Oof Baling

[CliffordK]

 

[CH4Ohio]

View attachment 3574899

“OK, I think I’ve got it. Try it now!!”

 

[CliffordK]

Ok, so I've broken a few bales, and bogged it down rebaling. No broken sheer pins, but had to clean out the feed chamber a couple of times.

I'm having a lot of troubles getting the knotters adjusted just perfectly.

If I get the Bill Hook tension too low, then I end up with half a knot. If I get the tension too high, then it doesn't release the knot. The two knotters aren't identical, and the right one is more sensitive than the left one.

The previous owner was running 9000 weight plastic twine. I changed to 7200 weight plastic twine. I presume the baler originally was running sisal twine, but it is hard to say what upgrades it has had over the years.

 

[tude]

There is a New Holland 1283 Haycruiser self-propelled baler in unrestored condition for sale in PA for $15000.

 

[CliffordK]

There is a New Holland 1283 Haycruiser self-propelled baler in unrestored condition for sale in PA for $15000.

Might be worth it.

Ouch, that one is WIRE... Does anybody still use wire?

This is a 1281 twine that I just purchased for $4500. It is well worn for the last 60+ years. Reasonably strong running, but well worn. Ford Diesel engine. It would probably be worth it to just get all new knotters.

It is unique to be riding around on top of one's baler, but it does free up one's tractor.

 

[CliffordK]

So, Hay Season has been turned upside-down for me. My parents bought the farm when I was a teenager and we had neighbors doing hay while I was there. Then apparently it became too much for the neighbors so my parents bought a baler, and rake (and I don't remember if they also mowed), in part because it was difficult to get someone to bale. It didn't always go smoothly. They had an old JD that liked to chew through sheer pins.

Anyway, in the mid 90's they got a few horses and got rid of all the cows and started selling hay. About 15 to 20 years ago, they sold the baler and rake and hired a different neighbor to do the hay. My father also passed away far too young. Then a few years ago Mom gave the tractor to my brother (300 miles away), and shrunk it to a tiny Kubota.

I have wanted to start doing the haying for some time. So, last week the guy that had been baling managed to burn down his barn and decided to stop doing the small squares. And I had less than 7 days to get ready to start haying. I had previously purchased some old equipment, but it hadn't worked out with my mother, so the equipment had sat for about 10 years.

I had sized some equipment a little bit small so I could use my old Ford 1715. But the first day it became clear that the 1715 wasn't big enough for my old drum mower.

That left me hunting for a new tractor overnight. I had already talked to the guy that sold me the baler about his old International 600. It turns out it was worse than I thought. But it still is a strong running tractor... arriving with some duct tape.

Some more photos here:

Farm Gyver

I bought an old baler a few days ago. As I was looking at it. This is the bale length counter. Looking at it, that is an old flat file that somebody has welded onto the bale length counter. I would have hit the edges with a grinder. No idea why the edge is so wavy. Perhaps the person...

www.tractorbynet.com

That is only half the story. The tractor stops on a hope and a prayer. And, the first or second day the steering wheel completely fell off. I'll get that fixed soon. Nonetheless, it starts with a puff of smoke, otherwise it is strong running.

 

[Hay Dude]

2 knotters is a walk in the park. Try 6 lol

 

[CliffordK]

There is a New Holland 1283 Haycruiser self-propelled baler in unrestored condition for sale in PA for $15000.

I don't need the wire baler. The Kansas one has a cab which might be nice.

Thinking of this, if I choose to continue using the Haycruiser, it should be good for another 60 years.
Most of the "baler" parts are available in one form or another. However, I may need to start collecting drive parts which could be a bigger hassle. So, a good parts machine might be worth it. But, I'm not going to pay $15K to $20K for a parts machine to strip.

I have a wire Freeman that I may try to shrink the bale chamber and convert to string. That would also give me a backup, and it should be a bit faster of a machine.

 

[CliffordK]

2 knotters is a walk in the park. Try 6 lol

That one is much flatter than my Bill Hooks. That is interesting.

I've sharpened my right twine knife. And the manual suggested blunting the bill hook slightly to make it close more. I did that, and a practice run yesterday broke only one out of a dozen bales (and I adjusted some after that as it only had a rough adjustment for the tension). Hoping for better luck today.

The nice thing about a ride around baler is that I can immediately see when I've lost a knot.

I doubt that I'll get all the work that I'd like to do on the baler done this season, but I'll get an early jump on it next season.