I'm looking over my sickle bar mower I picked-up recently and am wanting to refresh the cutter bar assy.
Presently the guards have serrated ledgers on them and the sickle sections are also serrated. I am to understand that having serrated ledgers and sickle sections in combo is not good - is this correct? The preferred arrangement is s serrated and smooth combo? Does it matter if the serrated part lives with the ledger plate and the smooth with the sickle section or vice-versa?
When should the guards be replaced? Other than the ledger plates being worn and needing replaced, I don't really see any damage to the guards other than a few of them have the very tip bent slightly and that could be easily ground or tapped into shape again. Are guards typically replaced when they break or are they a wear item like a ledger plate?
With the sickle bar, I got a box of spare parts. In it are about 15 new guards with serrated ledger plates on them. The cutter bar has at least 2 of these new guards on it. My question is - should I replace the existing guards/ledger plate assemblies with the 15ish new ones I've got and buy the remaining new guards or just keep the new guards in the box and replace only the ledge plates?
If I replace the new guards completely with what I have and finish out the cutter bar with additional new guards - I would continue with serrated ledger plates and on the knife use smooth vs serrated sickle sections. Is serrated ledger plates and smooth sickle sections an OK combo?
If it is OK and/or advisable to just keep the guards I've got and replace the ledger plates plates, I'd put smooth ledge plates on and go with bottom serrated sickle sections on the knife.
I would consider double guards, but since I have a box of single guards, I'd like to use them if I can.
The next thing is the hold down clamps for the knife. The sickle sections presently are about 1/8 inch standing off the ledger plates vs setting on them. How should I deal with the knife hold down clamps. Is this something I need to shim or beat into position with a hammer or replace or something else?
I assume there are some wear plates - don't know their condition and to what extent they are potentially out of wack.
Not trying to be cheap on this round of refresh on the sickle bar mower, but if I could use the new guards I've got, it would certainly save me some $$$'s, but I'm not opposed to redoing the whole cutter bar assy with new bolt-on double guards and serrated sickle sections - basically new everything on the cutter bar.
BTW - the mower is a MF32 pitman with a 7 ft cutter bar.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
Bill
Presently the guards have serrated ledgers on them and the sickle sections are also serrated. I am to understand that having serrated ledgers and sickle sections in combo is not good - is this correct? The preferred arrangement is s serrated and smooth combo? Does it matter if the serrated part lives with the ledger plate and the smooth with the sickle section or vice-versa?
When should the guards be replaced? Other than the ledger plates being worn and needing replaced, I don't really see any damage to the guards other than a few of them have the very tip bent slightly and that could be easily ground or tapped into shape again. Are guards typically replaced when they break or are they a wear item like a ledger plate?
With the sickle bar, I got a box of spare parts. In it are about 15 new guards with serrated ledger plates on them. The cutter bar has at least 2 of these new guards on it. My question is - should I replace the existing guards/ledger plate assemblies with the 15ish new ones I've got and buy the remaining new guards or just keep the new guards in the box and replace only the ledge plates?
If I replace the new guards completely with what I have and finish out the cutter bar with additional new guards - I would continue with serrated ledger plates and on the knife use smooth vs serrated sickle sections. Is serrated ledger plates and smooth sickle sections an OK combo?
If it is OK and/or advisable to just keep the guards I've got and replace the ledger plates plates, I'd put smooth ledge plates on and go with bottom serrated sickle sections on the knife.
I would consider double guards, but since I have a box of single guards, I'd like to use them if I can.
The next thing is the hold down clamps for the knife. The sickle sections presently are about 1/8 inch standing off the ledger plates vs setting on them. How should I deal with the knife hold down clamps. Is this something I need to shim or beat into position with a hammer or replace or something else?
I assume there are some wear plates - don't know their condition and to what extent they are potentially out of wack.
Not trying to be cheap on this round of refresh on the sickle bar mower, but if I could use the new guards I've got, it would certainly save me some $$$'s, but I'm not opposed to redoing the whole cutter bar assy with new bolt-on double guards and serrated sickle sections - basically new everything on the cutter bar.
BTW - the mower is a MF32 pitman with a 7 ft cutter bar.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
Bill