Its over

Lanse · Jun 28, 2008

After more then a month, its finally over. I got my mower today. It was a deal for $50; even though i worked up over $70 but whats my word worth??? It was a literal highway to hell with that thing, getting it here. We hit numerous trees and the top of the bar was covered by branches by the time we got here. They tied it to the trailer in two places with two chains one was 1/4 inch. About half way through the 5 mile journey, we stopped to find it was about to fall off. We pushed it back as best we could, re situated the chains, and finished the rest of the trip at under 30 miles an hour. When we got home finally, we tried to unload it with the kubota. Chained it wo the bucket, lifted, and nearly hit the fender. Spare the trailer and destroy the mower. OK, re chain it, and back up (their directions) and suddenly the tractor jolted sharply (felt like it was about to roll over) some loud crashing around and i saw it. It was sideways about, but it fell back and landed right side up. Probabally the longest hour of my life. The mower is now out in the yard no worse for the ware.

Im just glad it got here in one peice with no body injured. These are the incompetent people i work for. Anyone in the area looking to hire a kid???? So its over. Finally. Amazing.

So here it is:

I've never owned or used a sickle before, and thus have no clue what these are:

Most of the bar looks like this:

With a couple breaks in it.

hillbillyOH · Jun 28, 2008

David Bradley was the brand name Sears (?) used for their tractors and implements.

That thing is going to be a bear to restore.

It's nice to finally get a better picture of your farm. Looks like a neat place.

old · Jun 28, 2008

Well Lance I can tell from the pictures it uses JD guards and that probably means JD sections. It really doesn't look all that bad for something that has sat for a long time. If it has a 5 or 6 foot bar you B/C should handle it just fine but the pull type can be a pain
Hobby farm

Lanse · Jun 28, 2008

dang bill, you got on high-resolution moniter there-you can hardly see that tag in real life

Lanse · Jun 28, 2008

wow rich-you sure know your sickles

So green sickles probabally mean more green then orange or red sickles, right :-(

cadet trooper · Jun 28, 2008

Lanse, the three prong device you're asking about is called a swathing board normally used to keep a gap between your next swath for the hay rake they were usually made out of wood with a long wood dowell rod it looks like that one was home made if you cut a lot of grassy hay you would soon learn to hate this device because when the bar plugged you would have to back up and of course with the bar loaded up it became impossible to raise the bar so you would try to back up with it down and naturally you would hear a crack and the board was history. During a period wet hay silage was a rage and some companies designed a windrowing finger device to bolt on to the back of the bar what a monster? Ours lasted about two days and we only cut 5 acres with it last I saw it was on a scrappers truck ten years later. Good luck and have fun.

old · Jun 28, 2008

No because the Allis, and JD parts are the same. I just rebuilt the sickle mower on my C and as per the packs the parts fit a good number of different machines. For the most part theres only 4 or 5 types of or sizes of guard and the same with the sections.

farmer boy · Jun 28, 2008

Have fun with those riveted sections. Total pain in the a$$ to fix when a section breaks and you got to get those rivets out. Are you restoring it or just getting it into running condition?

Lanse · Jun 28, 2008

sounds good; thanks!!! Do i need to make a wooden one??

Lanse · Jun 28, 2008

getting it going then painting it. Not restoring it

Lanse · Jun 28, 2008

sounds good. where can i buy them??? I doubt i can do much here until i can find work and get the tractors fixed

old · Jun 28, 2008

Most good farm and home places will have them or of course a tractor dealer. As far as replaceing the sections if I where you I would switch from the rivits to the new style bolts because you can change a section real fast and easy if one brakes. BTDT and on all my machines I'm switching to the bolts

Anonymous-0 · Jun 28, 2008

Lanse be careful with that thing! Those are about the most dangerous thing around on a farm as far as fingers are concerned. We have one out in the barn and I HATE to even look at the thing. Hard to move around POS! Be very careful when you let the bar down as it will move and the sickle bar will stay in one place and it could take your fingers off. Sometimes the sickle bar can drop and the weight of it can get your fingers. Do yourself a favor and take it to the scrap metal yard today! If you keep it be really careful around that bar. You will see what I mean.

Jim H. SW-PA · Jun 28, 2008

Please Lanse be extra careful when you drop that cutter bar down as it will take your fingers off right now !! When you take that nut off that bar make sure you don't place fingers anywhere around the knives or guards as you are laying it down Its a little heavy until you get it in raised position and will probably want to drop fast if you don't hold on to it.
By raised position I mean working raised position. About 2 ft off ground With the pitman arm hooked up the knife will slide when dropped Be Careful Please !!

keh · Jun 28, 2008

Lanse,

The mower does look to be in fairly good shape. The knife sections in your pic have some more life in them, you just need to remove the whole blade section from the cutterbar and sharpen them with a side grinder.

What Davpal is talking about is the blade section sliding down through the cutterbar after you get it slick from use and catching a finger between the knife section and a guard. You have to raise the cutterbar to transport position by hand and you have to lower it to cutting position by hand. So wear gloves, hold the cutter bar flat in your hands, and be careful to keep your fingers below the guards.

I doubt if you need to make a swathboard out of wood. Try out what you have first.

Be advised that mower, or any sickle bar mower, will not cut wet grass. All the dew needs to dry off first. Also, the things don't cut very fast. Start off in low gear, speed up and find what speed it will cut at. Have fun and be careful.

KEH

Anonymous-0 · Jun 28, 2008

Lanse,
Glad to see I'm occasionally right, when you first posted about
the mower, I suggested it might be a David Bradley based on
your description of belt drive and slant axle and orange paint.
All the experts told me how wrong I was. Really aren't hard to
work on all wear parts are available AND if you find a GRAHAM
BRADLEY tractor owner he might pay you $70 for it. That old
Sears equipment was rare to start with and rarer now.

Leroy · Jun 28, 2008

Lance, That mower was made prior to or in 1957 and sold thru the Sears Farm catalog as David Bradley was there line of equipment. The front PTO cover is not orignal but the deviding board on the outer end of the bar, the 3 rods is orignal and they were only made as a 7' mower. Some with manual lift and some with hydrolic lift. It would have had a tubular steel pitman, not a wood pitman. With manual bar lift the shipping weight was 745 pounds. And when you get it going 2nd. in either your B or C would be the correct mowing speed. And with the hydrolic lift it is one of the verry few pieces of equipment that can use a 10" or a 8" stroke hydrolic cylinder. And just use common sence and they are not dangerous, just when you raise or lower the cutter bar from horisontial to vertical keep your hands on the back side of the bar and do not touch any part of the moving part of the knife. And if everything is there the knife will not drop when lifting the bar, it will only move up to 3" to get the knife in time with the pitman to let it fold. Send me an email with your mailing address and you will get a picture out of a catalog.

Lanse · Jun 28, 2008

Percat answer, thanks. Any idea what it'd be worth restored??? What color was it??? I know that front cant possibly be original, no clue how to hook it up. I removed it. I have a simple policy of stay on the tractor when the PTO is on, and can say i have stuck to that and have had no problems. Leaving the big on though. It has no hydrolics. Does this mean i'll have to kill the PTO, stop the tractor and get off, put the thing up, screw the thing on, turn, get off and un-do everything i did??? Sounds like fun

You have mail

Lanse · Jun 28, 2008

what do you think it would be worth restored??? I guess even people like you and me are right every now agian

Lanse · Jun 28, 2008

Thanks. I'll be real careful with it. Would not like to be called lefty-or lucky

NcNE · Jun 28, 2008

Lanse
there is an outfit in Grand Island, NE that specializes in sickles for mowers. They can fix you up with sections guards and things of that nature at a reasonable price. Shoot me an email and I can get you their information.

Lanse · Jun 28, 2008

Will do. Thanks alot!!!

Anonymous-0 · Jun 28, 2008

I would watch my dad change blades. Seams like he would put the blade down in a vice, just about closed and hit the blade with a hammer. This would shear the rivets off, and the blade would fall off, then punch out the sheared rivet. This was over 50 years ago, wow I'm getting old. stan

Anonymous-0 · Jun 29, 2008

You can make a wood grass board from ash or buy an all steel grass board.I still use rivets on the sections and sharpen with a 4 inch angle grinder.Just be careful setting the mower down or picking it up for transpost.In short keep your fingers away from the knives,wear gloves when taking the knife out for repairs or sharpening.Refer to a new knife section when sharpening,keeping the same angle.Replace bent or cracked sections.Find an old knife repair block.Old rivets are sheared off by striking the back edge of the section with a heavy hammer.Use a ball pein hammer to head over new rivets.Ive been using mowers for 50 years,still have all my fingers.Run that rusty knife for a few minutes and oil it before taking it out.

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