(quoted from post at 14:28:45 09/04/21) Looks like some really creative fixs. Good job.Swaths show
they are doing a good job. And Larry on the corner would love the blue paint touch.
I may have been overzealous with the blue paint... I was a little manic, this project has been a couple of years coming together.
One other comment that I have is that I've finally figured out what is the best way to put guards on these machines. Hesston made a full cast guard, which is similar to the old New Holland style. I put one of these on each end. They protect the end sections and prevent plugging fairly well. And, the are easy to install on the ends, since you can slide them on.
In the center, I use the gaurds with separate top clips. The first haybine that I had (Zan) is setup with full guard with top clips.
When I rebuilt Jayna, I wanted to see if I could get a decent cut with stub guards, and, I wanted one machine that was less "pluggable", to do the center points of pieces and such.
Well, after baling off the ground that we cut with the two haybines, I'm happy to report that there is no discernible difference in the stubble. It seems that you CAN get a good cut with stub guards. However, I did take a lot of time using shims and such to ensure that the top clips on the stub guards are running tightly to the tops of the sections.
I'm also happy to report that we're covering some ground and catching up on our haying.
The old timers used to say, as far as hay quality goes, "If you can't get your hay by July 1st, then wait until September 1st." We're putting that to the test here, and, on fields that were seeded with a mix of brome, canary grass and birdsfoot; that appears to be holding true. There is a nice green undergrowth in the first cut.