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Sickel bar sharpening

T

TDJD

Member
My sickle bar is getting dull. I've seen some videos on line about sharpening sickle bars with an angle grinder, but I don't want to mess it up. So I'm wondering if there's a tool that I can use to help, and/or do the sharpening? By the way its a JD No.5.
Thanks
 
What do you mow? grass? grain straw? weedy pasture? alfalfa hay? fencerows?

Do you have smooth - underserrated - top serrated sections?

I use an angle grinder to "touch up" the tops of my top serrated sections.

Ledger plates are ? of the system. Are yours worn down to smooth corners?
 
Don't forget the condition of the guards as well. They need to be replaced if the ledger surface is rounded!

Sharpening of the sickle (knife) is best done with it out of the cutterbar. Angle grinder is fine. Yes, there is a special stone and grinder, but not cost effective unless you are going to be sharpening often, like twice a day.

If sections are worn to far, best to replace them too as the heat treat is only so far/deep!
 
I mow grass and Alfalfa. I think I have underserrated knifes. I replaced almost all of the ledger plates, that helped some, but when I replaced the cuter bar with a new one that really made a big difference. So I'm wondering how to sharpen the old one, so its ready to go this year.
 
Go to a farm store and buy a whole new bar with bolted in sections.Buy 8-10 sections for replacements, and a small box of bolts. You may find living in the 21st century fun. lol
 
There is a tool called a sickle sharpener. You're probably only going to find one as an antique, though.

If you have top serrated sickles you can't sharpen them at all. Not sure about bottom serrated but I'm thinking once the serrations are gone they won't hold an edge even if you do sharpen.

In this day and age sections are easy to find and relatively cheap, so replacing them is the best way to go.
 
You also need to match your ledger plates with your sections. Smooth on smooth, serrated on serrated.
 
John Deere wants $250 for a new bar. You talked about one that?s bolted on, what do you mean?
 
This is what the knives look like.
cvphoto3771.jpg

It would cost me $65 to replace all the knives, so I was looking for
something less expensive.
 
Gordo is referring to bolting on the sections (versus riveted on sections). I suppose there are some old timers out there that prefer to screw around with rivets, I have found bolts are 100 times easier to deal with.
 
The ledger plates that I got are serrated, and they look like the old ones, except there sharper. Is there something else that I should look for?
 

If you get a new knife with bolted on sections you will need to replace all of the hold downs too because yours won't clear the nuts.
 
Bolts will work on just about any sickle bar mower. Makes it easy to change section or replace broken section. I have replaced every section on a sickle bar mower and cost less then $35 to do it including the cost of bolts. I have a JD #9 and it has bolt on section on it
 

Waste of time to sharpen the sections,get the riveted sections they're cheaper,will work with your hold downs.I rarely knock a section out anyway.only take you a few minutes to pull the blade and replace a section anyway.
 
Larry that stone is the correct one to use for sickle section sharpening, but part of that machine is missing. There should be a partially flexible "carrier" that clamps to the sickle and is connected to the two arms with holes that point to the right in your photo. The "Carrier" provides stability and accuracy for the angle and slant needed for the sections.
 
I use a dremel tool with a grinding burr. You would be surprised how sharp you can get them. It is easy to replace the sections but I would use the rivets. Sometimes the bolts don't have enough clearance. Use the bolts to replace a broken or missing knife to get finished for the day and then replace the bolts with rivets when you have time.
 
Most everyone on here has plenty of experience. Take your time and rebuilt your bar, knife, whatever you want to call it. You might need to replace some or all of your stone guards. I have rebuilt a few myself and when you get everything tuned up and tight a sickle bar will cut like a brand new pair of scissors. BEAUTY! This video is pretty good. Only thing is I like my rivets to come up from the bottom. Also top serrated. He needs a bit bigger hammer. Five or six wacks should do it. You get a nice slightly rounded bullet head if done correctly. If your knife is totally worn out you can make your own brand new one. Strap steel, 1/8 inch thick or 3/16 by one inch wide. Think this is correct for what I was working on. Just stop at your local sheet and strap steel supplier. Really long bars are in two pieces. This way if you make your own you can eliminate that weak spot. This time of year you have the time to do it right. Keep asking questions and we can answer. By the way. There is a lot of stuff on Ebay. There are three different thicknesses of sections and several different hole placements. Also smooth and serrated. I prefer serrated. Google sickle mower parts and all kinds of stuff popped up.
cvphoto3781.jpg


cvphoto3782.jpg


cvphoto3783.jpg


cvphoto3784.jpg

Knife sections.
 
This man just asked a simple question about how to sharpen his sickle. Apparently he is not with a lot of hay to cut, or he would be using something other than a #5. He said he had bought a sickle with under serrated sections and he just wants it sharpened. he should take the deckle out and grind with his angle head grinder at the same angle as the original edge. Spend NO money! Just sharpen the sickle. More information: All guards wit replaceable ledger plates are serrated. If he asks the time, do not tell him how to build a watch.
 
This man just asked a simple question about how to sharpen his sickle. Apparently he is not with a lot of hay to cut, or he would be using something other than a #5. He said he had bought a sickle with under serrated sections and he just wants it sharpened. he should take the deckle out and grind with his angle head grinder at the same angle as the original edge. Spend NO money! Just sharpen the sickle. More information: All guards wit replaceable ledger plates are serrated. If he asks the time, do not tell him to build a watch. I was born in 1937 1nd sharpened my first sickle in 1955 w2ith a n emery driven by the tractor pulley
 
You need to be careful with the bolts. The clips come in two different heights. One is rivers only. The taller one is used where the strap bolts to the pitman parts. Just saying. There are so many ways these can be put together. By the way did you ever look at the guards? They not only have the company name, they also have the length cast into them. MD is McCormick deering aka international harvester, and JD for John Deere, MM for mini etc. The ones I needed were MD- 989. Trying to remember if those numbers were thousands or hundreds like for mechanical measurements. Some crazy half useless information but fun.
cvphoto3793.jpg


cvphoto3794.jpg
 
(quoted from post at 16:06:31 01/31/20) This man just asked a simple question about how to sharpen his sickle. Apparently he is not with a lot of hay to cut, or he would be using something other than a #5. He said he had bought a sickle with under serrated sections and he just wants it sharpened. he should take the deckle out and grind with his angle head grinder at the same angle as the original edge. Spend NO money! Just sharpen the sickle. More information: All guards wit replaceable ledger plates are serrated. If he asks the time, do not tell him how to build a watch.
Click to expand...


Moonlight, are you holding court and issuing fines too? or just handing out written warnings?
 
you could touch them up with a 4 1/2 inch angle grinder, just follow the angle and use light pressure. or if you have a 90 degree air grinder, put a 3 inch roloc sanding disk on it and try that. i have 4 or 5 extra cutter bars set up for my number 5. if you want to replace the sections on a budget, grind the heads off the rivets and knock them out with a punch. to install em, i work on my anvil, a small section of railroad track or similar will work too. i put the rivets in up from the bottom, gently heat them a little with an acetylene torch (small welding tip) and whack the rivet a couple times with a big ball peen hammer. next time you go to the john deere dealer get the very end section, its kind of a big small double deal. good to have a spare. a spare pitman arm is good to have too! most farm stores have them.
 
Agree. To many times a simple question needs all of the options explained. That
is when you find step one, three, four, and six will fix your problem. If he
doesn't need them, then he can ignore them.
 
Mower parts are very generic. JD store is probably 2 the price of TSC, F&F, Orchlens or other "FARM STORES". Take an old one with you to get the correct spacing on the holes.
 
I've gotten those end sections at TSC, so other farm stores probably have them.
Sometimes depends on time of year.
 
I?m going to try the angle grinder with a flap wheel or sand paper disc I call them . I run bottom serrated sections as well and they do a nice job cutting
 
"[b:654c4848f0][i:654c4848f0]wondering if there's a tool that I can use to help[/i:654c4848f0][/b:654c4848f0]"

If you are not in a hurry, you might consider using a small, flat file to sharpen each knife section.

With bottom serrated sections, sharpen from the top towards the serrated edge.

You can remove the guard if necessary.

Hope this helps.



cvphoto3918.jpg
 
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