Sickle bar mower advice wanted

There's a foot of snow out there but I'm starting to think about spring mowing.
I have decided to get a sickle mower for mowing creek banks and small hill sides on our property, which I have always done with an old scythe or a weed whacker. I have no experience with a sickle bar mower but since I'm a Ford-tractor guy and there is a New Holland dealer right up the road, I would like to get an older used Ford 501 or 515 to use on my NH TC-33 compact tractor.
There are quite a few of these for sale on the web and going by photos some don't look too bad and range from about $500 to $1500.
My questions are: If I get one, can I expect to sharpen or fix the cutters (ledgers and sections?) or find replacements? Do they come with a stabilizer or sway strap of some kind? Can I adjust the bar for both angle-up or angle-down cutting? Are the ones without the pitman rod inherently better?
Any advice in general would be appreciated. Thanks, Will
 
Pitmanless are much better for slopes. Typically like the AC Twin Wheel drive which can go from vertical to 45 degrees under horizontal. IH 100 is another, as well as 450? NH. Bars on most any mower are adjustable for up/down setting. You won"t know the sharp/dull condition until you look at a mower. Just factor that in as to its value.
 
Sickles with pitman rods will only mow a few degress either side of horizontal. Pitman style is simple and fine for cutting a hay field but not really what you want for a rough terrain trim mowing unit.

Belt drive and balance head style sickle mowers can mow nearly 90 degrees each way of horizontizal. and are much better suited for banks, ditches, inclines, etc.
 
Most any guards and section can be found for all but the super old sickle bar mowers. As is said for what you want to do you want one that does not have a pitman stick
 
Will,

Dittos to all of the other posts, plus, whatever you decide to buy, you'll want to make sure in advance that you have the proper attaching hardware to attach it to your tractor.

I don't know about any of the other models of sickle bar mowers, but I do know that there are at least half a dozen different attaching kits for the Ford 501, depending on what tractor it is going to be attached to.

Good luck, and good mowing.

Tom in TN
 
Would suggest a belt driven mower instead of pitman driven mower for mowing creek banks and small hill sides.

The belt driven mower will allow the drive head and cutter bar more "flexibility" in range of movement up or down.

Would also suggest guards without ledgers with top serrated or smooth knife sections.

The guards and knife sections are available at TSC as well as the dealership.

This type of guard requires little or no maintenance.

This type of knife section works well with guards with no ledgers.

The stabilizer or sway strap will probably be part of the existing 3pt lift on your tractor.

Finally would suggest a shorter cutter bar rather rather than a longer cutter bar for better maneuverability with the tractor.

Hope this helps.
 
Tom- Can you explain what you mean by attaching hardware? Besides the pins for the lift arms and adjustable top link what else would be involved? My tractor has adjustable stabilizer rods with locking pins on the lift arms. -Will
 
If you are determined to get a Ford mower, I have one I am thinking of selling. I have sold off all but my IH mowers and this Ford. The advice about a pitman-less mower is right on the mark. The IH 100 mower might be a little hard to fit depending on the Ford you have. Trailer mowers are the easiest to hook on. A three pt IH mower can get pricey, but still in the range you mentioned. The others, fast hitch and semi-mounted are going to need adapting and the mid-mounts will be too heavy in most cases.
 
James- That is all good information, Thank You!
Yes, you are right, my tractor does have stabilizers on the lift arms, I just wasn't sure if the cutter itself had to have any additional strap to keep it from moving around with that long bar sticking out from it.
Other than one 501, all of the other units I have seen have 7ft bars. I had hoped to find one with a 6ft but have not seen any so far.
I'm starting to look at the NH 450. The newer 451's are just too much $$. -Will
 
I don't know anything about the Ford.

I originally took an early AC twin wheel trailer mower and made it into a three point hitch. It worked great for trimming around the farm. But it bugged me that it was so side heavy on the three point hitch. I eventually made a bracket and hung a bunch of weight on the left side. Then it was perfectly balanced!

Now I have a true side mount(not belly mount) late AC twin wheel(pitmanless) mower permanently mounted on a D15II, dedicated to trimming ditch banks, field edges, etc. I have three wheel weights on the left side of the tractor to offset the weight of the mower. I'll never part with it! My favorite antique tractor used to be my AC "C" I had fixed up. Now it's for sale. The D15II is it now.
 
Will,

Again, I only know about the Ford 501, so other models might not have different attachment kits, but here are a couple of examples from the 501 Operator's Manual:

Attaching Kit 14-341 for attaching to a Ford 2000 or 3000 has 2 specifically sized "Stabilizer Arms", 1 "Right Stabilizer Guide, two "Stabilizer Clamps', 1 "Tractor End of PTO Drive Shaft", 1 "Left Stabilizer Guide", 2 "5/8" - 11 Hex nuts", 2 "5/8 - x 3" Square Hed Bolts", 2 - "Mounting Pins", 2-"5/16" x 2" Drilled Pins", and 2 - 1/8" x 3/4" Cotter pins".

Attachment Kit 14-342 is used for attaching to a Ford 4000 All Purpose and Row Crop. "Tractor Stabilizers are required"

Attachement Kit 14-324 is used for attaching to Ford 5000 All Purpose tractors.

Attachment Kit 14-148 is for attaching to a Fordson Major.

Etc. Etc.

I have seen at least one tractor/mower that had to have a couple of inches of the PTO shaft cut off to accommodate the proper distance from the PTO shaft in the tractor to the Universal Joint on the mower.

It would simply be a wise precaution to insure that the sickle bar mower that you are buying actually will mount on your tractor.

Tom in TN
 
Certainly agree with the others, belt driven mower for the
greater angles that go with slopes.

I had a 515 and maybe still have the manual for it if you buy
one.

Not sure how your lift arm arrangement is - but last year when
I bought my MF32 pitman mower, the seller had a smaller
Kubota and just the smallness (for lack do a better word) made
it difficult for him to attach the mower - so keep that in mind
with your New Holland tractor.

Good luck,
Bill
 
I have picked up a good many sickle mower that had small problems for around $100-200 and then fixed them up. Not all that much that can go wrong with one so if you look it over good before you buy you can find good deals. I have the manual for the Ford 515 sickle mower. There is a bearing on that one if it goes bad cost more to fix then the mower is worth I know I have parts of the 515 the manual came with and the bearing was around $350 if you could find it
 
You've received a lot of good advice here. Pitman-less is the way to go if you want to do banks and slopes. Your compact tractor should handle 7' with no problem, but 9' might be a hand-full.
I have a JD 350 that I bought to trim around the pond. It works great. I use it with a JD 630. I have a smaller JD 850 (23 HP) and it is a little much for it, pretty heavy and awkward.
Growing up, we had a MF dyna-balance and my uncle had a Ford, I believe it was a 501. The MF dyna-balance was a great mower and easy to hook up.
The Ford is a little quirky. I'm going off memory here of things 40 years ago, but as I remember it, the Ford had some little brackets on the side that you clamped to the 3 point lift arms. You needed to carry a crescent wrench with you to snug the nuts down. These brackets prevented the side to side sway. It had it's own top link that was a part of the mower. I believe that there were some different brackets depending on the brand of tractor you had, but I could be wrong on that. I do know that there was a narrow model and a wide model, depending on the size of the tractor you had - or at least how wide your rear tires were set. So do your research if you buy a Ford to make sure you end up with something that will work. It might not fit well on your compact tractor. Because of the integrated top link on it, that might cause problems.
The MF mower we had was much easier to hook up, and since it didn't have a pitman arm, would mow at any angle. There were no special brackets or clamps necessary, but we did use a stabilizer bar to take the sway out of it.
The JD 350 I have now can be set to either wide or narrow, so it can work with a wide variety of tractors. It has a chain that attaches to the drawbar, so you need a drawbar mounted while you use it. That's not a big issue for many tractors. It did not require a stabilizer bar like the MF did.
 
It is hard to find a better sickle mower than a Massey Ferguson M41 belt driven mower. A simple sway bar will keep it properly aligned on the tractor. They were made to work on 35HP tractors so they are light weight, nd will operate at many different angles. The blade is manual lift and easy to work.


But it ain't a disc mower. Sickle mowers need careful adjustments, sharp knives and proper alignment, dry crops and lots of patience.
 
Tom- Thanks, the 515 might work for me. Yours sounds good, but as you said, you are SW WI and I am in western MD. Still, I might want to talk to you about it when the weather breaks. If I can figure out how to send you a private message or email I might do that. -Will
 
Thanks, Tom for all of the info. Sounds like for several reasons the Ford 501 would not be the one for me. The problem with buying an older mower like these is that I can't try it out on my tractor because they are usually in another state and the newer NH units that may be known to work for my tractor are very expensive.
But you have been most helpful, thanks again. -Will
 
Thanks, old. The only thing going for me there is that I would probably only be putting about 10 hours on it a year so I shouldn't wear out too many parts unless they were bad when I got it. So, I guess I need to be careful... Will
 
Sure...it is 300 feet from the house and buried in snow!

What I remember? It is 3 pt and was used on an 8N. There was a farm about a mile away that has been being split up for years and was down to it's last five acres when they sold off all the equipment. I bought the sickle mower to do hay and found out it did not fit well on more modern Fords. It would go nice on my 2N but I have moved on and use bigger equipment. I am not 100% clear on the model. It is kind of a flip of the coin as to whether the 2N is for sale also. I'll have to see in the Spring if I want to keep that around. I am in Livingston Cty, MI...are you from the area? I cannot recommend traveling too far to buy a sickle mower. Too many around.
 
I just reread your post. Before you buy an old Ford mower, compare your 3 PT lift arms to those of the old N Fords. I can tell you that the arms on the 2N are more slender and longer than the arms on my 1989 Ford 1520. So the mower that fits nicely on the "N" is a bear to mount on the shorter heavier arms of the newer Ford. Honestly, it never did seem to fit on there right. PLUS, the Ford mower will have a shield that mounts under the PTO to keep it from doubling as a round baler (picking up a huge snarl that only a sawzall will remove).
 
If you buy one, always watch your fingers! Dad
had his hooked on a tractor when I was about
10, and I thought I'd help him out and unhook it
for him, even though he told me not to mess
with it. When I flipped the bar up to lock it in the
up position, my hand slipped on the guard and
went between the sections. Wouldn't have been
a big deal if gravity hadn't caused the cutter bar
to drop. It had brand new sections on it. Didn't
even notice it had taken my LH index finger off
through the knuckle closest to my hand, until
turning to walk back to the barn and felt it
stinging. Got it sewed back on, but it doesn't
bend correctly and since the tendon is quite a
bit shorter, it usually points straight out. Easier
to use my middle finger to grab stuff now.

Ross
 
You asked about how to get email from posters. When you post a message, below your name, fill out the line asking for email. When your post appears, "send email" will appear as well. A poster can respond, but it goes thru this site, and you will receive an email from this site, asking you if you want to respond to that person. Then you can establish direct contact with him.
 
Over the years I have taken dead sickle mower form the grave and made them work well. I use on on my BA Farmall which is a tractor I built form junk and it has cut my hay for 4 years now. I have a JD#9 3 point that worked well till I let a friend use it and he lost a part and have not gotten back to it yet. Sold a NH 45/46/47 pull mower that I fixed up to a neighbor and they have used it for 5 or so years. They are not all that hard to work on. But one thing you do is make sure when you lift the bar you hold it wit ha flat hand or it will remove a finger
 
(quoted from post at 18:42:33 02/22/15) Tom- Thanks, the 515 might work for me. Yours sounds good, but as you said, you are SW WI and I am in western MD. Still, I might want to talk to you about it when the weather breaks. If I can figure out how to send you a private message or email I might do that. -Will

Sorry to have to do this this way but I have been trying to contact you Will. After seeing a photo of your Willys Wagon on Carl Walcks web site I would really like to know what the Blue paint is. I am building a 48 CJ2A and your wagons color really caught my eye. If you have a paint code or at least know what its called I would be very appreciative.

Mark Wahlster
Silverton, OR.
[email protected]
 
Emaail's open I'm in s.e. Ohio & have a 515 that I'm going to sell this spring with an extra cutterbar $700.00 with manual Keith
 
I've run sickle bar mowers for at least 55 years and used several different brands.For mowing banks don't even consider a mower with a pitman like a Ford 501.A belt driven mower is definitely the way to go personally if I were you I'd look for a 350 John Deere easy to hook up and parts available.I used the AC Twin Wheel drive mowers for years great
cutting mowers but parts are now very hard to come by for the Twin Wheel Drive set up.I now use a trailer type NH 456 great for hay but for banks and such you need a mounted mower.Count on the blade being dull when you get it,I've probably owned 100 sickle bar mowers and have never gotten one with a sharp blade.Whatever you get order a new complete blade from Webbs Sickle Service he supplies top quality blades at a reasonable price.
 
Mark- Gosh, that's a surprise, didn't expect that
here. I did reply to your post in their blog but
that was quite a while ago. I'll send you an
email. -Will
 
Ross- I'm very sorry to hear that happened to you, yes I've been told that they are dangerous. My cousin had one on his IH and he said he cut his finger pretty bad on his also when it was sitting and he was moving the bar. Thanks for the advice. -Will
 
Reading some of the replies I remembered some more.

The NH 3 point mower has a goofy top link type of set up, which can be a problem depending on the tractor you want to put it on.

I agree with the JD recommendation.

The challenge is, these field mowers weren't made for the kind of work I do, and it sounds like you want to do. The first I mentioned in my earlier post that I had adapted to three point hitch also had a hyd. cylinder hooked to the bar. So I could raise and lower the whole unit with the 3 point, and raise and lower the bar with the cyl.

What we need is a real road side mower!
 
Thanks, Bob. After all the helpful replies I got, it's making me re-think some things. I will try to look at all types to see if one style might work better for me. It's probably more likely I could find a JD since they too sell a lot of equipment around here. -Will
 
Thanks to all of you who replied, I learned a lot.
This forum is great for things like this and guys
like me who just know enough to be dangerous!
Many thanks. I will leave my email open if anyone
wants to contact me. -Will
 
I have a model #32 MF mower with pitman.
probably one of the lightest mowers made and is an ok mower, not the best by any stretch. most old sickle bar mowers are hard to hook up as they are not very stable with the weight of the bar up high. would be great to store the mower with the bar in the down position.

just my opinion: a farm sickle mower was designed to cut hay and weeds, not roadside ditches, pond banks, wood lots, and around fence rows.

all that is to say: you cut a tree sapling too large, hit a metal fence post, rod, you break a blade or bust a gear box, etc.

for the mower to cut well you must insure the mower blade is in (register) with the guards, that adjustment information should be in your owners manual.

whatever mower you decide to buy, I would check first with the local dealer and be sure you can still buy parts for it. some guys buy their mower, than watch for sales and pickup a parts mower to have (just in case).

as other have said, keep your fingers out of the guards. I watched a few old Ferguson equipment films, the early Ferguson mowers came with a blade guard that protected the front of the guards, it was not removed until the blade was on the ground, stored in a fence row until the field was cut, then reinstalled before the blade was manually lifted back in place for transport.
this v shaped guard protected your hand, fingers from getting into the blade cutting area.

be careful:
a184178.jpg
 
Yes, you mentioned a few things I learned. My cousin suggested to store it in the shed with the bar down, and use wood blocks to hold it in position, it would be easier to hook up. Luckily, I think I have room to do that if I re-arrange some things.
Second, I've been warned about cutting my fingers so I was thinking about getting some thick welders gloves for handling the bar and even then being real careful. Good advice, thanks. -Will
 
Will----I have a Ford 501 that I run on a 3010 JD for ditch banks and going along my rental driveways.
I took off all the non-used parts and installed a hyd. cylinder to the cutting bar and I can put it into deep angled ditches and cut off decent size trees--inch or two dia. Fun to use and does a great job for what I want......
 
Something that took me forty years to figure out:
if you are going to be working rough/steep ground
with a sickle mower, hang an extra wheel weight on
the left wheel. Seems like I am always reaching
down hill with the bar, then getting hung
up/plugged, and need to back out. The weight of the
bar unloads the opposite wheel and it spins. Extra
wheel weight goes a long way towards fixing this
problem.
 
One thing my grandfather did and i still do is take some used baling wire and tie it around the sickle bar so the sickle cant move.THe once it was laid down untie the wire. :D
 
Years ago I made up pond bank mower. I took a 20 foot long piece of thin pipe. mounted an air motor (cheap die grinder) on the end and mounted a string trimmer head on the air motor. I powered it with a compressor that ran off the pto. The pipe was mounted to the tractor so it was like a ore on a row boat. I could move the long end of the pipe (which the air motor was on) up down forward and back. All this could be done from the seat of the tractor. Toward the front of the tractor I made up a yoke to sit the pipe in when not in use. It worked real good as I could reach out over the water and knock down weeds. After running it for some time your arm would get sore. I wish I had a picture for you. I dismantle it years ago after selling the property. I always thought some one could be producing such a thing
and selling it. I suppose now days you could just mount a cheap string trimmer out there.
 

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