Sicklebar Mower on a 39' B

Several questions:

What did any one else do about the bolts that are fitted into the bottom of the inner shoe? The holes cast in the bottom are for 13/16" head and the upper holes are for 1/2" bolts. Standard 1/2" bolts have 3/4" head (spin in the hole) and structural bolts have 7/8" heads (don't fit). Did folks just open the holes up? I cramed some 9/16" bolts in there but the shims then are a pain in the as* and you have zero adjustment.

Is there a template for the swath board? I have seen a few mowers and all have a different board on them. Ranging from a fence board to a 2x6. Any one have an original that they want to trace for me so I can band saw one out to be close to original?

Thanks
Chris

You must be talking about the three hex head bolts in the rear. The forward two are square head ones. I've never had to replace those hex head bolts. If I did, I'd probably consider some spot welds on the hex flats to keep the recessed head from turning. Or grind down the hex on a "heavy hex" structural bolt to fit the recess. I did have to replace the forward two square head bolts. I couldn't find any bolts locally so I used square nuts from the local hardware store welded to threaded rod for those.

I replaced my swathboard a couple of years ago. Mine's a '42B with a six foot belly sickle mower. I used the old original as a template for the replacement. I also prepared a detailed dimensional drawing for it in pdf format. You can see the drawing here. Download it and print it out. Since it's a pdf, you can zoom in as needed. You can see my replacement swathboard here.

Rod

That swathboard looks really nice... The drawing is also great. I was going to settle for a tracing on a brown paperbag, but a real engineering drawing rocks! Is the lettering on there from a set of hood decals?

I don't have the fitting for the grass stick. I have a hunch that would be really hard to come up with... How much do need it if I may actually use this mower?

Thanks
Chris

Yes, that's a hood decal. I don't think the original had one - at least there were no remnants of an existing one. I happen to have an extra and thought it would look nice there. Well, if you do much cutting of hay, you probably do need that grass stick. It rolls the outer 6 inches or so of cut hay over towards the tractor and leaves a clean-cut area, free of hay, for the mower shoe to ride in during the next pass. It tends to prevent clogging around that area. I definitely think it's worthwhile. I made my replacement from a 1-1/8" diameter hardwood dowel. It's about 34" long and tapered on one side at the end that is attached to the swathboard. The taper is such that the grass stick is oriented about 10 degrees inward toward the tractor from the plane of the swathboard. I run mine at the greatest angle to the ground as defined by the lower of the three adjustable attachment holes in the swathboard. It probably would be hard to find that grass stick fitting. It's a stamped steel piece that defines the approximate 10 degree angle noted. You probably can come up with some other means of attaching the stick though. If you want original, you can check with an AGCO-ALLIS dealer for part number 300752. The part is called a "grass stick socket". You might get lucky although I wouldn't hold out much hope, since it's not a normal wear part. Some parts for the mower are still available, I guess as NOS parts. I have gotton new ends for the pitman stick - but the price was very high.

Rod