Posted by Dave on March 10, 1998 at 05:32:44:
In Reply to: Info for Ford sickle bar mower. posted by DRK on March 08, 1998 at 17:50:29:
: I need a owners manual or a picture of how this mower hooks up. Its a model 14-59. There is a arm that extends up under the tractor that I'm not sure how it mounts.
: Thanks in advance for any info.
I have a 14-73 Dearborn Mower (I think that's the number--I'll find my file sometime!) If yours is a rear mounted mower, that arm you ask about (has a spring release in case you hit a stump, fence post, etc. with sickle bar) is to attach to a bracket mounted in place of the stabilizer attachment point. The bracket I have has a pin in the normal place to attach the stabilizer plus an "eye" a little forward and lower for that pin you mentioned. My Dad had been given the mower I have in very good shape, but NOT that bracket. I first tried to use the mower in about 1985 on my brother's 9N. Took the mower to a welding shop and had the pin removed and put the hole where the pin had been on the stabilizer attaching pin. It worked--still does--on my Oliver 550 and a neighbor's MF35. Potential problems of this route: When you raise that mounting point, you raise the pitch of the sickle bar--you might slide over rocks easier, but not mow as close as you wish. Also, with the stabilizer mounting pin being 1 or 2 inches behind that eye on the special bracket, the amount of lead on the outer tip of the cutter bar will be affected--and to some extent the alignment of the pitman and sickle bar. That outer end of the cutter bar should be ahead of the inner end 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 inches on a 6 or 7 foot mower. There are other adjusting points but yours may be frozen with age like mine are. One other warning: the flange where the pin is on that bar is made of cast iron on mine--and other the years has worn. I have a neighbor with 3 well-used versions of this Detroit Harvester mower--that flange is broken on all of them I think. That neighbor gave me the bracket that I have that goes in place of the regular stabilizer mounting point in the last year. I went to mount it on my Oliver--spacing holes are different than Ford!!