mowing with a mccormick big 6 sicle mower

Dave84

New User
hello all, first time on here, ive got a big 6 sickle mower, the tonge has been modified to be pulled behind a tractor, i need to mow down my pasture, im not sure the ground speed of the tractor to pull it at. i have a gas john deere 1020 ru tractor, any advice would be much apprecaited
 
How fast do you walk? Just a slow steady walk. That should be about right. A mans walk will about equal the speed a horse walks at and that mower is designed for the speed a horse will walk. They cannot normally slow up or speed up their walk so it is one speed. And that speed is what determined the speed for a plow and normally that was about 2.5mph So figure out what speed for plowing with your tractor. But then remember your tractor will pull that mower at usually about an idle so then using the idle find a gear that equals the speed you would walk at for to do it all day. You say a big 6 so do you have the 5', 6' or7' bar? That mower was built in the late 1900 teens to early 30's. Don't recall exact dates of the top of my head but the No 6 was built for a bit before the Big 6 and was a lighter weight mower. I do have the factory parts manuals for all the No 4, Big 4, No 6, Big 6, No 7 & No 9 mowers plus the single horse versions. Too slow and it will not cut and too fast will shake itself apart. Put oil on all moving parts every half hour, No zerks on that mower, just oil cups and put the oil on the ball on head of knife as well as all the hold downs, both front and back. Just cheapest motor oil you can buy or reasonably clean wast oil out of your tractor or car, just no steel shavings in it. Will take an oil can full every time and not over a half hour running time will take a lot of oil. Do you have the orignal guards or the newer style rock guards? Thr rock guards will have on back to help keep thenin alignment, orignal will not, those are easier to keep tight and the guards should have good serations on as well as the sections. And the hold downs should be just tight enough for you to slide the knife without exceive pull. And all cutter bar parts fit all mowers up to the balanced head type and possibly even them, those are too new for me. Too much information?
 
Forgot to mention that you need good lugs on the wheels so they do not slip. They should measure close to a half inch long, offentimes they are wore down to a quarter inch or less and with that just not enough grip. New lugs you drill the wheel and bolt on are avaible easily. And remember that the mower was designed for a 150# man in the seat to help it with traction, without the tier you may have to add weights to seat mount spring, common to have to be done and more weights can help counter wore out lugs. I am 76 years old and ran horse drawn mowers when starting on the farming. So it was over 60 years since I started using that kind of a mower. And last several years part of my income was providing those mowers to the Amish along with other horse compatable machinery.
 
wow, i was not expecting a reply so soon, thank you both, th erock guards are original, except one that i replaced, i did replace all the leadger guard blades, the lugs on the wheels are worn, probley around 3/8 to 1/4, will try second gear, thank you all
 
Yes, it's a 6ft bar, on the pitman arm,
dose it matter what type of wood you use,
the old one had dry rotted, I used a piece
of pine, for it. I do have a manual on
order for it,
 
Farmers in the old days kept a fast team for mowing and cultivating. NOW, you say the tongue has
been modified for a tractor. REMEMBER THIS. That tongue, all 12ft of it was origonally supposed to
be at around 36/40in above the ground. The mowers oiling basins were built with that in mind. You
can take a 12ft 2 X 4, lay it on top your tongue and clamp it on it somehow, then raise the tongue
by jack till the outside end is at the above highth, then you will see that you need to make a hitch
that drops down around , Im guessing, not knowing the highth of your drawbar around 16in. That also
likely depends on the length of the origonal drawbar you still have to work with. A hitch that
pulls straight from the tongue to the tractor is NOT the way to go, besides it makes it
uncomfortable for the person riding, as they are always in the position to pitch forward at a good
bump.
 
(quoted from post at 12:53:46 09/14/19) dose it matter what type of wood you use,

Ash or hickory are best, according to an old uncle years ago. Make sure the dew is off when you start cutting.
 

Forgot to mention... If you can, split the pitman arm wood out of a block and plane it down to size. Makes a stronger piece.
 
My new idea 30 a mower states not to exceed 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 mph , I mow in second gear with Farmall C not sure where you tractor is geared .
I alway start in first gear to get the feel of how well the Machine Is preform before I increase speed .and also the conditions .could be bouncing out of
the seat in second . Also I try to go slow though heavy or wetlands thick grass put a load on the tractor. Have to listen for clues as to Mower
performance. Good luck
 
You have a pto driven mower so you need the rpm's up for the pto speed. His mower is ground driven so just above an idle speed is good for the mower so a higher tractor speed can be used as long as it does not get above that good walk. Cannot compair ground driven gears to PTO driven gears.
 
Well I was way off on the wheel lugs, they
look brand newton me, around 3/4 inch long,
I tried it out sunday, blade kept clogging,
readjusted the hold downs help, not sure
the correct way to adjust them, or how to
adjust the wear plates, the manual I have
is not specific in that. This is alot of
wear on the bar that the cutter teeth rivet
to. I hit a bump and broke the tong at the
hitch, so now that needs replacing,
cvphoto36650.jpg
 
Section are worn out ? Can?t see them. Also the pitch of rock guard are pitch up create lift off section will cause stalks to get under sections. . Pitch down so forward motion pushes sections down on sections
 
How to adjust the hold downs depends on how they are made. The orignal cast is only replace, the newer steel can be bent to tighten, but the wear plates under knife back is only replace and what the sections are rivited to is called a knife back. and guards pointed down will only plug, you need slightly up. and I would guess the knife sections are wore out. And new the lugs were only 1/2" long, if longer somebody thought that by building them up it would have better traction so wheels would not slip, wrong, over the orignal length will not help.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top