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Implement Alley Discussion Forum

hay building up on sickle bar

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William Ransom

07-21-2006 20:15:22




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The day before yesterday, I mowed hay for the first time. I kept having to stop to remove hay that built up just to the right of the middle of the sickle bar. There are some bent guards there, and hay was getting wrapped around them. I think the extra space between the blades and the guards was a major part of the problem, since that is where the hay was getting caught. Once a lot of hay built up there, that part of the sickle bar stopped cutting. I used the Farmall M, and the way its carburetor was adjusted, the idle speed was too high, and even in first gear I think it was a bit fast for mowing. Am I right in thinking replacing the bent guards where the hay was building up with new ones would prevent the hay from building up there? Would the mower work better with the tractor's engine running at a lower speed, even with the tractor in the same gear?

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Wayne Swenson

07-28-2006 08:34:36




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 Re: hay building up on sickle bar in reply to William Ransom, 07-21-2006 20:15:22  
When mowing irrigated alfalfa with an "H" Farmall & 7" sickle mower as a teenager (1950"s), I put the transmission in 4th gear & opened the throttle wide open. Travelling too slow or engine speed too slow will make for difficult cutting. If the hay/grass is very thick, shift to 3rd but keep the RPM"s up.
Check all the guards for straightness, sharpen the sickle sections, and tighten the hold-down clips so the sickle sections are close to the ledger plates on the guards.
The sickle should be "in-register"; that is, the sections should be centered in the guards at the extreme out-stroke and in-stroke of the pitman. If this is not correct, you may need to get a new pitman stick and re-drill the holes to fit.

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Loren NC

07-26-2006 14:05:11




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 One more comment? in reply to William Ransom, 07-21-2006 20:15:22  
Looks like the other guys covered most of the points, but I am surprised that they missed one big one. Once you get the guards straight and have checked the plates, you STILL have to make sure the sickle sections lay flat on the guard plates. There are hold-down brackets spaced periodically along the bar. They wear. They can be bent down if they are not holding the bar tightly enough. You don't want them so tight the bar won't move, but they should be tight enough so you have to work a little to manually remove and insert the sickle. If the sickle slides in and out easily, it is too loose! Also, it is a good idea to put some grease on the top of the sickle sections beside each hold-down bracket. It rubs off after you work a while, but helps to reduce wear and make a tight sickle move more easily.

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unioncreek

07-22-2006 19:36:21




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 Re: hay building up on sickle bar in reply to William Ransom, 07-21-2006 20:15:22  
William,

The correct throttle setting for 540 rpm pto is even with the light on the right side, if you have lights. If not it is slightly less than a right angle to the steering shaft. I mow with an M and a JD #5 mower and I can cut in fourth if the ground is smooth enough. The faster the better.

Bobg



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Fudpcuker

07-22-2006 14:53:18




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 Re: hay building up on sickle bar in reply to William Ransom, 07-21-2006 20:15:22  
William,

When you get your guards straight, ledger plates replaced if needed and make sure you sections are tight on your cutter bar (rivet broke or loose) the fire your M up to about 3/4 throttle and take off. If it is smooth leve ground you should be able to mow in fourth gear. If it is rough you might want to stay in third. My model 31 IH mower will cut better the faster I can go. I pull it with an old M so we are in about the same boat. Good luck and happy cutting. Fud

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Tom in TN

07-22-2006 11:46:08




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 Re: hay building up on sickle bar in reply to William Ransom, 07-21-2006 20:15:22  
William,

In addition to all of the good advice that the other guys have posted, let me add a couple of other things. I have a Ford 501 sickle bar mower that I use. The cutting surfaces on the stone guards are replaceable. They are called ledger plates. The are held into the stone guards with a couple of very easily inserted rivets. If you have replaceable ledger plates, you might be very well served to replace them. Tractor Supply sells them for my Ford for about $10.00 for a whole set.

Secondly, the cutting sections on the bar itself need to be touching (or close to touching) the ledger plates. There are hold down clips that hold the bar down. If the clips are okay, you will have to bend the stone guards slightly to close the gap between the blade and the ledger plates. I've heard all kinds of ideas on how to do that, but the only success I've ever had is to remove the stone guard, put it into a vise, and whack it with a big hammer. Put it back on and see if it bent the right amount. If not, take it back to the vise and whack it again.

Good luck. My 501 works very well when I maintain the blade properly.

Tom in Tn

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JMS/MN

07-21-2006 23:01:38




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 Re: hay building up on sickle bar in reply to William Ransom, 07-21-2006 20:15:22  
You have bent guards. Straighten them. You have an M Farmall. Put it in third gear, run the pto at 540 rpm and cut grass. Get the tractor and mower out of the way of the sickle bar- the hay hangs there because you are driving too slow.



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Sid

07-21-2006 20:37:13




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 Re: hay building up on sickle bar in reply to William Ransom, 07-21-2006 20:15:22  
Yes bent guards cause problems and yes the sickle not laying against guards cause problems. You can try to mow too slow. you have to be moving fast enough the hay will fall back away from the guards. No you do not want the engine to run any slower. I think that is what is causing most of your problems. You dont want the pto spinning so fast that it will shake everything apart but you dont want it to idle either. Most pto equipment is designed to run at around 540 rpm on the pto. You need advice from someone who has used an M to tell you about using the throttle but most older tractors that I have run the engine speed was around three quarters open to get the right pto speed. It has been my experience that most mowing problems come frop running the mower too slow. There are other cause of mowing problems such as condition of crop and proper timing of machine and such but I recomend you try mowing about two thirds thirds to three quarters throttle. Maybe even try second gear and see how things go.

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Sid

07-21-2006 20:36:05




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 Re: hay building up on sickle bar in reply to William Ransom, 07-21-2006 20:15:22  
Yes bent guards cause problems and yes the sickle not laying against guards cause problems. You can try to mow too slow. you have to be moving fast enough the hay will fall back away from the guards. No you do not want the engine to run any slower. I think that is what is causing most of your problems. You dont want the pto spinning so fast that it will shake everything apart but you dont want it to idle either. Most pto equipment is designed to run at around 540 rpm on the pto. You need advice from someone who has used an M to tell you about using the throttle but most older tractors that I have run the engine speed was around three quarters open to get the right pto speed. It has been my experience that most mowing problems come frop running the mower too slow. There are other cause of mowing problems such as condition of crop and proper timing of machine and such but I recomend you try mowing about two thirds thirds to three quarters throttle. Maybe even try second gear and see how things go.

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Sid

07-21-2006 20:34:16




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 Re: hay building up on sickle bar in reply to William Ransom, 07-21-2006 20:15:22  
Yes bent guards cause problems and yes the sickle not laying against guards cause problems. You can try to mow too slow. you have to be moving fast enough the hay will fall back away from the guards. No you do not want the engine to run any slower. I think that is what is causing most of your problems. You dont want the pto spinning so fast that it will shake everything apart but you dont want it to idle either. Most pto equipment is designed to run at around 540 rpm on the pto. You need advice from someone who has used an M to tell you about using the throttle but most older tractors that I have run the engine speed was around three quarters open to get the right pto speed. It has been my experience that most mowing problems come frop running the mower too slow. There are other cause of mowing problems such as condition of crop and proper timing of machine and such but I recomend you try mowing about two thirds thirds to three quarters throttle. Maybe even try second gear and see how things go.

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Gerald J.

07-21-2006 20:35:03




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 Re: hay building up on sickle bar in reply to William Ransom, 07-21-2006 20:15:22  
Yup, the bent guards weren't cutting. A sickle mower works like scissors with the guard one blade and the sickle section the other blade. EACH blade and guard have to rub to cut. Where they don't rub they don't cut and you get hay piled up on the mower. The edges of the guards should be square and sort of sharp too, not rounded.

Gerald J.



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