Am I using this sickle bar right?

   / Am I using this sickle bar right? #1  

Birch Hill Farm

Bronze Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2011
Messages
98
Location
Kentucky
Tractor
International 444
I have a 6ft massey furguson sickle bar mower its an old wooden arm pitman drive #32. I am new to farming and have some questions on if I am using it correctly. Every time I use it it breaks something or something comes loose and this usually happens at least several times in the course of cutting maybe 15 acres of fescue and clover hay. Over the course of 4 hay cuttings I have broken 2 of the pitman arms, lost 2 of the teeth stone guards, lost 1 of the individual teeth and broke the bar the teeth are riveted to, I have since welded it and re broke again today. The bar and teeth where put on new last year and before each use I tighten all the bolts and grease everything. I wondering if I am running it at too high a rpm? It does seem kind of noisy at speed, lots of clatter. The tractor is an old international 444 and according to the info I found on it has a 540rpm pto. When I am using the sickle bar I run it at pretty much full throttle in 2nd gear low, does that seem right? IS it just the old age of the equipment that causes so much issue? or am I doing something wrong in the use? Thanks for any help with this
-jon
 
   / Am I using this sickle bar right? #2  
Not withstanding the broken guards and blades which likely were caused by rocks caught in the teeth. I have never had a broken bar but again this must be from what ever broke the teeth and guards likely put some stress on it although the wooden pitman should be the weak link, not the blade bar.
I think you would be much better off gearing up a gear and throttling back. There is no need to run the engine full throttle with a sickle bar mower. I dont have any experience with the MF but with an old Ford mower, I used to cut johnsons grass hay in road gear at about half throttle. I would be 50 feet away before the big stems fell. Finer grass like bermuda might take a bit slower speed but with a 4 speed tranny, I would run in 3rd gear and not more than 3/4 throttle and maybe even half throttle
Again I think you are running it too high throttle and stressing the pitman, slow the engine down to mach 1 and try it. You only need the PTO speed to be high enough for a clean cut, as long as the grass is cutting and not dragging over you arent going too fast and the engine speed is high enough.
 
   / Am I using this sickle bar right?
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Thanks for the reply! I will certainly try a faster gear with lower rpm on the pto. I also, have an old massey furguson 12 square bailer and had the same question on it, if I should be running full throttle with it or not.
 
   / Am I using this sickle bar right? #4  
I also run mine about 1/2 throttle or a little more and adjust my speed with the gear selection as Gary said. I wouldn't think the high PTO speed would break it unless it is in poor shape but it is a lot more vibration and wear. Rocks are the only thing that has caused any breakage for me. I found that lengthening my top link to roll the bar back a little made it ride over the small rocks better because the teeth and bar are angled up some. It cuts slightly higher on the stem but only slightly.
 
   / Am I using this sickle bar right? #5  
I've never run mine at full throttle. I've got a Deere semimounted (can't remember if it's a 37 or 38) on the back of a Deere '49 A. If you're always having to tighten things up, I'm thinking you're running PTO too fast, or you've got something, like the flywheel, way out of balance. I've also never had the wooden pitman break, but that might just be luck.
Try setting the pitch of the cutter bar so it's nose up. Found that helps keep sections and gaurds from breaking, as it floats over stuff better.
Just my thoughts.
 
   / Am I using this sickle bar right?
  • Thread Starter
#6  
thanks, Im sure my full throttle runs must be a big part of my problems.
 
   / Am I using this sickle bar right? #7  
Most of your breakage does seem to be from "collision" with with rocks or something too tough for the mower. As stated before the pitman should be the weak link but it will break if you run the mower at too much of an angle also. It sounds like you are trying to do a thorough pre-use maintenance and at a ground speed of 2.5 mph in 2L you really aren't moving at "Ramming Speed".

Your Owners Manual should tell you what engine RPM will give you 540 @ the PTO. My Fordson's PTO speed is attained at 1200 RPM. A Ford 4000's needs 2000 RPM to get 540 @ the PTO. It is not necessarily the same for every tractor. Your IH 444's PTO speed may very well be @ 2000 RPM (rated RPM) but if not the mower probably isn't rated for much more than the 540 PTO RPM.

One thing you might check is the angle of the blade to the ground. If it is tipped forward so that the rock guards dig into the ground when the mower is in float then that could be one reason for the problems you are experiencing. You may need to extend your top link to get the angle correct.
 
   / Am I using this sickle bar right? #8  
Welding those bars back together never seems to hold - they get such a shock of compression/stretch many times per minute, the welded area s always going to be a weak area, it will always re-break there.

Might want to order a new sickle bar.

They also make patch kits where a bar is rivoted into the area to hold together; but with all the breakage, think a new bar is the way to go?

I too run my sickle at 2/3 - 3/4 pto speed, usually get along fine.

Ground speed is a tough one, sometimes slowing down helps, sometimes speeding up actually helps, depends on the moisture and stem thickness and so on.

--->Paul
 
 

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