Sickle bar lifter mod

[jjmarotz]

A while back I asked about using a hyd ram to raise and lower the 7' bar on my mower, and well that turned out to be not a good idea. Thanks guys!!!

My dad came up with a GENIUS idea to use a winch. So I picked up a wireless controlled Harbor Freight winch and welded the mounting plate to a couple pcs of 2" square tube, and a pc of 2.5" tube welded to the mower. I replaced one of the sickle hold downs with an eye bolt for the hook.The idea of the tube is so the winch can be moved from mower to the bucket hitch, a 4-wheeler, pickup, etc. and can be stored out of the weather easily. Lower the bar, unhook cable and wind it in (to keep weeds from hanging up on the cable), reverse order for transport.

Pretty simple but VERY effective!!!!!!!!!

 

[sweettractors]

That is a nice setup for people that can't lift the cutterbar. (back trouble) Another helpful tip is to run the mower blade on a upgrade and then raise it manually. I wish someone would come up with a way to add a cylinder to these old mowers so they would mow down angle and all the way up to transport and leave the cyl on. Someone was working on that a while back on this forum and so far, I never heard of any invention. Ken Sweet

 

[flusher]

A while back I asked about using a hyd ram to raise and lower the 7' bar on my mower, and well that turned out to be not a good idea. Thanks guys!!!

My dad came up with a GENIUS idea to use a winch. So I picked up a wireless controlled Harbor Freight winch and welded the mounting plate to a couple pcs of 2" square tube, and a pc of 2.5" tube welded to the mower. I replaced one of the sickle hold downs with an eye bolt for the hook.The idea of the tube is so the winch can be moved from mower to the bucket hitch, a 4-wheeler, pickup, etc. and can be stored out of the weather easily. Lower the bar, unhook cable and wind it in (to keep weeds from hanging up on the cable), reverse order for transport.

Pretty simple but VERY effective!!!!!!!!!

Neat setup.
I did something similar for my MF31 7-ft sicklebar



Installed a cheap winch from HF and welded an attach ring to the back bar. Saves wear and tear on my 68-year old back.

 

[Jimmy Joe]

Looks like a nice set up. I was wondering about the transport rod on the Ford 501 mower. On mine the rod hooks in a square hole in the sickle bar with no nut or anything on the end. Has anyone had the sickle bar drop during transport on rough ground? I like that it is fast to put in transport mode but it is always in the back of my mind that it may drop sometime.

 

[jjmarotz]

Sweet..... back trouble was the exact reason for doing this!!!!

Jimmy..... I've never had an issue with the transport rod "poping" out yet. My rod is sooooo dam tight of a fit that I have to use the winch to pull the bar back and still tap the rod out.

One other reason for the winch. It was so hard to push the bar and remove the rod that it usually required the wife to help me. Now it's a 1 person job!!

 

[flusher]

Looks like a nice set up. I was wondering about the transport rod on the Ford 501 mower. On mine the rod hooks in a square hole in the sickle bar with no nut or anything on the end. Has anyone had the sickle bar drop during transport on rough ground? I like that it is fast to put in transport mode but it is always in the back of my mind that it may drop sometime.

My MF31 sicklebar transport rod is threaded on the end for a nut with an attached handle so you can tighten it by hand.

 

[Jimmy Joe]

My MF31 sicklebar transport rod is threaded on the end for a nut with an attached handle so you can tighten it by hand.

View attachment 169802

That's what I have been used to in the past, so I have a hard time believing the one on my ford could not drop sometime so I really watch it.

 

[Bob_in_VT]

I added hydraulic lift the old Deere No. 9 mower I use to trim my roadsides. That 7 foot bar is heavy. Now I can lift from the seat. No welding on mower, it uses existing bolt holes. The chain link on the end of the rod allows the bar to float.

 

[sweettractors]

I added hydraulic lift the old Deere No. 9 mower I use to trim my roadsides. That 7 foot bar is heavy. Now I can lift from the seat. No welding on mower, it uses existing bolt holes. The chain link on the end of the rod allows the bar to float.

That is a real neat setup for pulling up to transport, however, will it let the mower go below horizontal the 35 degrees the #9 is capable of mowing, with out running out of cylinder stroke? Ken Sweet

 

[Bob_in_VT]

I wasn't aware it could go that far down. Seems to me the pitman arm would bind. Anyway I have no need to go below horizontal. I can always lower the right lift arm to tilt the whole thing.