Gives more room from lift arm and rods, but I still have to position crank on right lift arm to the side to keep away from rod.
Gotcha, thanks!
you can get a drum mower just as cheap in england and they require a bit more HP but a 50 HP tractor will tasaly run a 2 rotor drum mower, ours doesn't have an extra thing for the top link, it does take up a bit more room as it folds behind the tractor but it's better than a sickle in every application it even rows what you cut up
Thank you for using a good mic. The video has excellent audio
Wow, this video was perfect for me; you make points that helped to sway me away from a sickle wower. Thank you
That looks like my old New Holland mower. It easily fit my old Ford NAA but when I replaced it with a Kubota L3200 the troubles began. The three point hitch is so much smaller. The top link would not fit up to the tractor and the lower lift arms were too narrow. I attempted to get a conversion kit but they were priced from $1200-$1800. I made my own conversion for $50. I moved the top link back and up by using an old trailer hitch and drilling an extra hole in it. I had a u- shaped bracket welded up to replace the hitch ball. I bolt it to the tractor top link which moves the new u-shaped top link bracket 4"higher and 5" farther back than the original top link. The lower lift arms are not wide enough to clear the mower frame so I put three large washers on each pin of the mower allowing just enough length to protrude to attach the lower arms with the pins an hold them out for enough clearance. It works great but I add one caution. My old Ford NAA with a loader was wide enough that it would slide sideways long before it tipped over. The new compacts are much narrower and very tipsy. To make it safer for mowing hill sides I purchased 3" spacers for each back wheel to widen the rear track by 6" and had beet juice added for weight to the rear tires. It is still not as stable as the old Ford which was 12" wider with a low slung loader but it is still much better than it was. It works perfectly but is still a pain top take the sickle mower on and off.
My dad and I did a lot of hay when I was a kid some 50-60 years ago and we just used an old pull-behind wheel-driven sickle mower. (It even still had an operator seat for when it was horse drawn!) Lot of the same sharpening/jamming problems you mention, but hookup was a snap. If I recall correctly, ours was rigged to lift the bar with a rope. I bet there are some Amish farmers still using similar equipment and I wonder if a smaller implement manufacturer might get a fair amount of business by offering a similar model to hobby farmers such as ourselves today.
Great video Mike! I've got a few videos on my channel using sickle mowers to make hay. I can tell you after making hay that way for over 10yrs I'll never do it again! Sickle mowers are great for getting in ditches, around ponds, or edging. With prices on pull behind disc mowers, and mounted disc coming down I have to say that's a no brainier. Your absolutely right on sickle mowers being incredibly high maintenance. Every year we had to rebuild both of ours before hay season started and usually on 40-60acres of hay we 2-3 days down time and had to stop every few hours for repairs. Usually it was replacing sections, guards, or hold downs. Sometimes it was a pitman arm (you didn't mention these), They are a wooden arm that transfers the back and forth motion to the sickle. Unfortunately even the best oak can only take so much beating and would fail. Sickle mowers in my opinion work a lot better on old Row-Crop style tractors. Those tractors are what the mowers were designed for primarily. They also tend to be lower rated HP, such as 20-30hp. A higher horse power tractor tends to tear apart a sickle mower unless you use a slip clutch that slips under too much load.
Yeah, I didn't go into the Pitman Arm thing. We had an old New Idea pull type before the New Holland. It was a lot easier to hook up but it had the Pitman Arm and you had to work on something on it about every time you went to the field. If I remember we were pulling it one day and it just kinda dissolved...came completely apart at the frame. Dad traded it for the New Holland which was so much more maneuverable but SO much harder to hook up. If you could mount the New Holland on the New Idea frame and make it a pull-type...that would be something I would like to own. BUT...it would be hard to store in the barn because it would take up a lot of space.
Love never enters my mind when I think of a sickle bar mower! Nooo!!!!
Years ago, an oldtimer I was helping had me use his sickle bar mower to lay down the fully mature and somewhat tough intermediate wheat grass for his cows to consume in late summer. He said they didn't touch it while still standing, but would readily eat it once cut. Any experience with this? Also, his one rule was no pets in the field... I concur.
Thanks Mike, all great points! I still have an original sbm made specifically for the old 2N/9N, and it works well but I just hate installing the ungainly thing.
Supporting it from a barn rafter with a come-along was a help, but the best I ever did by myself was about 45 minutes getting that bugger on the tractor. Nasty job, so I only used it once/year.
Went to a new tractor & 5' brush hog 7 years ago & never looked back. ;-)
Anyway, great video, thank you!
PS: As someone else mentioned, I really appreciate your high quality audio with no annoying bg music, too.
Great video, Mike. Ah, yes the sickle! Growing up on a golf course, i was pressed into service helping out when the guys got behind during the growing season. We used a ford, and i, being a tomboy teenager, was always breaking the stick. Finally got a massy, i loved how versatile it was as long as somebody else hooked it up.lol i still own a massy today, i modified it so i can hook it up with my quick hitch, making the mounting & dismounting way more pleasant. And you are so right, there are some situations where nothing else will do!
Glad you added in the pet safety with sickle bar mowers!!
Just pull out the sickle bar. Vice it up. Angle grinder away. Remember grease and oil-always. It really stinks replacing individual blades though. Careful to attach all connections (take your time) reminds me when I was twelve years and forgot a connection. It dropped. Counting my blessings that I wasn't hurt and equipment wasn't damaged. Practice good safety
I got a Ford side mount, goes on my 50hp Ford. Hydraulic raise and tilt. Excellent mower. Knife maint. is not that bad if you don't mow dirt. Keep 2-3 knives, sharpen when OFF the mower.
I hook and use a M-F, 7 ft sickle bar mower on a B3300SU Kubota compact tractor of 33 HP, works excellent mowing along our creek bank and around the banks of the 3 acre lake. I also mow down saplings of up to about 1 1/2 inch diameter, with no problems at all. Have bigger tractors but I'm afraid to drive one of the heavier tractors too close to the creek banks or around the lake, because there are a lot of old beaver dens and muskrat dens all around the lake that could cave in at any time with a bigger tractor.
Sounds like a lot of complaining and not much knowledge. Sickle bars do not take much power - 30 hp powers one just fine. They were made to be pulled with horses or the IH H model tractor - no need for a 60 Hp tractor like a drum mower. They will cut down all saplings I have cut a bunch of 2.5" cottonwood with mine. They are great for maintaining treelines because they cut back under the trees and keep the treeline from continually expanding. If running right they can leave a nice even cut.
I have seen those here in Arkansas, and the ones I saw looked nice, and kept up real well. I knew they was old, and not in production any longer, and they must have been used rarely, since the owners had other equipment to cut their grass. Those who cut hay here usually have the modern mowers and use them instead.
The good old days lol not, We had a couple Ford models with the wood pit arm, from that breaking, to going in case. Always kept fingers clear when lifting it back up
We've got a pull type 1100 ih with the rouse lift mech. Very great mower to do road ditches with. And very easy to hook up.
We use a NH 451 for cutting hay, works great for our coastal Bermudagrass. As far as trees, I wouldn't worry about them too much at the size you showed as it's no problem for these mowers to cut through steel t posts. Don't ask how we know! Lol. Parts are getting a bit pricey though and it is a pain to raise and lower the knife bar. I found a video of a guy on UA-cam that installed a winch on the loop frame and he can raise and lower with a wired remote, going to try doing the same for ours before next season I think. Great video!
Cut many acres of Bermuda grass with a 8n ford with only a 6 foot blade and never really had many problem,s and changed a many of blades and knives and fingers and also rode on the running board of the same tractor with my granddaddy while he cut hay all day long, in a 10-15 acre field you could be out there all day, and two days after if the weather was right, we raked with a dexta and bale with a Minneapolis moline 335 and new Holland baler , mower probably wore out two or three square hay balers, those where the good old days, also baled a lot of peanut hay and bean hay and that was rough on a hay baler, a lot of sand especially the peanut hay
Awesome! Never considered these to be that much of a problem other than all the moving parts. Of course, I've never used one so I have zero experience with them.
How about a sickle bar mower on a 8n Ford tractor that's what I grew up with
Thanks Mike I'm about to become a new owner of an frontier 81" sickle bar mower. I've also gotta J.D.3025e with two rear remotes. You think a 25 H.P.is enough tractor for this mower?? I ordered these together and the salesman said it would. I appreciate your comments on this. Thank you Mike
Hello sir my pet Johnie loves to be around the tractor, I was cycle bar mowing today and had to put him up to keep him safe but the little burger drove my wife nuts by him trying to get to me , great video
A child-hood memory of a sickle mower used to mow a large field adjacent to my family's home. The property owner would hire someone with a tractor/sickle combo and more than once our family cat, the wild rabbits, etc. were caught off guard and went running to get out of the way. Our cat actually had his tail broken and required and expensive vet visit including stitches to patch him back up. Definitely not a pet or animal friendly device at all.
We always locked the cats inside when the farmer came and cut the grass. But den after the harvest I was going to cut some grass close to the ditches. It is like Mike describes, the animals don't get it. One of our older cats where sitting in the tall grass hunting, without me knowing. I drive the tractor and see the cat like 1 meter in front of the sickle bar and slam the brake pedal. And she just looks up at me like "that is our tractor, that is not dangerous, it is not running over me, just beside me. What's the problem?"
What's really fun is running over a bumblebee nest on an open platform tractor.
Not as much fun as running over one with a pto driven side delivery rake!
You missed the best use. Right by the horse drawn plow in the flower bed. On sundys we can sit and look at the two and think back to a simpler time when people did things the hard way and tractors didn't have a cab or radio.
Is that a Orchard (Narrow) model tractor? A conventional utility tractor is what that mower needs, just as you said. I've a buddy that's tryin' to rebuild a Sitrex brand sickle bar mower and parts support was almost none existent. The dealer even called Italy (where it was manufactured) with no help. I think he's going to go over to drum mower now.
I've been wanting a sickle mower almost purely for reasons of nostalgia (cut and hauled a lot of hay in my early years!) but now I'm not so sure. Watching you hook that thing up caused me all kinds of pain and frustration on your behalf!
You should see what I edited out. Not a good day...
I have a New Holland sickle bar mower which easily fit my old Ford NAA then I got a Kubota L3200 compact tractor. The lift arms were too short and too narrow on the three point hitch. I went to Kubota for an adapter. They priced me $1200 to $1800 for a kit. I looked around and found an old trailer hitch which I drilled an extra hole in and replaced the trailer ball with a U-shaped bracket. I bolted the hitch to the top link on the tractor which effectively raised the top link hook up location by five inches and moved it back three inches. I then used spacers to widen the lower lift arms so that the mower would fit in between. It works great and only cost me $20 for the u-shaped bracket plus my old trailer hitch. I mow around a pond where the mower will angle up or down to match the contour of the ground.
Philip Martin I’m in the same predicament. I have a kubota L2501 and my Massey Furgeson sickle mower is having the same issue with my arms being too short. Can you email me a photo of your setup kubotabumpers@gmail.com thanks!!
@@holecaver did you ever get your mower to hook up correctly? I would be interested in seeing how you did it.
Thanks for bringing back some not so pleasant memories. I by no means am a fan of sickle mowers. However non the less great video.
I did my last cutting with my sickle mower this year; broke the bar, replaced a tooth, problems with the lift but I love it because haying is DONE...
so i have used sickle bar for 30 years , first thing is use a pull type, second replace sections with bolt on instead of rivet, my cost is far less than scrambled up dics mower, next thing set the tip of guards according to the conditions , use 80 90 grease on sickle
Wonderful point about watching out for dogs.
Great information. Have been looking for a sickle bar. And the ones I have found I thought were over priced. And now im thinking it's not what I need I only have 24 hp pto Will start looking for other ideas to no we a steep hitch. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us GW
A lot of the smaller tractors just don't have enough room in back for the older sickle mowers. I did see a new one that will fit even a sub compact, but that's out of most people's budget (and would be mine).
My grandfather mowed hay using a jd5 sickle mower on a jd50. The dog hated that tractor. One day the dog got ahead of the mower chasing a rabbit and got one of his rear legs cut off. Grandpa couldn’t handle shooting the dog, so got his neighbor to do it. But the dog refused to die, even with one less leg and a 22 bull it in his head. At that point, grandpa decided to leave the dog alone and he lived many more years, walking on three legs, with a bull it in his head, and always hating that jd tractor every time it was started up.
Yea. Thinking of getting a sickle bar for hard to cut areas. My Labrador’s love to chase after the brush hog looking for field mice that have been exposed. Saw this video a couple weeks ago and haven’t been able to get the morbid thought of them getting into a sickle bar out of my head. Good advice. Needed to be said. But damn...
We have a 9-foot sickle mower on a smaller tractor should you drive that in low gear or high gear and cut with it
Ledger plates and sections... Hooking up the old hump back Ford not so bad if you block properly when unhooking
Great video, with the popularity of micro farming and farming in general starting to grow, especially in upstate NY where I live I've tended to notice many people getting into hay production new or good used equipment is way too expensive I've noticed a lot of older equipment being utilized, stuff I haven't seen operating since I was a kid. Like you said that's the way it was done and besides that equipment can be had pretty cheap and you can work on it.
1963, yup that's the way it was done Creek County Oklahoma
Takes me back to mowing set aside acres with an F-20 and IH 6 foot sickle bar mower. You could spin the steering wheel, hit the brake, and turn a 90 degree corner.
I baled 10's of thousands of square bales and a few thousand 5 x 6 rolls back when I was fooling with hay:all cut with an early 90's NH 9' sickle cutter. Mostly coastal bermuda and some bahia. Greased cutter at start of day and after lunch. Kept a spare knife bar with me and swapped bars when dull then either sharpen or replace teeth.Same with guides. Any machine will be a pain if not maintained.
The one and only condition that caused me a slight issue was heavy hay laid over in the direction of the cut.And if angle was right that wasn't even all that difficult. Hook up to my Ford 2810 was 5 minutes on a bad day.But I also read the operators and maintenance manuals front to back before I first used the cutter.
Forgot to mention changing the blades got chizel off the old rivets, hopefully find the right rivets at central tractor back then now called tcs then peen them on blade bar, then need wear kevlar gloves working on blades.
Ya we had a three leg dog when I was very young. Because of a cycle bar mower.
I liked your video on sicle mowers. Have you had any experience with the saber samuri hydraulic driven sicle mower for mowing ditches and roadside bushes?
Jim, I have not...that's a product that does look interesting.
Were can I purchase a good used one from.... how much should I expect to pay for one...
Thanks Mike. I don't think I'll be looking for one of those.
My mower has its own set of wheels, but. The weight of the drive and bar causes the mower to pull up on the draw bar which creates new complications in hitching.
I need something to mow my creek banks. I’ve gotten too close to the edge and dropped wheels in the creek. My neighbor has had to pull me out with his big Massey.
I have been wanting a sickle mower for a while. I actually have a push one. This was very informative :)
You are right about animals and sickle mowers. I have hit young fawns with them and it was bad.
There are modern Sickle Mowers available, mostly in the European market.
Sounds like you need to run a scythe for about half a day and your opinion will change on that mower.lol
if you think a new holland is hard to hook up you should try a dearborn with a 4 point hookup, that thing was a beast to hook up man, the tractor had to be just right and you had to change the upper knuckles on the lift arms from short ones to longer ones, then you hooked up the lift arms and toplink, then pto then raised it up then there was a rod that went up under the tractor and that thing was nearly impossible to hookup alone if the tractor was not level. then we go a 7 foot 501 ford that was not as hard but still a real pain to hook up;
I loved the way they cut, but I hated to run and maintain them.
Thanks for all your info Mike!
Would you comment on how many rpm's the tractor is turning when using a sickle bar mower. I've just used an old JD #9 (It's got a seven foot mowing bar. I found it recently for $800. Which uses a pitman arm/wobble box, no belt) for the first time on my small fields and ran the tractor at about 1500 rpm. The SBM sounded good, ran and cut, fairly well. But I wondered if more rpm's would be better? It did leave some smaller woody stemmed stuff sticking up after I was done.
I usually run mine at rated engine speed, but if it's cutting okay at 1500 rpm that would take less fuel. If you get into really heavy and/or wet grass you'll want to speed the engine up. Sickle mowers don't require a lot of power so lower RPM's in less taxing conditions would be fine.
My old man had one of those expletive deleted NH 451's If the hay wasn't piling up on the inner shoe it was piling up on the outer shoe. I was one of the 3 people who ended up walking along behind trying to pull the hay off. No wonder today I have a pair of titanium hip joints. Finally under the threat of domestic rebellion he finally traded it in on a 479 haybine.
I greatly enjoyed your comment because that's about how our family worked. The guy riding on the tractor seat usually couldn't figure out why the family would be complaining...
Mike,
Good advice, especially regarding pets.
Good video. I hated hooking that thing up. Damn near hurt myself every time.
Question: what is the extra bar you have bolted halfway down on your ropes bar?
That's the Tractor Caddy, a tray to carry your tools. Something I came up with an a local machine shop is building. It'll hopefully be on the market in about 30-45 days. We've been testing prototypes. Part of our property is down the road about 1/4 mile and I was constantly struggling to find a place to carry my chainsaw on the tractor and the Caddy is the solution.
Nice video great tips. I noticed some of the flail mowers as you had showed in one of your previous videos have offsets. I wonder with your same ditch situation (which I have the same issue in several spots) if an offset flail mower would do just as good. I somewhat assume not since the sickle bar mowers have such a long reach. But I have been wondering as having a mower I could offset and do some small brush cutting with would be handy.
The flail couldn't get that far out. There have been some offset brush hogs designed that are mounted on an arm that extends almost as far as the sickle mower, and mounts on the three point, but they never caught on with anyone but highway departments and county road districts. They're heavy and they put a lot of pressure on one side of the tractor, sometimes requiring multiple wheel weights on the opposite side. There are also boom mowers but they're really not designed to ever come off the tractor and they're EXPENSIVE. Sadly, the sickle mower seems to be the best of the bad choices for a chore like this.
The farmer i worked for when i was a kid did the cutting w one ,but i tedded an raked the hay,once i did bale,but i learned to drive a stick plus load hay in a truck bed,only want to stack it once.Maybe a better truch driver always had a shifter.
my grandfather owns a sickle mower as well as a disk mower. Once he told me that, with the sickle mower, he had to mow slower than when he mowed with the disk mower, due to the fact that, if the grass was wet, it didn´t cut it well. What is the difference of speed between those mowers? so slowly yo have to work with a sickle mower?
You can mow hay as tall as the tractor cab as fast as you want with a disc mower. Put it in gear, rev up the engine and hammer down. In fact, they seem to work better the faster you go as long as the blades are sharp. Where they don't work well is late in the year when the grass is less lush, the turbulence from the discs can blow the crop down before it is cut, and "streak" it, that's where the sickle mowers shine. The most fun in farm equipment sales was selling a disc mower to a guy who had always had sickle mowers. After cutting with it for a day in the spring he'd want to kiss you on the lips because he couldn't believe how much faster he could go. The least fun was in August when he was slicking up the fields and he'd call to complain the thing wasn't cutting right anymore and that you sold him a lemon. It was because of the turbulence.
I love my IH 100 balance head mover. Don't have pets around when any tractor work!
Replace all the guards with stub guards and it will cut anything wet or dry.