Replaced some SickleBar Guard Teeth

[Gordon Gould]

I use my Sickle Bar as a roadside mower so it has a hard life when the grass is high and I can't see. Once a year, if needed, I take the bar apart and replace any broken knife sections or guard/guide teeth. This year it was only broken teeth from trying to cut a rock. It comes apart easy. The opposed two moving bars slide out of the main bar after they are unbolted from their drive levers. The knife section bar slides out from the tip end and the tooth guard bar slides out the other way from the mower head end.



Each knife section is fastened to it's bar with two flat head rivets and each pair of tooth guides has four rivets. I had a couple broken teeth and needed to replace two pair of tooth guides.



Just drill and punch out the old rivets, Put on the new parts and use a ball peen hammer to clinch up the new rivets. If the heads are to high grind them flush. Here it is all back together. Pretty simple.



gg

 

[Steave]

Thanks for the reminder to get my old sickle mower out and patch a little. I use it for roadside and ditch cutting also and don't worry about sharp blades anymore as long as they're not broke they'll cut. I do have one rock guard broke on the very end but its been that way for a few years. Mine is the horizontal cut only but it works for me. Its and old Ford 501. Tough ole mower and takes me having to use the overhead lift in my shop to mount it but then just soak it in oil and grease and cut away. It's old and slow but beats a weed eater hands down.

One day I'd like to maybe move up to something like you have but the price of it for what I'm using it for doesn't justify it.

 

[Gordon Gould]

One day I'd like to maybe move up to something like you have but the price of it for what I'm using it for doesn't justify it.

I hear you on that. It is unbelievable how expensive they are now. I bought mine in 1999 and since then the price for the same unit has tripled.

gg

 

[vulcancowboy]

That looks like my Sitrex mower. Mine needs some work & new parts, hope to get to it this winter.

 

[ovrszd]

I bought a Ford 515 for $150 and spent another $150 tuning it up. Expect many years of abusive roadbank cutting from it.

 

[vsteel]

I use my Sickle Bar as a roadside mower so it has a hard life when the grass is high and I can't see. Once a year, if needed, I take the bar apart and replace any broken knife sections or guard/guide teeth. This year it was only broken teeth from trying to cut a rock. It comes apart easy. The opposed two moving bars slide out of the main bar after they are unbolted from their drive levers. The knife section bar slides out from the tip end and the tooth guard bar slides out the other way from the mower head end.

Each knife section is fastened to it's bar with two flat head rivets and each pair of tooth guides has four rivets. I had a couple broken teeth and needed to replace two pair of tooth guides.

Just drill and punch out the old rivets, Put on the new parts and use a ball peen hammer to clinch up the new rivets. If the heads are to high grind them flush. Here it is all back together. Pretty simple.

gg

Once at the start of the year we would take a grinder and touch up the side of the guards to make sure they were nice and sharp. After a few times we would then replace the guards but we could get several years out of a set of guards.

We never drilled out the rivets, just took a large shoe grinder and zipped off the heads, then we were able to punch them out. As a kid that was my job to pound out the rivets and replace all of the sections and beat in the new rivets. We had a few sickle bars and would make up 3 or 4 at the start of haying season. 14 feet at a time.

 

[ovrszd]

I'll try to describe this so it's understandable.

Fastest way to remove sections. Bench vise. Open the jaws just wide enough for the section to slip thru, point down. Not so wide that the sickle bar will also slip thru. Position the bad section, tip down in the loose vice with the section bar resting on one vise jaw. Smack the top end of the section you want removed with a shop hammer. This action will shear both rivets. Depending on accuracy and personal strength this will be accomplished with 2 or 3 strikes of the hammer. Job done.

 

[countrybumpkin]

I'll try to describe this so it's understandable. Fastest way to remove sections. Bench vise. Open the jaws just wide enough for the section to slip thru, point down. Not so wide that the sickle bar will also slip thru. Position the bad section, tip down in the loose vice with the section bar resting on one vise jaw. Smack the top end of the section you want removed with a shop hammer. This action will shear both rivets. Depending on accuracy and personal strength this will be accomplished with 2 or 3 strikes of the hammer. Job done.

Yep this works great, we did this for years on our combine headers. Made short work of 20 - 30 foot bars

 

[Gordon Gould]

I'll try to describe this so it's understandable.

Fastest way to remove sections. Bench vise. Open the jaws just wide enough for the section to slip thru, point down. Not so wide that the sickle bar will also slip thru. Position the bad section, tip down in the loose vice with the section bar resting on one vise jaw. Smack the top end of the section you want removed with a shop hammer. This action will shear both rivets. Depending on accuracy and personal strength this will be accomplished with 2 or 3 strikes of the hammer. Job done.

Sounds like a good, simple, and quick method. Thanks for the tip. I would have never thought of that myself I don't think.

gg

 

[ovrszd]

Yeah it's so ridiculously simple that it's not thought of
Rivets are soft by nature and easily sheared.

Being from the "Show-Me" state of Missouri, Bumpkin and I paid attention.