It's been a very busy week. I have found some pretty (IMHO) good deals on some hay equipment to get me and my boys started making a few square bales of hay.
We now have a MF32 - 7ft sickle bar mower, a John Deere model 350 - 3 point mounted hay rake, and today I brought home a New Holland 68 hay baler.
Me and the boys went some 90 miles to get this thing. It had been setting in a barn for some 20 years. Outwardly, it appears to be in good condition and complete - for a baler of its age. It is in much better shape than the old JD 14T I bought years ago. Barn kept really means a lot in my older age - less rusted/stuck things to fix.
Before buying the baler, we looked it over, spun the flywheel by hand and nothing appeared out of order. I didn't want hooked to a tractor out of fear the timing might be out or jump out and shear or break something. When we get the manual we'll begin a thorough going over, including timing.
First thing we did was (on site) pull the wheels and replace with new tires and tubes via Miller tire. I used a cheap Harbor Freight manual tire changer to do this, along with the boy's elbow grease and sweat! Next we pulled the hubs, checked and cleaned the bearings, repacked and reinstalled. I have new bearings, seals and cups which I brought along if I needed them. We'll put them in over the winter.
The baler towed like a dream - after I got faster than 10-15 mph. At that speed, the baler bounced like a basket ball. My speed the entire trip was around 30-35 mph, long trip, but tolerable. Tires were warm, hubs cool.
The baler has a hitch for pulling a wagon behind. It is a New Holland hitch, but doesn't look as stout as the one on my JD 14T as it pulled directly from the axle tube. The NH looks like it relies on the bale chamber for strength, with a long gusset going to the right side do the axle tube near the wheel. Question is - how strong is this hitch? Any worries? How large/small should a wagon be hooked to it?
So we have the basic elements to make a bit of hay. Lots of questions will likely come and thanks in advance for your help!
BTW - what ever happened to Kelly C? I used to enjoy his posts and pics. I think I read he also had a NH68 he rebuilt.
Thanks again,
Bill
We now have a MF32 - 7ft sickle bar mower, a John Deere model 350 - 3 point mounted hay rake, and today I brought home a New Holland 68 hay baler.
Me and the boys went some 90 miles to get this thing. It had been setting in a barn for some 20 years. Outwardly, it appears to be in good condition and complete - for a baler of its age. It is in much better shape than the old JD 14T I bought years ago. Barn kept really means a lot in my older age - less rusted/stuck things to fix.
Before buying the baler, we looked it over, spun the flywheel by hand and nothing appeared out of order. I didn't want hooked to a tractor out of fear the timing might be out or jump out and shear or break something. When we get the manual we'll begin a thorough going over, including timing.
First thing we did was (on site) pull the wheels and replace with new tires and tubes via Miller tire. I used a cheap Harbor Freight manual tire changer to do this, along with the boy's elbow grease and sweat! Next we pulled the hubs, checked and cleaned the bearings, repacked and reinstalled. I have new bearings, seals and cups which I brought along if I needed them. We'll put them in over the winter.
The baler towed like a dream - after I got faster than 10-15 mph. At that speed, the baler bounced like a basket ball. My speed the entire trip was around 30-35 mph, long trip, but tolerable. Tires were warm, hubs cool.
The baler has a hitch for pulling a wagon behind. It is a New Holland hitch, but doesn't look as stout as the one on my JD 14T as it pulled directly from the axle tube. The NH looks like it relies on the bale chamber for strength, with a long gusset going to the right side do the axle tube near the wheel. Question is - how strong is this hitch? Any worries? How large/small should a wagon be hooked to it?
So we have the basic elements to make a bit of hay. Lots of questions will likely come and thanks in advance for your help!
BTW - what ever happened to Kelly C? I used to enjoy his posts and pics. I think I read he also had a NH68 he rebuilt.
Thanks again,
Bill