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Sickle mower pitman stick question.

1

1939farmall

Member
I picked up this John Deere #37 mower awhile back.
cvphoto125319.jpg

Im gonna try to make some time to go over it tomorrow. Do you do anything special to take care of the pitman stick? Would it hurt or help to brush it with oil or something else? This is my first one with a stick.
Thanks for the help!
 
linseed oil would be good. it is a hard wood so they are pretty sturdy unless run to fast thats when they break.
 
Rustred

I think I have some linseed oil. Ill give it a try. I plan on running it behind my Super H about 2/3 throttle. Hopefully I wont break it!

Thanks
 

A pitman care tip I'm sure you already know is not to expect it to mow a "bank" that raises the outer shoe a lot higher than the inner shoe.

When the angle between the sickle head and the pitman arm becomes too great BAD things happen!
 
to put a number on the max angle I would say 30 degrees up or down is enough.
when you can hear the pitman bang on each stroke it's a little too far.
 
Wore out and jcarroll,

This wont be used to mow banks or ditches. I do have a draw that runs through the field Ill be cutting, but the way it lays I dont think it will put the bar at a hard angle. Ill have to be careful the first time through to make sure.

Thanks guys.
 
Rustred,

I use a Ford 501 sickle bar mower with a wooden pitman arm. The one thing that I've found that needs periodic attention is to insure that the bolts that mount the pitman arm to the brackets that move the pitman back and forth are tight. I mean really tight. If there's any slop in the mounting, the pitman will split. Yes, I know that there are self-locking nuts for use on the bolts, they still need to be checked for tightness.

Good luck with your mower. I've used mine for many years with good results.

Tom in TN
 
All we ever had were pitman mowers from early horse drawn on yo to an Oliver 415? and we never did anything to them or ever had one co bad, all we ever did was keep the mowers inside. Setting outside in all weather is what ruins them. Never had those bolts come loose. Mought different mowers that needed rebuilding from neglect and setting outside for years and always about first thing had to put a new stick in them. Inpropper use is what will ruin them. This includes setting out for rain starting to rot them, rain rusting up cutting parts, Never replacing wore out cutter parts, Over or under speeding them. If you intend to leave it setting out then that oil is good idea but for stored not needed.
 
Remember to keep your fingers well away from the guards and knives when raise or lower the cutter bar from or to the transport position!
 
Brushing on oil or linseed oil isnt a bad idea , but either storing the mower under cover or removing the pitman and storing it inside when not in use is the best idea.
 
The pitman stick is I think the same as on a #5, I got a new one at Central Tractor once upon a time. I gave it 2 coats of ureathane and it still looks nice. Important thing on that mower is to have the belt loose as it becomes the slip clutch. Too tite and when jam up or get a hunk of wood in cutter bar, the pitman or belt will be what breaks. I have a #38 which is the quick attach version but drive is same. Had a few jam ups and belt slipped and no harm. Deere has the manual for them, well worth having.
 
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