How Do I String A Baler?

Well, my baler came home this evening (NH 68 Hayliner). Dad brought me home a box of 9600 Poly, Orange, 170 T Twine. There are two 4800 foot rolls in the box, if my math is correct, BOTH rolls should make a total of about 500 bales? Maybe a little less?

Any way, here is the skinny:

My NH Manual (yes it does help to buy one... ) says to run the twine from the box, through the little tubes in the sheet metal, down under the bale chute to a white plastic eye thing, and then through the needles. Here is the question, after going through the plastic white eye thing under the chute, it says to go UNDER the "needle shield" and then through the hole in the needles, and then tie off the the frame, but I don't know which side of the needles to go through!!! So, should I go through them from the chute end, or the engine end?

Another question: Each of the rolls of twine has ONE loose string, it appears to come out of the middle of the roll, over the edge of the roll, and then it looks like it starts wrapping around the outside of the roll, but there is plastic around it and I can't see it??

1. Do I cut this string and use the end that is in the center of the roll, or do I just pull the twine until and end that I can't currently see comes out from the outer edge of the roll?

2. Do I cut the plastic off of it, or just leave it on? By the looks of the roll I assume just leave it, but I am a rookie and just had to ask!

Thanks for any help. Tomorrow I am going to get a little garbage loose hay from the neighbors and run it through the baler to see if it works, and if it does, then I will go to town mowing my little meadow! Thanks again, Bryce

Thread the needles from the front to the rear.Pull the string from the center of roll.There should be a tag,"Pull from this end".Donot cut the tail that comes off the outside of the roll.You tie the next roll to it with a square knot.Leave the plastic cover on!That plastic cover holds the roll together.Remove it and the roll just falls apart.

There will be a loose end in the CENTER of the roll - that is where the string feeds from. The outside end of the same roll ties to the CENTER of the second roll, if your baler is so equipped.

Don't remove the outer wrapper from the twine roll.

I can't remember which side of the needle the twine feeds through - been too many years since I've threaded a square baler. If you thread it wrong, it will tell you on the first bale.

Okay cool, so if i understood you correctly, you are saying to run the twine through the plastic eye, and then follow the underside of the needle, and then push the twine through the hole, towards the back of the baler, and then tie off to the frame? Just checking, I REALLY appreciate it! Bryce

(quoted from post at 21:21:13 06/23/14) Okay cool, so if i understood you correctly, you are saying to run the twine through the plastic eye, and then follow the underside of the needle, and then push the twine through the hole, towards the back of the baler, and then tie off to the frame? Just checking, I REALLY appreciate it! Bryce

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Yep I've got a 68. That's how it's done. Don't forget to put the twine under the tensioner right where it comes out of the twine box.

Rick

If this is your first baler I strongly suggest that you someone with experience to go though all the stringing and the safety stops make sure everything works by hand turning the machine to see if everything lines up. This is a very old baler and most likely has ruse and or things keeping the dogs from working. You have to test all the working parts to see if they are in time. One small thing can ruin a good day and cost you plenty like over $400 for the new needles.
Walt

Bryce, GOOD for you to take this on at your age... not many would or have a CLUE how to do it!

The twine needs to be threaded though the hole at the front/plunger side of the needle.

Here is a picture of a 68 baler twine.

I have one of these balers takes a lot of tinkering but it will make a nice bale if everything works right, make sure the knife is sharp, dale

Not sure on a 68 but the 66 has a twine tensioner for each set of twine balls and they are set so the right side twine passes directly across the left side one. Do not run the twine under the second tensioner as that will make the left side miss tying bales, makes too much pull, after a few years figured that out. And all the books (4 total) came with the baler new.

My old new holland wont tie very well with plastic unless I go with the 7200, much thicker twine. I can use the 9000 in sisal. Just something to look out for.- Morgan

The needles should be in the home position when you thread the baler. The twine goes through the round white plastic thing from below and then straight up through the needle eye which should only be a few inches away and directly above. Then you can trip the knotter and turn the baler over by hand and the needles will bring the twine up into the knotters and secure the ends. The the parts that you tied to the frame will be cut off and trailing behind the baler, I usually wait till the end of the season and remove them all then but it would look neater without them. I have only used 9000 sisal twine. 1 bale of 9000 made me 509 bales the other day, with probably 5-10 bales worth wasted due to missed ties.
Zach

I had one. Others have covered the threading.

The baler will make lopsided bales(banana) bales. Adjustments can be made to the aluminum feeder forks to put hay in th ebale chamber more evenly, but the only cure I found to make evenbales was to rake larger windrows. The baler like a full pickup of hay to make even bales. Slow the ground speed enough to feed the hay without breaking shear bolts. Buy a package of shear bolts anyway.
Change the flywheel shear bolts occasionally anyway, helps keep the timing from getting messed up. Read the manual on timing, it's not diffcult to do on that baler.

KEH

Alright cool! Thanks for the tips guys! I am going to borrow a little loose hay from the neighbors (not sure how I will get it home...) and try it out! Right now it looks like it is about to start raining... Soooo, might not happen today! I will however get it threaded, shouldn't take more than a minute!?!

One more question though, like one guy said, thread it, and turn it over by hand, if I do this, when the needles get to the top of their cycle, and it cuts the twine, will something in the knotters hold the good end there?

THANKS!!! Good luck to all of you in your haying! Bryce

Make sure the needles are in time (see manual) and check the safety lock again, see manual.

Many of those old balers had a diagram to show the twine feeding proceeddure under the twine box cover.

Thread the twine per the diagram, from the box, through the tensioner, down through the eyes, and UP through the bottom of the needle, then back down to the frame. If the knotters are working, when you cycle it one time by hand, the twine discs will hold the twine where it should be for the first bale.

If you take the time to learn about New Holland knotters, you will have knowledge that 99.99% of other teenagers( and adults!) do not have! I hope it ties okay with poly.

Be patient and learn all that you can about each piece of equipment. You seem to have a great attitude.

Garry

I still use a 68. The things that made it a working machine for me, after years of frustration, were replacing the feed tines which had worn down by about a third of their length over the years and going to plastic twine. Yes, everyone says there are "sisal" knotters and "plastic" knotters. I've asked several NH dealers and workers and they all say it's hokey. The day I put the plastic in out of desperation I went from missing probably 1 in 5 bales to no missed knots. It was just poor quality sisal but it was all we could get. The old days of consistent, high quality sisal are done around me. Another thing that helped was running it faster. It had a Wisconsin on it when I got it and I was used to the speed that engine ran. When I changed over to PTO drive I aimed for the same general rpm of the baler. A friend was helping me one day and he ran the 68. He ran the PTO on the tractor at about 540 and the baler worked better than when I was "taking it easy on the old girl".

I still have work to do on it. There's a metallic "clunk" every stroke that makes the knotter assy jump a little. I have to figure out what that is, even though it's been doing it for several years. But they are a good old small capacity baler. It wants the windrow big enough to fill the throat and it wants a sharp knife and shear plate. They are slow, but they work.