Sickle Bar Barn Find - Sickle Bar Mower

[3v0]

Question on ledger plates - i was cleaning the rust off of the guards and even when I get the rust and grind a little on the bottom it is impossible to see where the ledger plate rivet comes through. The top side has the flathead of the rivet - am I going to have to drill each of these rivets out from the topside? Is there an easier way?

I know you replaced the bar but this may still be of interest.

When dad replaced all the plates on a bar he would use a chisel to knock the heads off then drive them out with a punch. In this day and age I would use an air chisel. I think he had a bit of railroad rail that he worked on. I used a tool similar to what is mentioned above for replacing them in the field.

Glad to hear you got it working. Have fun.

 

[Creamer]

When dad replaced all the plates on a bar he would use a chisel to knock the heads off then drive them out with a punch. In this day and age I would use an air chisel. I think he had a bit of railroad rail that he worked on. I used a tool similar to what is mentioned above for replacing them in the field.

Grew up on a ranch and have used sickle bar mowers a lot. We a section of railroad rail about 12' long that we turned over on its side and laid the sickle bar on it and hit the sections on the back edge - about one hit per rivet and we had a 9' sickle cleaned off in about 10 minutes. Then we had a short section that sanding up worked great for putting the sections back on. We also had what I now know - from reading things here - a guard repair holder - which was a little anvil for replacing sections in the field. I have found myself many times wishing I had those two!

 

[Creamer]

When dad replaced all the plates on a bar he would use a chisel to knock the heads off then drive them out with a punch. In this day and age I would use an air chisel. I think he had a bit of railroad rail that he worked on. I used a tool similar to what is mentioned above for replacing them in the field.

Grew up on a ranch and have used sickle bar mowers a lot. We a section of railroad rail about 12' long that we turned over on its side and laid the sickle bar on it and hit the sections on the back edge - about one hit per rivet and we had a 9' sickle cleaned off in about 10 minutes. Then we had a short section that sanding up worked great for putting the sections back on. We also had what I now know - from reading things here - a guard repair holder - which was a little anvil for replacing sections in the field. I have found myself many times wishing I had those two!

 

[Creamer]

Today I did some real mowing of grass for hay and it cut like I remember old sickle bars doing - so much better than bush hogging! Quicker too! Everything just lays so nice and smooth.

Last week I mowed around the edge of my pond even letting the end go right in the water - it worked great!

 

[davel8257]

Must be the alignment of the planets -- I just found a NH 451 sickle bar mower that's been in the barn for 15 years. I paid $300 for it, brought it home, hooked it up and works great. I want to mow the road side ditch in front of the house with risking a roll-over.

 

[Creamer]

They are great for simple things. I love how they cut things off short and clean and can adapt to almost any terrain. I have grown tired of every few years having to do a major removal of brush as it grows in from tree lines, the edge of my pond, and such. These things will stick back under the overhanging brush and cut off all the saplings, multiflora rose, etc. without me fighting tree branches.

Congrats on your purchase!

 

[davel8257]

I'm working through some setup issues -- I've posted a couple of problems elsewhere. But I agree, Sicklebar cutters are very efficient means of dropping weeds and tall grass with the least amount of horse power needed.

I am very careful about keeping my hands and fingers away from the sharp knives when raising and lowered the arm. The crank can turn just a bit and result in the loss of a tip of a finger in the blink of an eye.

I'm glad my bar is 'only' 7ft long -- it's quite a bit of weight to heft up and down. I'd hate to have to lift a 8 or 9 footer by hand!

 

[Creamer]

I grew up with nine footers and it really is not much of an issue. In my high school years I ran a double nine foot bar setup. It sure made mowing a lot faster. Cutting 800-1000 acres with a nine foot bar took a while.

What I have now is also a seven foot bar now as it is all I want for a lot of the trimming that I need to do.

 

[davel8257]

I had some free time last Saturday and put a coat of primer and red paint on. I should have more sanding than I did, but I at least slowed down the rust.

 

[Creamer]

I need to do that but I have been too busy with other projects. I have used my sickle bar almost weekly. Sure glad i bought it!