looking at an ih 100 sickle mower for sale

good morning all looking at an 7 ft. ih 100 sickle mower for sale, I got a call from a farmer in Saskatchewan who years ago switched from cattle to grain and hasn't used the mower in years, has always been stored inside, from the pictures he sent me it has nice original paint even the decals are all there and readable. my one concern is parts availability, ie wobble box, drive pulleys, etc. things like knives, guards, belt. I know I can get from several sources. he is asking $1000.00 for it with extra blades and knives. looking for comments and opinions on the 100. thank you.

Thats a lot for a 100 mower. Numbering on these get confusing. Some refer to 100
"series" mowers but call all styles by the 100 model number. When I think 100 I
think trailer mower, 110 or 115 mid mount, 120 semi mount etc. Style of mower can
matter. Repairs an parts are expensive. They are the best mowers made.

(quoted from post at 13:01:16 11/06/17) Thats a lot for a 100 mower. Numbering on these get confusing. Some refer to 100
"series" mowers but call all styles by the 100 model number. When I think 100 I
think trailer mower, 110 or 115 mid mount, 120 semi mount etc. Style of mower can
matter. Repairs an parts are expensive. They are the best mowers made.

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My 100 mower is a fast hitch.

I bought a 100 with fast hitch 3 years ago in Missouri on a farm auction for $300, which I considered basically stealing it. I had tried to buy one in Colorado two weeks before that and it sold for $1700 and it was missing the outer shoe. Most I have seen have gone for around $1000 because people want them to mow ditches and such. So if it is in good shape I would go for it. Rouse Rakes in Burwell, NE makes all the heads and repairs them there. I had my head up to them last year to put in new bearings and such. It cost me $375.00, plus they have all the knives, guards, holed downs, etc. Great people and decent prices. I bought adjustable hold downs for mine that are set at .010 above the sections and really work great!

Exactly. If you look at the brochures over the years, sometimes they refer to all balanced head mowers as 100's and then in a different year they have different numbers as indicated in the prior post. I have three...a model 100 trailer mower, 120 semi mount, and a 115 mid mount mower. I paid $70 for the 100 at a farm sale, $105 for the 120 on ebay, and $350 for the mid mount from a fella here on the forums. The 100 series are the oldest of the balanced head mowers. The 1000 series might and do fetch a higher price around here.

thanks guys, this is a trailer type sickle mower and all the decals are all still readable. (always stored inside when not in use) the head/wobble box you can clearly see the 100 series decal. and dave rouse was able to rebuild the head for $375.00 that sounds good. i'll try and get the pics he sent from mu email to here. thanks again guys.

(quoted from post at 11:01:24 11/06/17) I bought a 100 with fast hitch 3 years ago in Missouri on a farm auction for $300, which I considered basically stealing it. I had tried to buy one in Colorado two weeks before that and it sold for $1700 and it was missing the outer shoe. Most I have seen have gone for around $1000 because people want them to mow ditches and such. So if it is in good shape I would go for it. Rouse Rakes in Burwell, NE makes all the heads and repairs them there. I had my head up to them last year to put in new bearings and such. It cost me $375.00, plus they have all the knives, guards, holed downs, etc. Great people and decent prices. I bought adjustable hold downs for mine that are set at .010 above the sections and really work great!

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that is great news 300guy, I'm going to pull the trigger on this one, will call owner tonight and get things set up. also found another 100 trailer type north of me, being sold as a parts machine. just missing hyd. ram and apparently will only turn about 60 degrees and then locks up? might be the head or could be knife bar jamming up. owner wants $100.00 so will get that one as well. be nice to have a parts machine sitting in the yard, save a lot of time and money come haying time. thanks again guys

Keep in mine if the crankshaft is bad, now your are talking big money. I know of another guy who had to replace a crankshaft and it cost him $1000 at Rouse.

yes 300guy but still a lot cheaper than the same job on any haybine or disc mower, and for my small haying operation I can justify the cost, getting the mower set up and dialed in with new sections, guards, and hold downs, keeping it clean and serviced it should last me for years.

Dad came REAL close to pulling the trigger on a semi-mounted 9 foot cut #120 in the mid-1960's. His old
Oliver semi-mount mower had seen better days, needed new sickle, ledger plates, sickle hold downs, sickle
driver, and the pitman arm broke a time or two a year just mowing 20 acres of alfalfa 3 times a year and a
half mile of road banks. The Oliver worked O-K behind the '39 Farmall H one time, then next mowing would
plug constantly. We put the mower on the Super M-TA once, I liked the power steering, and the big
Automatic tractor radio, but I took several years worth of wear out of the slip clutch trying to get the
LPTO out of gear every time the sickle plugged. The Stage II '54 Super H was actually the best mowing
tractor, could clear a plug in seconds and be off mowing again at 6-1/2 mph. Would have been able to mow 20
acres in less than 3 hours vs about 5 hrs with the Oliver. A Haybine was out of the question, too
expensive and not flexible enough. We ended up mowing hay with the 6 ft Brillion rotary cutter, never
plugged, already had it for several other uses, and it kinda crimped the hay which let us bale a day sooner
sometimes. Pulled a little harder than a sickle mower but the extra gas and gear slower I ran, 5 mph vs 6-
1/2 cost a whole lot less than a new mower. My time was Very Very economical in the Cost per Acre
calculation.

The IH mowers with the wobble box were/are the best mower made. The fact Howse still makes new ones 50+
years later says lots.