Sickle Bar sickle bar mower

[Anonymous Poster]

I'm interested in getting a 3pt sickle bar mower (is that spelled right?). About a 5' cut would be plenty. Does anybody still make new ones? What can I expect to pay? What about a used one, are they hard to find and how much could I expect to pay?

 

[DFB]

Befco sells them new. Here's a link. sicklebar

DFB

 

[MarkV]

Danny,
We see them for sale here in Georgia often. I don't know what kind of tractor you have, but I have been told they can be a bit much for a smaller compact like mine. I thought they might be the thing for the banks along the road and learned you will have trouble cutting anything much heavier than grass.

MarkV

 

[Anonymous Poster]

DFB, Thanks, I'll look into Befco. I sent them an email to send me a list of dealers in my area.

MarkV, I have a New Holland TC29D. I used to mow hay on my Dad's farm using a 5' sickle bar on a Farmall A, so the TC29D aught to be OK. What kind of prices are you seeing around there?

 

[jdkid]

Hi ya
i had a look at the link too .nice looking mower the thing with 2 knife mower is keep sharp if you could have 2 sets of knifes so when in the field you don't have to rush back to sharpen . the only other thing is if you buy 2nd hand look for pitman (?) less mowers ie drives right at the cutter bar (you can cut steeper angles up and down ,banks sidlings)
catch ya
JD Kid

 

[cowboydoc]

Danny,
Where are you at? I've got one I'd sell you.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Cowboydoc, I'm in Indiana, where are you? I just want a small one for occasional use. I want something to mow the edge of a ditch and under trees along the edge of the woods and trees in the orchard where the branches are too low for the tractor to get under.

 

[cowboydoc]

Hi Danny I'm in Iowa. This one that I have I bought at a farm sale for $100. You can have it for that if you want it. I got another one that was in a little better shape. I've been busy with that barn but I'll take a digital pic of it and get you all the specs.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

OK, sounds about like what I'm looking for. I would like to find out more info on it. No hurry, I've got my twins' birthday comming up and I'm building them a playhouse, so I'm busy these days too!

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I mowed with (and fought with) a 50's Dearborn 5' sickle bar mower for several years. Bought it at a farm auction for $35. It worked, but it took a lot of maintenance. Shook itself to death, broke pitmans, problems with bearings, etc.

This year I finally gave up, gave the thing to a neighbor for parts for his, and bought a used 7' JD 39 for $700. I can't believe how much better it works and how much less tlc it needs, at least so far.

But a sickle bar mower is always going to be a high maintenance item compared to a rotary cutter. Regular sharpenings, and adjustments to keep the sickles next to the guards, are to be expected. Periodic replacement of tooth guards and sickle sections and the occasional pitman stick is also a fact of life. I only mess with the thing because a rotary cutter is a poor choice for hay.

If you go for a new one, make sure parts are readily available, that's very important with these things.

If you go for a used one, take a close look at the straightness of the bar. If it's bent, you'll be fighting the thing to get it to work right.

I saw multiple JD 9's and JD 39's for sale around here (CO) for $500 to $1000.

There's also some Italian stuff on the market, new. I shied away from them over the parts thing.