NH 273 makes ugly bales

One fella told me it's because it's because there isn't enough hay going in fast enough, i.e., bits of the top of the packed hay gets picked up by the "packer(?)" and pushed to the bottom of the bale so there ends up being bunches packed at the bottom and the top a bit loose. My bales are loose on the top(the fed edge) and tight on the bottom(at the bottom of the stoke). The strings on mine are the same length, and the tighter the bale the less of a problem it is.

I've seen malfunctioning hay checks greatly increase my baler's tendency to make 'banana bales'if it's being underfed.

Other than that...ragged 'ugly' bales ?

Plunger shear knife/fixed shear knife sharpness and clearance... Bad shear knives will also make your baler 'strain' and start popping shear bolts if you start feeding a heavy windrow.

bb

The windrow may be too small or the feeder tines need adjusted. The tines are what you have called "fingers that sweep"

The ragged or ugly bales is caused by 2 things, either by the plunger side to side adjustment being too loose or the knife blade on the plunger being too dull.

I've been around balers all my life, but up until recently the workings of 'em might have been voodoo magic for all I knew about it!