Installing Stub Guards

xcsp · Jun 19, 2018

I am going to install stub Guards on my New Holland 1465 after owning this machine for 2 years ,I am plugging guards constantly took 6 hrs to cut 3 acres.
I have done research on stub guards and from what I learned this is the way to go.
I would like to know from somebody that installed them how many shims should I order ?????? and how difficult to install them
any suggestions would be very much appreciated
Thanks
Greg

Andy Martin · Jun 19, 2018

I didn't need any shims for a 479 Haybine. Stub guards are good with lot's of material on the ground. I prefer regular guards for nice clean hay fields.

L.Fure · Jun 19, 2018

(quoted from post at 17:19:18 06/19/18) I am going to install stub Guards on my New Holland 1465 after owning this machine for 2 years ,I am plugging guards constantly took 6 hrs to cut 3 acres.
I have done research on stub guards and from what I learned this is the way to go.
I would like to know from somebody that installed them how many shims should I order ?????? and how difficult to install them
any suggestions would be very much appreciated
Thanks
Greg

What are you cutting? Is it a good stand of alfalfa, or is it more grass type hay? If you are cutting mostly grass it takes really sharp sickle sections to do a good job of cutting grass. Back in the day farmers would take their sickle bars to town to be sharpened. Of course that service is no longer provided that I know of. County road maintenance shops used to have sickle sharpeners to keep their machines sharp for cutting road bank grass and weeds. If your township or county still uses sickle mowers they still might have one of these sharpeners in their shop.

VicS · Jun 19, 2018

Maybe your reel isn't adjusted right. Only
time our JD has plugged is mud. But reel
teeth are almost touching guards and
sections.

Moonlite37 · Jun 19, 2018

I always sharpened a sickle with a 7 or 9 inch angle head grinder.

WGM · Jun 19, 2018

Been farming well over 50 years and have never
sharpened sickle sections. Always replaced. Never
knew anyone who sharpened either.

gene bender · Jun 19, 2018

you aren't old enough to remember the grinder devices they had for sharpening sickles. They worked fine

xcsp · Jun 19, 2018

I am cutting Timothy/Orchard Grass just replaced cutterbar last year, the reel speed might be doing damage because I am crawling thru the field because it is not cutting so the reel speed is probably going to fast to match the ground speed.

So hopefully when I get these stub Guards on and cutting properly everything will be matched up.
Greg

JMS/.MN · Jun 19, 2018

Yes- there were free standing machines with a motor and a double bevel grinder wheel...occasionally see them on farm auctions. Most farmers did not have them.

Hayfarmer · Jun 19, 2018

In my area I think most everyone who still cuts with a sickle machine uses the non clog(stub) guards. I didn't use any shims on mine. I also use the JD adjustable tops on the guards instead of the stock ones. Easier to adjust so you have the right clearance on the sections. I believe the hole pattern will fit NH, at least it does the bigger swathers.

Bruce from Can. · Jun 19, 2018

I have a NH 488 that I bought new in 1990 , and I
use the regular guards, and I can cut anything. The
knife sections need to be in good shape, but just as
important is that the section makes close contact to
the guard. Mowers cut just like scissors do, if the
gap between the knife section and the guard is too
wide, the grass will not cut off , it will pull through
the guard, and plug the knife. Old mowers had
replaceable ledger plates on the guards, modern
guards just wear out and need to be replaced.
When I used a mower many years ago, I recall
sharpening the knife, and replacing hold downs to
keep the knife done firm against the cutter bar, and
also to make certain the guard tops were hammered
down to keep the knife sections running through the
guards with the minimum clearance possible.
I dint you need to switch to stub guards, just find
someone that understands how the machine should
work, and set it up properly.

Traditional Farmer · Jun 19, 2018

Agree with you new sections are the way to go, sharpening is a waste of time and the sections will never cut as good as when they were new.

Andy Martin · Jun 19, 2018

(quoted from post at 14:21:58 06/19/18) Agree with you new sections are the way to go, sharpening is a waste of time and the sections will never cut as good as when they were new.

I've touched up sections with a 4-1/2" angle grinder many times with great results. Especially with underserrated sections. Thought I'd stop when I got a bolted knife but it's still quick and easy.

Leroy · Jun 19, 2018

Never replaced, always sharpened.

L.Fure · Jun 19, 2018

(quoted from post at 23:49:39 06/19/18)

(quoted from post at 14:21:58 06/19/18) Agree with you new sections are the way to go, sharpening is a waste of time and the sections will never cut as good as when they were new.

Click to expand...

I've touched up sections with a 4-1/2" angle grinder many times with great results. Especially with underserrated sections. Thought I'd stop when I got a bolted knife but it's still quick and easy.

Not sharpening your sickle sections is like throwing away your pocket knife when it gets dull. You get a lot more use out of the sections if you sharpen them. An angle grinder would make a great tool for touching them up every so often.

L.Fure · Jun 19, 2018

Bruce from Can.,

I agree, keeping up on the adjustments with the guards is very important part of getting good results with a sickle.

mtny · Jun 19, 2018

I run serrated knives on 492 with regular guards never had a problem , very occasional
plug maybe twice a season . Most of mine is timothy , clover , trefoil and can be
thick.

flying belgian · Jun 19, 2018

I always sharpen my sections. 4 1/2 angle grinder. Pa always sharpened them too. He would take sickle out and had kinda a V shape stone on the bench grinder. Had one of us kids hold up the end and he would work his way across the sections. Miracle no one ever got their fingers cut off sliding the sickle in and out of the mower.

Northvale PA · Jun 19, 2018

When I ran a NH469, I would pull the knife, sharpen the better sections and replace any that were sharpened beyond the serrations. But here is
the key: take a screw driver and clean out the square groves in the guards that the knife slides in. If those groves get grass goo in them, the
knife begins to gap. When I did that often, had much better cutting results.

riveroadrat · Jun 19, 2018

I have a blade that my father picked up at an auction, Looked to be a sicklebar. I made it fit a 489. I have never seen blades cut as good as this one. Its double-serrated chromium blades. I can cut through giant fire ant beds without stopping. I'll post a pic snd see if anyone can identify the blades.

Traditional Farmer · Jun 20, 2018

New sections will last a good amount of time,when they are so called sharpened angle, serration and everything gets off from where it was designed.You'll notice that the people that say
sharpening a section is fine are the ones they say a sickle mower won't cut very well and is nothing but trouble.Also a sickle with poor sections puts strain and wear and tear on the rest of the mower.Sharpening sickle sections is like putting used oil in a motor the savings won't come close to the problems it creates.

Bret4207 · Jun 20, 2018

I have a NH 472 with standard guards and a 488 with stub guards. Under certain conditions (damp) the 472 will clog and require stopping and backing up every few feet. The 488 will cut fine when the 472 won't. The stub guards also work better in 2nd and following cuts and when you have to go through an existing windrow. I think local conditions dictate what does and doesn't work given the same care and proper set up.

Installing Stub Guards

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