New to me New Holland Super 68 baler (pics)

[rankrank1]

Well I now have at least 1 back-up machine for each function of my hobby hay operation.

Multiple clunker tractors, 3 ways to cut it, 2 ways to rake/improvise tedd, 1 way to truly tedd, and now 2 ways to bale it....

Not the prettiest baler, but the darn thing has not been used all that much. Lots of what appears as surface rust in the pictures is chaff - still cleaning this ole bugger up. Plunger wood bearings are even snug and show little to no ware. Bale chamber is in excellent shape. Probably should make it my frontline baling machine but it will likely only be my back-up baler until I can eventually find another NH 65 to match my other baler and then I will likely send this one down the road.

 

[rankrank1]

To anyone interested: Just tried running my serial number to no avail, as my serial # book does not list any baler serial prior to the year 1970. Anyway the NH parts web site shows that the Super 68 was only offered in 1958, 1959, and 1960 so that will have to be close enough for me.

 

[bucktaker]

keep it indoors and it may outlast you....seems we may live close

 

[rankrank1]

....seems we may live close....

Close enough that I can come borrow your nice Kubota L5740 when one of my ole antique tractors goes on the fritz? Ah just kidding - LOL. I have a Kubota too (albeit smaller and older 1978 L285) and it has never let me down. In 16 years of owning it I have put in 1 battery and replaced both battery cables (and it was a used battery at that) and that is it! Excluding normal oil and filter changes of course. Darn fine machine.

 

[AKfish]

Everything looks pretty straight on it! If the wood sliders are still intact in the bale chamber, there's hope that the chains and sprockets are solid, too.

Lookin' forward to seeing your hay pics this coming summer'

AKfish

 

[rankrank1]

...Lookin' forward to seeing your hay pics this coming summer...AKfish

You know now that you mention it, 2014 may be first year that I neglected to take any pictures of my junk in action during at least one of my haying adventures. Everything was quite hectic with my real job (lots of overtime) and I was busy wrenching on the baler refurbing/repairing a knotter/welding in new rusted out metal in the bale chamber/etc. from its breakdown in 2013. I ended up doing my first cutting much later than I would have like because the one non-rain window that I had and could of done it well the baler was not ready. By the time I had the baler ready, it turned to rain every few days and there simply was not a good haying window. Plus working a new to me tractor into the equation (1946 Farmall M) and pictures went by the wayside due to lack of time.

Wife did almost all the improvised tedding and raking this year and she hates cameras so she sure did not take any and with me always being at work I was not present to sneak a few pictures of her working - LOL