IH Model 46 Twine Baler

[VistanTN]

I just got two of these units -- one fully operational (baled about 300 bales this spring), the other a "parts" baler -- it baled about 500 last year until the "brother-in-law" didn't check the position of the knotter and turned on the PTO, bending the needles. My last "experience" if you can call it that was 50 years ago watching my great uncle operate a Model 45. I have ordered Setup, Operator, Maintenance, and Parts manuals (yet to arrive). The fellow I bought it from said he was running it at just over 1/2 normal PTO speed to keep it from skipping ties. Said that at that speed it only missed one side ever 40 bales or so, faster and it missed more. Anyone got any hints or good advice (besides, "buy green" ...).
I only have about 22 acres of pasture to bale maybe twice a year so couldn't see much point in anything newer/bigger.
George Carlson
Wartrace (that's War-Trace, not Wart-Race), TN

 

[Toolguy]

Hi. I don't know a thing about an IH baler but I have been around a few balers in my day. We would bale about 30,000 bales a year when I was a kid in the '60s & 70s. Speaking of miss tying bales, balers have come a long way over the years. Back in the sixties we had a New Holland baler that if you could go one wagon load with only one broken bale it was a good thing. 2 or 3 was not uncommon. We then went to a JD 24T and it was a lot better, maybe 2 or 3 a day. In the late 70's we got a new JD 336 and a broken bale every 1 or 2 days was normal. My dad now has a JD 338 and he told me that after baling about 3,000 bales of 1st cutting this year he finally had a broken bale. He thought that was about normal. Last year he baled about 5,000 bales and had 2 broken. I wish we would have had that when I was at home. LOL! I'm not trying to spoil your fun but just wanted you to know what modern balers are capable of. I am sure that once you get used to it your IH baler will do a good job for you. Good Luck.

 

[lhfarm]

I was a rookie - both at baling and I guess math - when I purchased a rusty IH-46 baler. The seller, speaking honestly, said it ties 90% of the time. That sounded reliable to me! Having 1 in 10 bales break or not tie was a real pain. But after a couple of years, I that up near the 1 in 50 range.
I found that keeping the knifes sharp, and getting the tension on the bale chamber correct to be the key. I kept the twine nice and dry and cleaned the baler after each session. That meant loosening the tension to clean the chamber. I would mark the tension screws with some tape, so I would start baling at a tension that had worked well the last time.
Each cutting is a little different and so some adjustment to tension was necessary. The operations manual has some information on what causing knotting problems. I'd buy one again.
I gave up baling for growing paraire grass. I gave the baler to a nephew a few years ago, and he is still baling with it. I sure do miss the smell and the fun of getting that baler working.

 

[VistanTN]

LOL -- yeah 90% ties in baling is like 90% correct in type-setting. I don't recall my uncle's 45 missing many ties ... and as the youngest, I was the one driving the truck with the bale loader behind the baler so I think if it was a major issue it would have registered. I am a novice "operator" but I do know that bale tension, clean/polished knotters, sharp knives, and good quality/new/dry twine are the the main keys. I also realize that I will get more missed ties baling pasture grass (because of the greater variation in it) than in a single species hay field. I have copies of all the manuals ordered and that should help. Figure it will take probably one season to get the hang of it ... and if it misses some, oh, well, we can use some loose hay. Anyway, in my self-haying process, I checked the local Co-op and they rent mowers and tedders, so I guess my next purchase is a wheel rake. I'm hilly enough that I understand roto-bar rakes are hard to use ... anyone else haying on small acreage, or even large acreage if you want to throw your $0.02 in, feel free ...
GC
Rose Hills Farm (aka: WRR "wife-run ranch")
"He who dies with the most toys is still dead."
PS: Barry, if you miss it THAT much .... c'mon down to Dixie for fall haying. We can always use another two hands ...

 

[rustyjeep]

I really dont have sure fix for your problem since I am a rookie user of a 1963 model 37 IH baler.I have used it for two years now and have found the afore mentioned "fixes" have been the key to making it run well.I would like to upgrade to a round baler but I cant justify the cost.I currently bale about 1000 to 1500 squares a year and its hard for me to do it all my self.One question I have is what kind of twine do you use,sisal or plastic? Sisal works the the best in my baler but is so hard to keep the rats out of it.

 

[VistanTN]

Sisal is the only way to go -- at least on older balers. Guess they just don't "like" modern plastic stuff. As for keeping the rats out ... first, buy only what you need for the season (around here, and I suspect AR there are two seasons per year -- a Spring season and a Fall season, at least baling pasture grass). Second, el cheapo 35 gallon steel garbage cans (with tight fitting lids) work great as storage. Unless your rats have can openers, it will keep them out. We use them for horse feed and anything else that would be attractive to any of a variety of rodents. BTW I got the setup, operator, and parts manuals today. Lots to read and digest. If you haven't got for your 37 (the follow-on to and with the 47 the replacement for the 46), Binder Books is the authorized CNH licensee for reprints at www.binderbooks.com. Cost is reasonable (I paid less the $50 for the three, with shipping) and turn around is excellant --I ordered exactly a week ago. I figure, based on the spring haying (my neighbor cut, raked, and baled in 5' x 6' round bales) that I will be doing 2,000 - 3,000 small squares a year. Even if Good-Wyfe gets a fourth horse, I can't see using more than 750 on site, so I will sell the rest to some of our horsey friends (or trade for labor during baling ... better yet).