Homemade Swather (windrower)

[stanggt88]

Hi first of all this is my first post. Great site!!

I was wondering if anyone has or is thinking about making a homemade windrower. I thought about getting an old combine and converting it to run the disc mower up front... then in winter have it power a snowblower.

Any ideas or suggestions??

Thanks!

 

[rambler]

If you are going ot get an old combine, might as well get an old swather to start with? Was at a consignment sale last summer, bought one of the 3 JD 800 swathers there, all went $800-1500, ready to run.

Combines are belt powered, and don't work so well in very cold temps , not the best traction and visibility from what I hear for those that have done such a winter machine.

Not trying to discourage, just putting out some thoughts.

--->Paul

 

[stanggt88]

Wow i didnt know they could be picked up that cheap. I was thinking about making my own machine...using a 2.3L Turbo Ford car engine that makes 200hp. Then having it power a 10 or 12' homemade disk mower. I have access to equipment to use to build stuff like this (lathes, Laser, Plasma, mill, etc.). I have more time then money...but at 800 to 1500 dollars I could prob make that work. I still think it would be a cool idea to have it power a snowblower also... I could fix traction issues with chains?

 

[Egon]

Combines are belt powered, and don't work so well in very cold temps , not the best traction and visibility from what I hear for those that have done such a winter machine.
QUOTE]

Some of the old swathers were belt driven. Thinkyou'll be looking pretty hard to find a belt driven Combine.

 

[NormL]

Combines are belt powered, and don't work so well in very cold temps , not the best traction and visibility from what I hear for those that have done such a winter machine.
QUOTE]

Some of the old swathers were belt driven. Thinkyou'll be looking pretty hard to find a belt driven Combine.

Yup! The SP Massey Harris units we had in the fifties and sixties wer belt jobs. That was how we selected the variable speed. The older ones were not hydraulically controlled and took more muscle to operate.

 

[flusher]

Hi first of all this is my first post. Great site!!

I was wondering if anyone has or is thinking about making a homemade windrower. I thought about getting an old combine and converting it to run the disc mower up front... then in winter have it power a snowblower.

Any ideas or suggestions??

Thanks!

I'd start with an old windrower that has the auger or drapes already installed and then do the mods to replace the sicklebar mower with your disc mower.

One of my neighbors gave me this old MF44 windrower (drape type).



It has a Continental gas engine. I'll get around to it one of these days.

Another neighbor uses this Hesston swather on his 30 acre alfalfa field. It's diesel powered, sicklebar mower, auger swather.



You see this type on eBay pretty often.

Good luck

 

[Egon]

Yup! The SP Massey Harris units we had in the fifties and sixties wer belt jobs. That was how we selected the variable speed. The older ones were not hydraulically controlled and took more muscle to operate.

Gotta pull another size seven outa me mouth!:thumbsup:

 

[CowboyRon]

I'd start with an old windrower that has the auger or drapes already installed and then do the mods to replace the sicklebar mower with your disc mower.

One of my neighbors gave me this old MF44 windrower (drape type).

<img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=252911"/><img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=252912"/>

It has a Continental gas engine. I'll get around to it one of these days.

Another neighbor uses this Hesston swather on his 30 acre alfalfa field. It's diesel powered, sicklebar mower, auger swather.

<img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=252914"/>

You see this type on eBay pretty often.

Good luck

We used to have a heston windrower like that when I was young. I don't see them anymore and I wonder why? I would like to get one in the near future myself.

 

[flusher]

We used to have a heston windrower like that when I was young. I don't see them anymore and I wonder why? I would like to get one in the near future myself.

Don't know why. Another neighbor uses one of these old Hesstons on his 200 acre hayfield (oats, beardless wheat). As I said before, these old swathers show up all the time on eBay and sell for a few thousand dollars. I'd expect that you'd have to put in another thousand or two to get one of these old gems running reliably.

 

[stanggt88]

That would be a great start to what i want to build. I am new to disc mowers but from what I have heard they they are more reliable and able to be driven faster then sickle bar type...but as a down side I believe they require more HP, please correct me if Im wrong as this is just what I have heard.

Since this project of either building a windrower machine or rebuilding a factory unit wont be a "finish in a week or two" thing, I think I might build my own pull behind 6' or 7' disc mower. And HOPEFULLY be able to run it with a 30hp diesel cub cadet as it just sips the fuel.

If I could get some info/pictures on how the disc mowers function and how the cutting discs "hang" from the frame I could start designing out the mower. And of course show everyone the project in various stages of completion

Thanks for all the help!!!!

 

[flusher]

That would be a great start to what i want to build. I am new to disc mowers but from what I have heard they they are more reliable and able to be driven faster then sickle bar type...but as a down side I believe they require more HP, please correct me if Im wrong as this is just what I have heard.

Since this project of either building a windrower machine or rebuilding a factory unit wont be a "finish in a week or two" thing, I think I might build my own pull behind 6' or 7' disc mower. And HOPEFULLY be able to run it with a 30hp diesel cub cadet as it just sips the fuel.

If I could get some info/pictures on how the disc mowers function and how the cutting discs "hang" from the frame I could start designing out the mower. And of course show everyone the project in various stages of completion

Thanks for all the help!!!!

6 or 7 ft disc mower on a 30hp Cub--won't work. Your pto hp is probably around 25 hp and disc mowers generally take about 6-8 pto hp per foot.

New Disc Mowers

And you need to consider the weight of the disc mower which is cantilevered off the 3pt hitch on your Cub compared to the weight of the Cub and the lift capacity of the 3pt hitch.

Correct: sicklebar mowers take considerably less pto hp/foot, more like 3-4.

 

[stanggt88]

I realize that it hangs off the 3pt and puts alot of force on the rear. but I was thinking about using large casters to help support the weight of the mower. Ill sketch something up in Cad this weekend and post it on here as to what I am thinking.

Thanks for the link and input!!!!

 

[jonyyuma]

Hey Flusher, that a nice looking Rambler in your barn. Does it run?

 

[flusher]

Hey Flusher, that a nice looking Rambler in your barn. Does it run?

It's my neighbor's. Not running.

 

[NormL]

Gotta pull another size seven outa me mouth!:thumbsup:

Nah!:laughing: Steak tastes better.:thumbsup: Fits better, too.

 

[Egon]

Gotta admit Steak would be much nicer than one of my Redwing workboots!:laughing::thumbsup:

 

[rlneal]

Here is a link to an article about a guy in South Dakota who built a windrower from an old combine. He can cut 32 feet in one pass.
FARM SHOW - "Articulated Double Windrower" Built Out Of Old Combine

 

[CowboyRon]

Here is a link to an article about a guy in South Dakota who built a windrower from an old combine. He can cut 32 feet in one pass.
FARM SHOW - "Articulated Double Windrower" Built Out Of Old Combine

Unbelievable, man that's some setup. 20 acres an hour

 

[dieselscout80]

Here is a link to an article about a guy in South Dakota who built a windrower from an old combine. He can cut 32 feet in one pass.
FARM SHOW - "Articulated Double Windrower" Built Out Of Old Combine

Here are some pics of that unit or another just about like it.


With disc mower headers it would really be a cutting machine.

 

[CliffordK]

Around here, the conditioner types of mowers have fallen out of favor.
In 1980 we had someone mow our field with a self propelled mower/conditioner, but since then, the mowers have always been tractor implements.

The Disc mowers apparently eat up a lot more HP than the old sickle bar mowers, so depending on the size you're interested in, 30 HP may be a little light. unless you have a second engine on your mower.

For my Kuhn disc mower, the cutter bar is more complex than you might think. Each disc rotates in the opposite direction. And, the discs are all geared so they can be synchronized, so the long part passes the narrow part on the nearby cutter.

You may choose to rebuild a cutter bar, but I doubt you will want to make one from scratch in your home shop.

If you just want the hay piled up a little bit, but not conditioned, you may look at the drum mowers. They would be a very simple design that will automatically windrow the grass to some extent. And, if you are wanting to build one from scratch, there are a lot fewer parts than a disc mower.

I like the photos of the mower/combine, although there are certainly other "options" if one wants a wide mower. A couple of brands make front mount mowers, as well as wing mount mowers.

See:
Krone North America -*EasyCut 9140

For "Gang" implements, I'm hoping to drive my self propelled baler home tomorrow (more notes to follow). I have wondered if one could gang tow the self-propelled baler + another baler, but I would imagine driving the two would be tricky.