BUsh Hog PT5 sickle bar for ditch and bank cutting?

[Creamer]

There are a lot of used 1970's vintage sickle bar mowers available. Nobody uses them for hay anymore except out west where some people call the discbines firestarters. If you get an IH, New Holland or New Idea brand that do not have a pitman stick for driving the sickle (they have a wobble head or gearbox) the sickle bar can be straight up vertical to 70 degrees or so below horizontal. They work great for ditches and pond edges etc. Parts are still available at all farm stores. New Holland even sells new ones but they are the same basic machine as they made in the 70s.

As for which brand is better that is up to debate. If i was a farmer i would choose the IH because the gearbox will last longer and at PTO speeds drives the sickle at about 1900 strokes per minute. The New Holland and New Idea wobble boxes are not quite as durable for heavy use but if you are mowing ditches and a thousand acres of hay who cares. They only drive the sickle at about 1700 strokes per minute so you cannot cut quite as fast but then again - you don't need to - most people will not notice the difference. The nice thing about a wobble box versus a gearbox is that the wobble box is just a series of greased pins so you do not have to worry about water infiltrating the gearbox oil.

Personally I own a New Holland 455 - a trailer type. Because of the slopes i cut on along my pond I did not want a sickle bar hanging out there off of my tractor. It works great! I paid $300 for it and had to put another $130 into it for all new sickle and some guards and a few other pieces.

 

[Sodo]

RG1 that Befco unit is $5,000 but looks like a nice unit.

I have a Massey MF31 sickle mower with a balanced wobble box but the drive pulley is broken off. I have a plan to weld it (working on it now). Been searching for months but these parts are no longer available for the MF31.

I need an adjustable sheave, like on that IH 1300. I'll probably start with a boat winch like gfowler, but ghenges that hydr cyl looks interesting.

 

[RG1]

RG1 that Befco unit is $5,000 but looks like a nice unit.

I have a Massey MF31 sickle mower with a balanced wobble box but the drive pulley is broken off. I have a plan to weld it (working on it now). Been searching for months but these parts are no longer available for the MF31.

I need an adjustable sheave, like on that IH 1300. I'll probably start with a boat winch like gfowler, but ghenges that hydr cyl looks interesting.

Nope, none of them are free Price depends on where you live in the country to some degree, (just checked and they are $4692 here)but still, it is almost half of what the OP said he was quoted for the BH brand unit. If he wants new with a warranty, they are worth looking at.

 

[AaronS]

$5k to $9k....wow. The used unit on local Craigslist for $650 is looking pretty attractive.

 

[Sodo]

Yup depends how much you intend to use it, and if it makes you a return on investment. I went the other way, bought a sickle for $150 thinking I could repair it for $200 which may still be correct,, but its taking far, far more time. I'll have to value my time at $20/hr to end up with a $650 sickle. And thats hoping it doesn't break soon.

 

[Coyote machine]

There are a lot of used 1970's vintage sickle bar mowers available. Nobody uses them for hay anymore except out west where some people call the discbines firestarters. If you get an IH, New Holland or New Idea brand that do not have a pitman stick for driving the sickle (they have a wobble head or gearbox) the sickle bar can be straight up vertical to 70 degrees or so below horizontal. They work great for ditches and pond edges etc. Parts are still available at all farm stores. New Holland even sells new ones but they are the same basic machine as they made in the 70s.

As for which brand is better that is up to debate. If i was a farmer i would choose the IH because the gearbox will last longer and at PTO speeds drives the sickle at about 1900 strokes per minute. The New Holland and New Idea wobble boxes are not quite as durable for heavy use but if you are mowing ditches and a thousand acres of hay who cares. They only drive the sickle at about 1700 strokes per minute so you cannot cut quite as fast but then again - you don't need to - most people will not notice the difference. The nice thing about a wobble box versus a gearbox is that the wobble box is just a series of greased pins so you do not have to worry about water infiltrating the gearbox oil.

Personally I own a New Holland 455 - a trailer type. Because of the slopes i cut on along my pond I did not want a sickle bar hanging out there off of my tractor. It works great! I paid $300 for it and had to put another $130 into it for all new sickle and some guards and a few other pieces.

$300! WOW. Now that's a deal. How long ago, and where did you find it for that money?
Can you show some pics of your setup and the type of terrain you use it on?

TIA,

CM

 

[Creamer]

I bought it last year. It had not been used for at least 15. The guy was going to tear down the old building it was in and wanted it out of there. The sickle would not move when I bought it but it looked to be in generally good condition.

I bought it for my pond edge and will post a couple of videos when I get a chance. It replaced my Stihl string trimmer for my entire pond edge as I drop the end right in the water. I have some area where it is a 50 degree down angle and it works wonderfully.

I am not sure what your area is like but I missed a good working mower on a farm sale earlier last year that went for $175. Throughout our area they are cheap - the guy I bought it off of was going to send it to scrap if I didn't buy it. I had an opportunity at a NH 456 that was newer and much better condition for $500 but it was a couple of hours away and this one was a few miles away. This one also had the older mower type guards on it versus the newer haybine type double guards. These old mower type guards are tougher and I use it for reaching back under bushes along the edges of open areas to cut all the saplings and junk so that the tree line does not keep creeping out into the open area. If i give it some time it will cut 3/4" saplings off which is a whole lot easier than getting back into this mess by hand and by having the sickle bar hanging out to the side keep me on the tractor away from all the bushes. I used to do this by backing the Bush Hog into the area but that is pain backing in every five feet without a live PTO whereas this I just drive along and it cuts it all off and is much quicker, easier, and neater.

 

[Coyote machine]

I need to start looking at yard/farm yard/barn sales in my area for something like that. Good used, or fair for right price with parts obtainable....
Get some pics/vid up when you can!
Thanks for the details!:thumbsup: