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New Holland 56 Rake (and Farmall 756)

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Bill VA

Well-known Member
Picked up my latest implement, a New Holland 56 rake. Came with a dolly wheel hitch - which was something I wanted. Thought it was a 256 when I first looked at it but it is in good shape other than the paint is a bit wore. Basket seems tight, the adjustment screws are free and the gearbox seems to turn the basket OK no problems. Still have my JD 350 rake and will keep it, however, I was looking for a rake that is a little easier and faster to hook up to the tractor. Hopefully this model 56 will get the job done just as well as the 350 rake.

Hooked it up to the Farmall 756 for a little spin around the barn yard. I hope this is a good rake for us.

Bill
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Boy you got the Cadillac of raking rigs there. Tractor and rake. With that narrow front you can make nice ends. I've got a 55 rake and just love it. Wouldn't take much to paint the red with a brush and the wheels. That alone would make it look new.
 
56 is a good rake. We have one. You should check the gear box bearings for looseness by getting a good hold on the star wheel and /or a bar and see if there is any up and down movement. There are four tapered roller bearings in the gear box and two seals. It is not that hard to take the gear box off and inspect the bearings etc. Don't use 90 weight gear oil. New Holland says #2 grease, but I have used corn head grease as well as 00 grease. Gear oil will leak out, sometimes even with new seals.

Gear box drive hub is a straight shaft with a Woodruff key, castle nut and cotter key. You have to take the hub off before you can remove the gear box and have to take the star wheel loose first, so you can get the castle nut off.

You cannot get the bars off without taking both star wheels loose. You would think they would come right off, but the geometry is not right. Make sure the 'drive dogs' in each wheel engage in forward as well as ratchet in reverse.

If it is run with loose bearings and messes up the teeth on the main shaft/gear, they are about $250, I think.

Garry
 
Also, there are four tapered roller bearings and four seals that carry the axle. I plan to remove and check ours this winter. We have had it since 1985 and they have never been checked or given any trouble! I worked on a neighbor's 56 last spring that did need an axle bearing as well as gearbox bearings.

A couple of differences in the 256 was the addition of a screw jack on the tongue(non-dolly type) and a safety catch on the latch that engages the gearbox. Not sure what else, if anything. Good rakes.

Garry
 

Any body that has a rotary will tell you that a roll-a-bar is no good. (I have to wonder how they ever dried their hay before getting their rotary.) I think that mine fluffs the windrow up just fine if I pull it fast enough, LOL. Be sure to keep after the grease fitting for the telescoping drive shaft.
 
You'll park the JD once you use the NH rake.I have both a 56 and a 256 very little difference and none that matters as far as raking.Personally I don't care for the dolly wheel set up makes it harder to put the rake exactly where I want it but if you going to rake with that large of a tractor you need the dolly wheel.
 
Where we live (Northwest NC), we never rake until the hay is ready to bale. We mow with a disc mower or sickle, then run it through a NH 404 crusher. Usually the next day run over it with a tedder, if needed. 3rd day, start raking by about 1100, then bale, either square or roll. Roll most of it.

It will never cure in a windrow around here. People with Haybines or Discbines scatter it with a tedder after mowing.

Garry
 
That pretty much describes how we used to do it in WV. I see so many guys with the round balers rake the hay into the windrow before it's dry or leave it over night and bale it the next day. I'm sure it molds inside the bale. If they square baled it, the bales would be too heavy to lift.
 
They are nice had mine since 1984. The adjustment above the hitch is how you set a tight or fluffy windrow. Also if you want to its in the manual and I've done it a couple times to unroll a windrow that got rained on set one side down and the other side up and it will unroll and ted your hay.
 
Bill,

Nice addition. I have two 256s and they both do a good job on my mixed grass hay. As others have said, you can adjust the rake to make relatively tight windrows or loose, fluffier windrows. I actually leave both of mine set at the middle adjustment and they produce good, usable windrows.

I also tedder my hay just to make sure that it is dry all the way through the windrows.

Tom in TN
 
A 404 crusher, really?? I have one here that my FIL used after mowing with a sickle. I haven't used it since I got a MoCo. I couldn't sell it or even give it away. It's going for scrap when the prices come back. Too bad you're not closer.
 


i've been using 256 rakes for years and consider the 56-256 to be some the best rollabar rakes made.
Parked the old New Idea made Ford bar rake after getting the first 256, got it out once since when we had in flat on the 256.
Would like to have a 258 and 260 to tandem hitch for single pass windrows but not in the budge any time soon.
Although the 256 has several small updates, it doesn't rake any different than a 56, both are good rakes.
Although dolly wheels make backing the rake any distance nearly impossible I prefer them over standard hitch.
Today we normally have a tractor available to rake but in the past I have hooked the dolly wheel rake to my Honda 450 Foreman four wheeler to rake hay, was actually cheaper to operate, the four wheeler would rake all day on a couple gallons of gas.
Don't have a UTV side by side but if it turns tight enough it would be good for pulling a dolly wheel rake.
 
That's a great looking setup you have. We still use my grandfathers old 56,you can still buy pretty much any part and they make a good job. Love the dolly wheel setup,sure would be nicer to hook it up that way,
 
The dolly wheels also make the rake "hug" the ground better. If you put hey up on ground that is very uneven (like mine with lots of dips) you leave less hay in the field. I've been looking for dolly wheels that I can adapt to my 56 rake.
 
I dunno, Bill. That thing just might overpower that 706. You might want to find at least an 806 or something bigger to pull that thing......
 
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