Vermeer 505

[dav-lyn farm]

A friend has one of these balers. It's pretty old, all manual. It has a double tie system. There are two twine arms that come together in the middle of the bale and travel out to the edges. The arms cross over each other in the middle, but there is never any string on the middle 8 - 10 inches of the bale. We have made adjustments to everything we can think of with no change. We have started the tie before we stop the tractor thinking maybe the twine isn't getting pulled in during the first part of the cycle. We have restarted the tie cycle after the arms have traveled out for a few seconds. We have left the arms crossed over in the middle for several rotations. Nothing does any good. Can anyone tell me where I might go to find some help on this? Thanks.

[mlauk]

What letter model is your 505? I would think something is blocking the arms from going to the center. With the baler ready to twine, I would fully extend the twine arms, shut off the pto and the tractor, then look underneath and see if the arms are actually extended to the center of the bale. If they are not, see what is keeping the arms from fully extending.

[dav-lyn farm]

Thanks for the suggestion. I have done that. The arms cross over each other by several inches when you start the tie process. That's what makes the whole thing even more mysterious. I have only observed this when there is no hay in the baler. I will try it with hay in the baler next time I bale. I don't know why, but maybe the hay stops the arms short of the center for some reason.

And thanks for the reminder to turn off the tractor. Crawling down underneath the baler is VERY dangerous. I would never do that with the tractor running even with the PTO off and the brake set.

[HayDR]

All you have to do is to change the limiting stops so the twine tubes go to within 1 inch to the end of each tube before leaving the cross. It is not a good idea to adjust the tubes where they leave the cross.

[dav-lyn farm]

CCI, Thanks for the advice, but I'm not sure I understand. Are you saying that the twine arms should not be allowed to cross when the tie begins, but come together at the middle with about a 1 inch gap between them?

I will have to look again for the limit stops you describe. I thought I had found all the adjustments, but I haven't seen this one. Hmmm. I wonder if it has been removed by a previous owner and that's why I'm having trouble and also why I haven't seen it. I will look for empty mounting holes and/or broken parts. We might be on to something here.

[HayDR]

CCI, Thanks for the advice, but I'm not sure I understand. Are you saying that the twine arms should not be allowed to cross when the tie begins, but come together at the middle with about a 1 inch gap between them?

I will have to look again for the limit stops you describe. I thought I had found all the adjustments, but I haven't seen this one. Hmmm. I wonder if it has been removed by a previous owner and that's why I'm having trouble and also why I haven't seen it. I will look for empty mounting holes and/or broken parts. We might be on to something here.

Adjust the tubes so they almost uncross. The twine may start before you fully extend the arms but still run the arms out so you will have twine in the center of the bale.