New Idea Cut/ditioner

[burnetma]

I am in the process of getting equipment around for the haying season. I am forced to do so on a near zero budget. My uncle has a New Idea Cut/ditioner (maybe a 279) that I am going to go look at later this week. I have read all of the posts that I could find in YT. I would like to know if anybody on this site has any experience with this machine. What is the availability of new blades? Where are the weak points in the machine? Thanks for your help!

FYI, my intended use for the machine is to cut horse hay (Timothy & Broome) for feeding my own animals and possibly selling some of the excess. Looking to make 3000-4000 bales only.

I am asking this group because my uncle used it very little and only to make some hay for beef cattle but more for making straw, so he was less concerned about quality.

 

[slowzuki]

There isn't much knowledge beyond ytmag on these things. All I know is they use a lot a hp/fuel compared to a mower-conditionor of conventional design.

 

[sweettractors]

7 ft machine will need at least 60 hp pulling it and more would be better. 4 MPH max in heavy spring hay. New Knives are around $10 -$15 each. End bearings are your other wear item and are available. email sweet@scrtc.com --Ken Sweet

 

[burnetma]

Hey guys, thank you for the input.

 

[RickB]

As with any flail style machine, if the rotor gets twisted or sprung, the machine is essentially junk. Especially Cut-ditioners with the knives/flails hung from a continuous length rod.

 

[HayDR]

burnetma,
If it's free or you have little money invested in the cut/ditioner use it until it has a breakdown and then you'll likely junk it. The cost of repairs are more than it's worth.

 

[burnetma]

All,

Thanks again. Sounds like good advice.

My uncle bought the machine brand new and used it very little over the years. He let a neighbor borrow it and nobody knows its condition for sure. My uncle will be with me when I start it up. He will be able to tell me if it is OK or not.

Thanks again.
Mark

 

[burnetma]

Forgot to mention it needs a belt. That is why we did not run on Friday.

I bet I will get sticker shock on the belt!

The gear box looked, felt and sounded good. The cutter bar turned with some encouragement. Won't know for sure for a couple of days and possibly a week.

I hope to have all my haying equipment in order by mid-May. Will be cutting it close!

 

[Robert_in_NY]

When you replace the belt make sure you get the right belt that has the 3 grooves on it. We tried to replace one with three individual belts as we were in a bind and all it wanted to do was twist the belts around. The Cutditioner pulls hard and I was only trying one out and decided to just use the 489 haybine instead. Good luck to you and let us know how it works out for you.

 

[burnetma]

Well I got it home LATE yesterday where I can take a better look at it. In the ten minutes that I spent with it, I discovered that it needs at least one new bearing for the roller (as predicted by an earlier poster), about 1/2 of the blades are frozen (but in good condition) and the rock guard is in very poor condition. These things appear to be fairly straight forward. However, I was wondering if I could replace the rock guard with some other form of skirt to protect the driver from flying objects? Any opinions?

Thanks in advance.