#5 Sickle mower

Need info on the JD #5 sickle mower. I am a newbie to farm equipement. My wife and I inherited her grandfathers 110 ac. farm with all equipement, three 2010"s, two "A" and one model "B" all in working order. We have no intention of farming just maintaining the property which means I am cutting a lot of fields. The #5 mower doesn"t cut well. Can it be sharpend or do I need to replace?

Yes, the mower "sections" can be sharpened. My husband has the know-how on this and I will tell him you need some help. Best suggestion - get a manual. They are easy to find and not terribly expensive. Operator"s manuals for all your equipment will be some of the best investments you can make.

I agree, get an owner's manual. The #5 mower was/is one of the best mowers for most conditions. I have one that the bar is cut down to 5' that I use behind my JD H. When properly set up it will lay down grass and weeds like nobody's business and as far as ruggedness they are tough to kill.

You cab also purchase a new blade to have an extra one.. Try a John Deere dealer. good luch.

you can also get a complete sickle from shoups. prolly a little cheaper than from mother deere. they also sell the mower pitmans, good idea to get a spare. the pitman is the hickory stick that drives the sickle. it breaks if you bind the mower, for the rock guards, some have upper ledger plates that are replaceable(upper cutting blade), or you can just change out the whole rock guard. i tried the farm and fleet universal fit rockguards, but, they didnt fit the #5, soooo those came from deere.

The knife sections can be sharpened with a file, but it is a long process.

A small pencil grinder will also work, but only make a few light passes on each section.

You will also want to add a section-and-a-half at the end of the knife to eliminate grass clogs.

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Sharp knife sections are only one factor in proper cutting.

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You will need to "register" the knife sections with the guards.

You will also need to set the "lead" of the outer shoe about 1 1/2" - 2".

Registering the knife and setting the lead are discussed in detail in the Operator's Manual.

Send me an email with your return address and I will give you an Opertor's Manual.

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Yes to all of the below.
A word of caution about the JD no. 5 mower. When you pick up the bar to put it in the upright transport position KEEP your fingers out of the guards (the pointed things). The knife will usually drop down a few inches and if your fingers are in there.........!

I buy my replacement guards at TSC.

They are green with a foundry stamp 700 on top.

Have a couple on the "working" #5 that work just fine.

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All the guards on the #39N mower are from TSC.

A word of caution- the sickle bar mowers need to have the grass removed from the field before cutting again. Won't cut through old, downed grass worth a darn. From the sound of your post, you may just be planning to mow the grass several times through the summer and not make hay out of it- for that, I'd abandon ol' No. 5 and get a 3 point rotary mower (Bush Hog type) and use it behind one of the 2010's.

Take a small piece of 2x4 pine and hammer it between any two sections.

Then take a short bungy and strap the pine block to the cutter bar.

Look in the bottom right corner of this photo.

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Totally agree about keeping your fingers from between the sections; otherwise the wife, girlfried, or significant other will be typing your posts!

I don't agree at all on buying aftermarket guards. Occasionally one needs to bend a guard to line up with the knife and you can't bend the cheap cast iron aftermarket guards. Deeres are malleable iron and can be bent without breaking. I bought a few of aftermarket guards for my #9 trying to save a few dollars and ended up throwing them in the junk pile.

The easiest way I have found to sharpen the sickle is with a 4 1/2 inch grinder. Before that I had a special sickle grinding wheel that I used for years, my Dad had used this one too. Some of the guards have replacable ledger plates also that need to be replaced sometimes.

Instead of all that stupidity, why not just repair the device Mother Deere used to catch the knife so it didn't fall way down when the cutterbar was lifted to the transport position?

Of course, repairing things to the way there were when new just goes right past some folks!

Thank you all for the information. I like this site. I am sure you will be hearing more from me due to my limited experience with our equipement.

Didn't know there was such a device. Still don't let anything pink and warm get in there.

I agree with mjbrown; didn't know there was such a device.

Can you provide me with a part number or picture of this #5 mower part?

If the part is still available, I can "update" the 2 working mowers and the 1 restored mower.

Thanks in advance for your help.

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