Sickle Bar Barn Find - Sickle Bar Mower

[Creamer]

It does have a conditioner hitch that I am planning on taking off which will help but the only other option I can think of is adding weight as you suggested. The right tire on the mower is a long ways forward to have room for the break away feature but this puts the pivot point too far forward as well. Basically in front of the tires is just the drawbar and the PTO shaft. The whole drive mechanism, cutter bar, break away mechanism, gearbox, etc are behind the pivot point.

I never thought about this when I bought it. We did not have this problem with the JD37 and IH 1100 we had at home when i was growing up.

 

[Creamer]

OK Yelbike, here are the videos of me cutting around my pond. Be careful how you talk about her though - I am not sure she would like to be called "old iron". The way she runs I don't think she thinks of herself that way>

20130811 1548281] - YouTube
20130811 1546241] - YouTube

 

[Creamer]

Here are some better videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqsd8yIGMXA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKKeCkr9Jck

 

[Creamer]

Here are some better videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqsd8yIGMXA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKKeCkr9Jck

 

[R W]

I tried hooking it up to my Ford 1710 this evening and it is obvious the drawbar is too short. .

From the end of the (tractor) PTO shaft to the centre of the drawbar pin there is a correct distance that trailing PTO machines should be hitched at, the machine
manufacturer or dealership should be able to tell you this.
Often the tractor drawbar is close enough, if not a special hitch may have to be made for the tractor to obtain the correct distance.
Altering the length of the drawbar on the machine will not work.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Here are some better videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqsd8yIGMXA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKKeCkr9Jck

Good job. Beautiful place!

 

[Verticaltrx]

Thanks for the videos. I've mowed many acres with my uncles NH 455 in years past, and have a NH 451 that I mow all my hay with nowadays. They are some of the best sickle bar mowers ever made IMO. I would really like to get one of the trailer type mowers, but they just weren't as popular in this part of the country. The hitch/wheel setup on those is a little odd, but man will they turn a nice square corner (better than the 3pt model even).

One bit of advice, and it may just be the sound in the video, but it sounds like your mower is rattling a lot louder than a NH mower generally should. I had mine do that an it turned out the bolt that holds the knife to the drive plates was getting loose and wallowing out the hole. Wear in the bearings can also cause a louder rattling noise. I doubt there is any problem with yours, but I'd check those things just in case.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Thanks for the videos. I've mowed many acres with my uncles NH 455 in years past, and have a NH 451 that I mow all my hay with nowadays. They are some of the best sickle bar mowers ever made IMO. I would really like to get one of the trailer type mowers, but they just weren't as popular in this part of the country. The hitch/wheel setup on those is a little odd, but man will they turn a nice square corner (better than the 3pt model even).

One bit of advice, and it may just be the sound in the video, but it sounds like your mower is rattling a lot louder than a NH mower generally should. I had mine do that an it turned out the bolt that holds the knife to the drive plates was getting loose and wallowing out the hole. Wear in the bearings can also cause a louder rattling noise. I doubt there is any problem with yours, but I'd check those things just in case.

I noticed that noise too. You might to see where the slop is coming from. As always, keep your fingers out of the knife sections if you like them.

 

[Creamer]

From the end of the (tractor) PTO shaft to the centre of the drawbar pin there is a correct distance that trailing PTO machines should be hitched at, the machine
manufacturer or dealership should be able to tell you this.
Often the tractor drawbar is close enough, if not a special hitch may have to be made for the tractor to obtain the correct distance.
Altering the length of the drawbar on the machine will not work.

The drawbar is way too short. I put a bar in the 3 pt and then locked the 3 pt down as it has no downforce and mower is tailheavy. This made it all work. It is kind of a pain to hook up but other than that it works fine.

 

[Creamer]

One bit of advice, and it may just be the sound in the video, but it sounds like your mower is rattling a lot louder than a NH mower generally should. I had mine do that an it turned out the bolt that holds the knife to the drive plates was getting loose and wallowing out the hole. Wear in the bearings can also cause a louder rattling noise. I doubt there is any problem with yours, but I'd check those things just in case.

I agree that it is louder than it was last year and I need to check it. Two things that are making noise although not the rattle you are talking about are the PTO shield and the bolt at the sickle head is slightly long and rubbing just a little making a knocking noise. Still I need to find the rattle.