why is square corners a must ?

You go around the field clockwise, until your done. I've never seen a rear mount mower, haybine or rake that couldn't do a 45 degree, 90 degree or even a 180 degree turn while in operation. My NH 460 haybine had a spot the width of 656 tire on it's tongue, with paint worn off the right side from turning. It mowed the equivilant of 35,000 square bales per for 17 years and never had a U joint replaced on drive line. I have seen fields that come to a point and less than 30' wide 200' down the field. With 656 and haybine come to end, do a 180 to right, never lift the cutter, and right back down the field, feeding mowed and unmowed hay right back through. I'm doing this in hay the is turning off 250 - 36" bales to the acre, in one cutting. Baler might be just a bit different once it gets over 90 degrees, but at least your not beating leaves off the hay turning on top of it. You don't have to rake it and bale it exactly as you mowed it. I have on numerous ocasions mowed 20 acres with haybine and never touched the hydraulic lever.

Interesting info and thanks. I am a newbie and have wondered about some of the things you mentioned.

Couple of questions if you will:

1. Do you put your cutter right down on the skid plates and adjust them for the height you want and blow and go?

2. How smooth are your fields? I have one that is somewhat "bedded" in places and the height variation in the direction I travel may be 4-5". If I get the skid plate in the low spot, the cutter blade wants to be a plow.

..... could plow the field and smooth it out but don't want to disturb the field I worked so hard to get the grass to grow in. Among other things, I have weeds under control now and if I put steel to it I uncover some 30 year old weed seeds and have to go thru the herbie thing again.

..... could raise the skid plates, but then when I get to the smooth parts, or another field that is smooth I'd have to get back under and lower them which is a pain.

Just wondering what you do.

Thanks,

Mark

Mowers, haybines, discbines and combines are built for smooth surface. Ridges, rocks and holes are a nono. I used to do a lot of custom work, never liked doing mowing or combining. People just don't keep fields smooth. My combine had floating cutterbar and automatic header height control. At home I was confident enough to get out of cab, walk at back of machine checking tailings. Combining near highways I've seen more than one set of brake lights come on at folks seeing this combine going with no one at controls. What really jerked them around was to see header raise or lower for a change in plane or contour.

New Holland haybines and I expect most makes are the same, have 4 adjustments on reel; speed, height, fore and aft and angle of reel teeth. On header height shoes, springs that suspend header. Those springs should be adjusted so when header is down, you grab push bar in front of reel, I forget the exact lift force but close to what a man can lift comfortably picking header off the ground. All operating parts of cutter must be kept in top shape.

Do all these things I've listed and you can mow as I suggested. I've just never figured out how to make the turn at the corner of the field much different than shape of field. Probably on 20% of my turns there is a bit of hay missed, but that pales in comparision to the amount of hay lost by driving over it. I always mowed putting hay right into windrow with haybine, set tractor wheels so very little tramping of those windrows occurs. Remember, a nice breeze through the windrow dries hay, not the sun beating down on as many stems as possible. Sun only creates the heat, for the breeze to do it's job.

However, I can't do square corners with the siderake or baler anyhow.....

I just make 3-4 rounds around the field (sometimes 4 days early if the weather is nice, bale it away) and then go back & forth with the haybine like plowing.

--->Paul

Question if you please:

Just bought a JD 670 and 671 matched pair 9' rakes with a pull boom. I always swath (9' JD 1209)the dimensions of the field which are usually squarish rectangles to 1/3width x Length and go clockwise.

What do I do on the outer row and the innerds?

How do I get the rake pair out of the center row?

Figured you'd know if anyone.

Thanks,

Mark

Question if you please:

Just bought a JD 670 and 671 matched pair 9' rakes with a pull boom. I always swath (9' JD 1209)the dimensions of the field which are usually squarish rectangles to 1/3width x Length and go clockwise.

What do I do on the outer row and the innerds?

How do I get the rake pair out of the center row?

Figured you'd know if anyone.

Thanks,

Mark

--->Paul

Jim

When I am making the last couple of cuts thru the center, I go out and pick up the corners; just make a big X. Can usually pick them up with one pass out and the return to the center; get all 4 at the same time, then one final sachet thru the center to pick up the last row and off the field.

Mark