John Deere 610 VS NH 256

Hotflashjr

Well-known Member
Location
Western MA
I am helping a friend decide between two hay rakes, A JD 610 and NH 256. Both are in good condition with nice tires, decent paint and rubber mounted teeth. The JD is $1,000 cheaper and is a chain drive instead of the wobble box. The NH is a local rake on one farm all its life with an owner who takes care of his stuff but it has seen a lot of hay. Which would you pick? Is the chain drive a plus or minus over the wobble box? Thanks!
 
I don't recall a model 610 side delivery rake. JD built a 640 & 660 but the had a drive shaft from gearbox to basket. 894 & 896 could be chain driven.
 
I would take the NH any day...BUT...athousand dollars more? What is that guy asking for that New Holland 256 anyway? I'd pass on the Deere and start checking around as it sounds like the owner of the 256 rake is trying to put you on some.
 
I also don't recognize the posted JD rake model. But NH Rolabars outsold everything else combined around here by about 20 to 1 between 1960 and the advent of rotary rakes a decade or so ago. Not at all hard to imagine a $1000 difference in asking price between a nice 256 and anything else; a good 256 will fetch $2500 and up at the right auction "here".
Right or wrong, that's the reality of the situation.
 
I can't find a 610 listing on JDparts for a parts book either. It is a local dealer selling the unit so I just ASSuMEd they had it correct. The chain drive is what caught my eye. A sprocket comes off the axle. It then drives a chain to a larger sprocket mounted on a shaft right above. A drive shaft then runs up to the end of the rake.
 
He is asking $2,800. Tires are new, wobble box is nice and tight. Bearings on the rake wheels however will need to be done in the near future. I was thinking $2,500 was fair but he is firm on the $2,800. For the amount of hay my friend will be doing per year he isn't looking to spend that much on a rake.
 
A friend has a 640. I have pulled it with 5 different tractors, and the only way to get a good winrow out of it is to put it on the Long 535 with the drawbar stuck clear out and turned down.

Go with the New Holland. After one season of using the JD he'll likely trade it off on one anyhow.
 

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