IH sickle bar mower question

BigTone · Apr 21, 2013

Hey guys, my brother in law has a IH mid-mount sickle bar mower on his 400, will that cut brush/bushes, stock up to 1" or will it only cut grass/hay ? I wanted to cut back the edges of my private road and there are some bushes mixed in with the grass but I do not want to damage the mower on him. thanks guys, Anthony

Stumpy(NH) · Apr 21, 2013

Sickle bars are meant to cut grass. You can cut some heavy weeds with them, but they are not a replacement for a brush mower. If kept up with a sickle mower works wonderful for mowing along roads.

Stumpy

IH fan · Apr 21, 2013

(quoted from post at 06:18:21 04/21/13) Sickle bars are meant to cut grass. You can cut some heavy weeds with them, but they are not a replacement for a brush mower. If kept up with a sickle mower works wonderful for mowing along roads.

Stumpy

They are meant to cut hay, alfalfa, clover, etc. In heavy grass, they may cause problems and should not be used on "woody" stuff, but will handle fairly heavy weeds. I'm sure they will cut very small woody things, but anything bigger than about 3/8-1/2" and they will not stand up, you'll start bending or breaking sickle sections.

vapet · Apr 21, 2013

Have mid mount on 504. Have mowed brush I guess inch and one half or more. On anything larger than say 3/4 ease into it. Sure, will break a section now and then, broke a guard last week cleaning out a ditch that I hadn"t mowed in a while. Small price to pay for the great job it does. If it is a balanced head mower they were used by the state to mow road sides and they were up to that.

Zachary Hoyt · Apr 21, 2013

When I was new to cutting with a sicklebar I had a 3 point hitch mounted Dearborn mower and once when I was making the outside pass around a field to clean up my tracks from opening the field I got into the edge of the hedgerow and cut about a 1.5" sugar maple sapling with the last section inside the outer shoe. I was surprised by how easily it cut it, I had thought it would jam on something that big. Whether it is a good idea I am not sure, I think it might be hard on the knife back as well as the sections and guards.
Zach

GordoSD · Apr 21, 2013

Go buy some replacement sections, and a couple of guards and some bolts. Get a crash course in section and guard replacement and go for it. If you don't use the stuff your BIL sure can.
Grease it up, and spray the bar with chain lube.

Dave H (MI) · Apr 21, 2013

Yes it will. I use a 115 mower on a SMTA and routinely take out small trees and bush. Don't just drive headlong into it. Ease into it slowly and the sickle will saw it down. Does a nice job. If it's not too big I generally rake that stuff up and bale it for goats.

Don Mountain · Apr 22, 2013

And I bet there are a few guilty people here that won't admit to cutting off a steel fence post with a sickle mower when they were kids. And their father never noticed a small nick in the outer blade. I still have my father's 1954 Super C and fast hitch mounted sickle mower. It works like a charm still on that quick turning tractor. If only my aim wasn't a little better when mowing along the fence rows.

Harold Hubbard · Apr 22, 2013

Live green stems, you can cut fairly large, say , up to 1 1/2". Real hardwoods a little less, poplar and such a little more. An occasional stem cuts way better than a thick stand, or something like willows that grows in bunches. Just don't try to cut the dead dry stubs from last year a little closer. If you are doing a lot of that stuff, put extra hold down fingers on the bar. It keeps the knife from spreading away from the guard, and makes it cut cleaner.

sgtbull · Apr 23, 2013

I have to agree with the guys who comment on the original design being to cut hay/grass. It WILL cut much heavier stuff but that's really unneccessary wear on an older machine. Spend an hour with a small chain saw cutting out the stuff bigger than your thumb and you'll save more than that in time spent replacing sections, guards, or pitmans. I'd recommend using an old, nearly shot chain you're sharpening for the last time. Cutting saplings close to the ground is rough on chain saw chains. They're kinda like sickle mowers.. they'll do it, but its hard on them.

IH sickle bar mower question

BigTone

Member

Stumpy(NH)

Member

IH fan

Well-known Member

vapet

Member

Zachary Hoyt

Well-known Member

GordoSD

Well-known Member

Dave H (MI)

Well-known Member

Don Mountain

Member

Harold Hubbard

Member

sgtbull

Member

Similar threads