Sickle Bar 3PH PTO type sickle bar mowers

[patrickg]

Still looking for one. Saw one at an auction today. John Deere, old, modified, and no visible means of raising/lowering the cutter bar. Too hot to hang out for another 2-3 hours or more to find out the price. Found one in the WWW from a dealership, John Deere again $450. While at the auction a nice guy who overheard me asking some acquaintances questions about the old dilapitated cutter took out his buisness card and wrote the name of a guy who has just this week inherited a John Deere sickle bar rig with hydraulic raise and lower and is asking $250 for it. Guy says it is in great condition, eady to use. Well the new owner's phone gives a fax signal when I call and his buisness phone is either busy or not answered (usually indicates no one there, busy signal is when two folks both try to call at same time)

A new one of these things is close to $2K. Speaking of things, I mean Things as in VW Things (Kubelvagen, bucket car, literally translated) They had a 72 or 73 at the auction with 5K miles on the engine. Last registerd in '91 and setting in the field for over 10 years with 4 flat tires and lots of rust. I was right in there in the spirited bidding till it went soaring past $4000 and I gave it up.

Patrick

 

[Ozarker]

Send him a fax.......

 

[karmakanic]

You're gonna jump all over that one for 250 I imagine. I've been looking for one for a while to cut the pond banks. Last auction had 4 or 5, depending how you alloted the parts. They went for 750-950 each and all were pretty worn.

And what is it with those VW things? I've heard rumors people are paying hefty prices for them. I worked on them when they were new and considered them a POS. Had the bad habit of catching on fire from fuel leaks.

Dave

 

[Darren]

The JD is a deal but it's going to work you. I've used the old single action cutters where only the knives move and they do hang up in heavy grass. Then it's off the tractor (don't forget to disengage the PTO) to remove the stuff that's bound the knives. Then back on the tractor for another go. If you're cutting really heavy stuff you'll be on and off way more than you exect. If you're just cutting light stuff, they're not too bad. There's a reason why many have gone to disc cutters for haying. The old sickle bars were/are a PITA. One tip is to make sure the knife on the outside end has a double point. If it isn't you can always replace the single with a double. They don't jam up quite as bad.

With a newer double action bar (knives and guards both move) it's rare that you have to stop.

 

[patrickg]

Dave and Darren too, Thanks for the posts guys. As I write this I am fighting hard to hold back the tears... Seems my Knight In Shinning Armor was a slick operator. Apparently he was giving out his buisness card with contact info like candy on haloween. No wonder the guy with the cutter couldn't be contacted because his phone was busy. Half the county was calling trying to get the cutter. It is entirely likely that it was sold before I got his number. Apparently it too was a part of the estate sale but they wanted to sell it "fixed price" not at the auction. I was really and truly bummed out. A little more honest disclosure on the part of the "shill" handing out buisness cards would have been appreciated even though it wouldn't have been likely to change the outcome. BUMMER!!!!

The Thing, in retrospect I probably should have been willing to go higher and just store it in the barn till I could get time to mess with it. I hear the gas leak comment. It has a gasoline fueled heater in the trunk (standard equip). the engine compartment and trunk on this one seemed really clean, not spiffed up for the sale, just not abused. Interior and metal top (no soft top supplied) were real rough.

I'm sure this isn't a unique observation but here is an actual example... On interstate highway I-8 westbound out of the desert up into the mountains east of San Diego there are a lot of scorched places in the slow lane and the paved shoulder. Some required paving repairs but many didn't. These are where car fires heated the pavement (not concrete but sort of blacktop based material). Many of these, the majority I strongly suspect, are VW's in some sort of Viking like self immolation where after having left Wolsburg and lived in the US they are now seeking Valhalla as a fiting end to their "struting and fretting their hour upon the stage" and will be heard no more.

Ozarker, thanks for the tip, it wouldn't have mattered as it was probably sold before I heard about it. I don't think I have a fax application on this 'puter but the modem would support it.

Oh well.....

Patrick

 

[Steve_in_Ont]

I just purchased a Ford 601 (?) 7 ft SB for $500CDN (about $350USD). Pretty good shape. There also was a similar mower in yesterday's tractors photo adds for $450, in MD.

These Ford mowers are 3ph mounted.

 

[Ozarker]

Most versions of windows came with a copy of Quick Link II that you just have to install and set up. Go to Windows Help, look for Fax and it will probably tell you how to set it up to send a receive faxes.

 

[patrickg]

I'm in south central Oklalhoma and would drive anywhre within a couple hundred miles to pay $500 or more for a good working sicklebar mower that had parts still available. MD is a tad far and I bet shipping one of these would be significant bucks.

Patrick

 

[patrickg]

Ozarker, Thinks for the tips. I'm running Win 98 and searched for quick link, no joy. Tried Win Help, searched on fax, no joy. Found a dialer I didn't know I had so it wasn't a total loss.

Patrick

 

[Ozarker]

Bummer. I guess you got the dialer instead of the fax software in your OEM version. I got a full install version of 98 from MS with both dialers and fax software. And my OEM version of ME has the fax software as well.

Of course I don't use it very much except to fax quick text messages. I have a Cannon Fax machine I do most faxing with and I receive faxes through Call Wave on line. It receives faxes, turns them into e-mails and send them to my e-mail box. That way I can get my faxes with my laptop when I'm on the road.