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I had 2 MF 10s, my very first balers. Bought the first one, had troubles and bought the second as a parts source. Turned out it ran better than the first, so I went the other way. Over the course of just a few dozen bales with the first baler, I broke 2 needles. Yes they can be welded, but it takes a very good welder to do it. They're cast iron, and I had several welders turn me down saying they couldn't be fixed. Finally was referred to a guy who manufactures repair parts for the local aluminum plant and is considered the best metalworker around--even he wouldn't promise he could fix them, but said he'd try, and did it. They held up well afterward. (He said the trick was to pre-heat the entire needle first, weld carefully while the needles were very hot, and then cool over a long time period.) Anyway, you can also buy new needles from your local Massey Ferguson dealer. I bought a pair of new ones when I was searching for a fixer for the broken ones. They were very pricey as I recall, perhaps $100 each or maybe a little more. After this fiasco, I bought the operator's manuals. I spent lots of time with knotter adjustments and timing. Never broke any more needles after that, but no matter how careful I adjusted, I never got the things to tie more than about 75% of the knots properly. Sold both balers at a big loss and bought an old NH 66 at an estate auction for a fraction of the money, and it's what I'm using today. Hope your experience is better than mine. Tom A
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