Sickle Mower

So I'm wondering what I should be looking for in terms of a sickle bar that could mount to a Farmall H or M.

I don't know anything about them but I'm pretty sure there was no one mower for them but rather several that can be mounted to them.
 
IH 100 series balanced head mowers are the best. Come in trailer, semi mounted, 3 point and mid mount. I have all but the 3 pt mower.
 
Problem with most mounted sickle bar mower is there a pain to put on and take off. I built a tractor just for having a sickle bar mower on it and that is all it ever does. I took 3 tractors an A and 2 Bs and built my Farmall BA.

If I where you I would find a trailer type sickle bar mower like the NH 45/46 that way a simple pin and PTO shaft and a hyd line and your ready
 
Yes the mounted type do work a whole lot better and that is why I built the BA it is a belly mount and the narrow front make for good sharp turn. Another good option is a 3 point type but that takes having a 3 point on the tractor which the H and M did not have
 
I might buy an aftermarket 3pt but in the short term I'm looking at what did work on M' and H's.

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I've got a couple to keep an eye out for.

Not sure how the JD No 8 mounts but I read there was a drawbar adapter. The IH 100 balance looks nice too.
 
I have a JD #9 which is a 3 point hook up sort of but it is a pain to mount and is not like many of the true 3 point types. Over the years I have also built a few sickle bar mowers and mounted on tractors. I have taken parts of 2 or 3 old junk sickle bar mowers and made a good one for what ever tractor I had at the time
 
Dad probably went through 4 #5 JD mowers, on either his 48 H or more likely on my 41 M Farmall. The #5 had a drawbar that went across the front with a doz or so holes in it, and it mounted right on the drawbars. I mounted NI sickle mower on an F-20, and the drawbars were shaped the same, the 20 being way wider.
 
500221766d71069a6bf6d125ceb131b5--john-deere-mowers-farming-life.jpg


So what I'm seeing looks like a 2 point hitch. So am I just looking for an adapter that bolts to the drawbar if I go this route?
 
"[b:654c4848f0][i:654c4848f0]<font color="#6699ff">The #5 had a drawbar that went across the front with a doz or so holes in it, and it mounted right on the drawbars.[/i:654c4848f0][/b:654c4848f0]</font>"

Take a look at the [b:654c4848f0]DRAWBAR ON MOWER AND ATTACHING PARTS[/b:654c4848f0] diagram below.
a257065.jpg" width="650"




This is the drawbar that you are referring to.

Take a look at the photo below.
a257066.jpg" width="650"


Hope this helps.
 
"[b:654c4848f0][i:654c4848f0]<font color="#6699ff">So am I just looking for an adapter that bolts to the drawbar if I go this route?[/i:654c4848f0][/b:654c4848f0]</font>"

The <a href="https://youtu.be/rnH8n4KOYoU">John Deere No. 5 sickle mower</a> shown above has a Quik-Tach hitch.

Take a look at the [b:654c4848f0]DRAWBAR ON MOWER AND ATTACHING PARTS[/b:654c4848f0] diagram below.
a257067.jpg" width="650"


The Quik-Tach hitch also requires both a right and left drawbar angle to mount on the drawbar.

Take a look at the [b:654c4848f0]EXTENSION DRAWBAR[/b:654c4848f0] diagram below.
a257069.jpg" width="650"


Take a look at the photo.
a257070.jpg" width="650"


The pair on the right work with the Quik-Tach hitch.

Take a look at one of our John Deere No. 5 sickle mowers.
a257071.jpg" width="650"


Hope this helps.
 
The mowers have a plate in front that bolts to your draws bar, a steel lift rod, and two tail wheels. The same mower will work on the Farmall H, M, and Farmall C, if it has the
curved drawbar.
 
Probably the best mounted mower for an IH H or M is an IH balanced head Number 120 mower. Some call them IH 100 mowers as they were available in 3-pt, fast-hitch, trailer, or semi-mount. I have one on an H that my dad bought over 40 years ago. Still using it. But one dis-advantage of the semi-mount is they are hard to remove and put back on. The one on my H has not been taken off for at least 35 years. Al
a257099.jpg
 
A better option is the 110 or 115 mower. Even harder to put on and take off but I just leave mine on year around and remove the drive chain. Once you use a mid mount mower you won't be real anxious to go to rear mount again. I have a 120 and 100 also. Just never use them. I see he has a picture of a JD#5 mower below. I used those for years. They need special mounts for the IH drawbars. I had to replace the drive shaft as it was too short. The pitmans were always going south on me. I see no reason to go with a pitman mower, period.
 
I had a JD #8mower on a Farmall H. I just made a plate to mount on the drawbar loop and then put pieces on the side of the piece to take the latches on the JD mower. I have a Farmall Cub, a 1948, with a side mount sickle mower mounted on it. It's the handiest mower I ever used. For the price of the bigger mowers, you can usually buy a Cub with a mower on it for about the same price.
 
For mowing a fence row or ditchbank and the like a side mount would be good but for the life of me I cannot see using one to mow a hay field, you cannot make a square right hand turn with them and to lift, turn left, circle and lower only way to get a corner cut with out leaving big sections of uncut hay the same as a horse mower behind a tractor did. Then you had to mow out the corners with the mower constantly plugging. And try to make that turn with a pull type hay conditioner hooked behind. I would never consider a side mount for fields only for those fence rows.
 
They say everything has its application. My application I think the drawbar mount will work best. Especially with the way a narrow front turns.

I think I'd be looking at haybines and maybe brush hogs if I decided on the trailer. I've run haybines before for a friend. Great on a big hay field but way more than I need and turning sucked.
 
If you are actually going to use it, a pitmanless/balanced drive unit is a quantum leap forward from a pitman type.
 
(quoted from post at 11:06:25 02/16/18) If you are actually going to use it, a pitmanless/balanced drive unit is a quantum leap forward from a pitman type.

Plan to use it so I guess I'm looking up what a pitman is. Thanks for the tip.
 
Yes one can make there own pitman stick but one also need to understand the time of the sickle bar or the mower will not cut worth 2 cents
 
Not true! Just as the rear tire gets past the edge, spin the wheel and hit the right brake pedal. The worst I have left is a little tuft of uncut hay. It turns just the same as a semi mounted mower just make the turn at a different point. So much easier on the back than a rear mounted mower.
 
Wouldn't that rip the ground up to brake turn like that?

I occasionally rip my lawn up pretty good with a zero turn mower when I goof on the turn. Those tires are half the width...
 
I use the brake on my BA all the time to help make a good square turn when mowing hay. It is a learned thing as to when and how to brake so as not to mess up the ground. You start the turn first then brake the inner side of the turn to square the turn out
 
I built my BA just for mowing hay and I can make a pretty good square turn and not miss any hay in doing the turn but it is a learned thing as to when to start the turn and when to hit the brake
 
To bad your not here in Missouri because in my area there is listed a JD #4 sickle bar mower for $50
 
Yea over 400 miles is a bit far. I'll find something I just didn't know what could fit and what things I should probably avoid.
 
Over the years I have rebuilt a good many and found you can come up with some neat ways to make what should not work, work. Like years ago when I used a 3 point brush hog on my 1935 JD-B. I made a set of arms that while they did not go up and down they did hold the hog up where it needed to be and worked pretty good for such an old tractor. I do wish I had use and ORC on it because I did have a few times where it was not fun and also got knocked off the tractor a few times by limbs and other such oh no thing
 
(quoted from post at 02:02:01 02/17/18) What is so bad at a pitman mower

For one thing, if you are mowing a ditch or bank (or anytime the cutterbar isn't level with the mower) the pitman and joint to the sicklehead and the sickle head take a terrible beating.

A pitmanless mover mows equally well/relatively quietly at any cutterbar angle.

SV, have you operated both types of sickle mower?
 
Nothing as long as you make sure when you make the pitman stick and drill the holes you make it so it is timed correctly or it will not cut well if at all. I have 3 pitman type sickle mower on the place and use them all the time
 
I have an A/C B/C belly sickle mower and a Farmall A-16 on my BA and a JD #9. Let a guy use the #9 and he lost the part that clips on the sickle ball so it ha not been used in a few years since I have noit found that part.
 

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