Best Pull Type Sickle Mower

Considering a pull type sickle bar mower with 9ft cutterbar for future pasture clipping. I am somewhat familiar with the New Holland 456, but none others.

What is the best pull type sickle bar mower one can buy with a 9ft cutterbar. I assume these can be rigged for hydraulic bar raise and lower? Might like to use it with my Farmall 350.

Any sage advice is much appreciated.

Thanks!
Bill

JD 450. IH 1300. Can't go wrong with any of them but I would imagine that the JD has the best parts availability.

These days mowers are obsolete. The issue might be just finding a good one of any brand. So you may not have the choice of being picky on brand. I agree that JD most likely has the best part availability. New Idea made a good mower,but not sure about parts.I think I would look for a good close dealer and parts availability,rather than brand these days.

I think NewHolland made one of those type of mowers. But(ithink) NH quit makeing sickle bar mowers 10 years ago.

Deere parts availability? Possibly, but unless it's a common part that's used on something more popular, the price will be so insanely high that you'll wonder if you'd be better off buying a different mower. By now, they've raised the price on those obsolete parts higher than a cat's back so when they throw them all away, they'll get a lot bigger tax write off because of the high value that they put on them.

If the price was right I would buy one and not worry too much about parts. The parts most likely needed are still available - bearings, belts, guards and knives. Other stuff can be welded. Chances are anything else can be found in a junk yard. If I didn't pay too much and a real catastrophe hit I wouldn't loose a lot of sleep over it.

Check Rouse Rakes in Burwell, Ne. I believe they sell the mowers they make. I know they make ones to hook together for an 18 ft cut in hay meadows where they cut Prairie hay.

NH still has parts availability - but there is sticker shock.

Anything without a pitman stick. All pull type that didn't need horses were hyd raise.
AaronSEIA

Can't be any worse than the area CIH super dealer charging 50 dollars for a common IH 16 inch plow share. I bought what I needed from the area JD dealer for 1/3 the money even though aftermarket. I'm told by people who supposedly own IH or NH products that CNH in the last several years has really pared back parts offering if it is not a high volume part. Could be why the one scrapper has an increase of red iron going through his place.

Deere or New Holland and maybe lean more toward the NH as the Amish in PA make about any wear part you will ever need for them. Tom

I've tried a few different ones overall a NH 456 can't be beat,have 2 I cut all my hay with.AC 82T is a good mower but parts are had to get.NH 455 is similar and for clipping pastures would be just as good
as a 456.

Only mower i can comment on is the new idea 30 A mechanical lift mower. Works ok if I have it tuned up ,as it should be anyway . But as far as the design its pretty hard and tiring to operating. After 10 to 20 acres a day its going to wear you out.
Parts are hard to find. Found that if you have book of part numbers some are available on tractor house.
I suggest a Kosch mid mount for easy of operation with hydraulic lift. Or a ihc 1100 mid mount without , less pitman arm sickle drivers.
Im saying Id suggest the the mid mount

Not som any were a clutch raise and the ones with hydrolic lift only lifterd the bar from working to transport but did not raise the cutter bar for trabsport, you had to lift the bar by hand it road travel position and unless you are very strong a 9 foot bar would be too much weight. The Oliver mounted mower we had was only a 7' but the way it was built it would run vertical and was a pitman mower. the thing was the drive was built into the end of the bar and it took both Dad and me to lift it to transport and was just a 7 foot cut. I have actually never seen a mower with a 9 foot cutter bar.

Thanks everyone for the replies - much appreciated

Bill

Don't buy a Massey Ferguson Dyna-balance. Not because it's a bad mower, but because of lack of availability for some parts and insanely high prices for others.

So, wondering, why not use your disc mower to clip pastures. I do. Very easy on the tractor and mower.

Didn't New Idea make one with a mechanical wheel lift? Pull the rope and it lifts, pull it again and it drops. Just like a plow.

Yes a pull rope but it worked off the PTO shaft in the gear bof that all the lift is in. They may have made a hydrolic lift but all I have seed were the rope lift. I had a couple for parts machines but never used one.

Stumps...

i would have said simply open the rollers up on the Hesston 1110 and use that since you already have it...till you said stumps.

That all said 9' bar would not be my preference around stumps. 7' for me

I know its not pull type, this is mounted, however I have I a ih 120 mower that goes into the drawbar I use on my h and smta. Should go right on your 350. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QMTwERRxHR0

Trailed mowers aren't as nimble and maneuverable as you might think - it may be tough around stumps. Not only do you have to lift the bar over them, but you also need to lift the drive over them as well. If you don't, the stump will pull off the belt (if pitmanless) or smash apart a pitman. A trail-type mower might be more problematic in this case, as you can't lift the whole thing over stumps. Dodging around is doable, but will make a mess of your cutting job.

Note that cutting with a sickle mower isn't like cutting with a disc-mower or bush-hog; you can't just drop the bar and go. Lots of opportunity for plugging and frustration, and you can't go through previously-cut hay without raising the bar or it will plug for sure. You really want clean lines and tight corners. Sickle mowers around here are bought and sold at a crazy rate; people (especially horse people) assume they'll be perfect for clipping pastures &c., but soon park them when they realize it takes more finesse than they thought.

I have two pull-types: a New Holland (#55) and IH (#32), two IH mounted ones (#28), three Deere mounted ones (two #7's with pitmans and one 350 pitmanless 9 foot), and some wacky German unit that cuts like a dream but is impossible to find guards/sections for. I've also had a Cockshutt trail-type and Ford mounted. As long as you get one from one of the major manufacturers I wouldn't let parts concern you. There are really only two common section sizes: Deere and IH. Only difference is 1/16 in the rivet hole spacing. Pretty much all other manufacturers used one of these two types (although there were a few oddballs), and both types are readily available from aftermarket suppliers. Similar story with guards, and pretty much everything else is readily sourced or fab'd from elsewhere.

Around here IH mowers are extremely common, but I never understood why: The Deere's are a way better mower: heavier bar, thicker knife back, longer stroke, etc. As others have mentioned, a pitmanlesss mower is way better, though one with a pitman will do just fine for only a few acres as long as the knife head and clamps are in decent shape with no slop. I'd definitely be looking for a Deere if I had the option, but the condition it's in is far more important than manufacturer. Good luck finding a trail-type with a 9' bar; they're hard to come by even in a mounted type. If it's a mechanical lift, I highly doubt you'll want one that long anyway. Not so concerning with hydraulic lift.

There are two common styles of mechanical lift: One with a clutch plate (the IH style) and one where are rope wraps around some part of the spinning PTO shaft (the New Idea/Cockshutt/Oliver style). New Hollands could be ordered with either style, though hydraulic lift was much more common. My International has the clutch style and New Holland has the rope style. The clutch is definitely easier to use and requires less tension on the counterbalance springs, but the rope lift is pretty foolproof. Hydraulic lift is much nicer, and it only take minimal fab skills to convert. I've welded on brackets to use a lift cylinder on both, though I seldom use it as I don't often use a tractor with remotes.

Whatever you get, spend the money on a new knife (AI makes aftermarket knives for pretty much all common models) and make sure the guards are in good shape with sharp ledgers that are all level with each other. Also make sure it's registered correctly or it won't cut worth a dime.

This post was edited by DanielW on 08/22/2022 at 10:51 am.

Thanks for the info, much appreciated!