Sickle Bar Section Rivets vs Bolts

[sjbrunk0]

I'm replacing all the sections on my sickle bar, and went to find rivets for it... the rivets I can find at the farm store down the street seem to be too small in diameter.

The ones I removed were really snug, had to grind off the tops and beat them out. The ones I've been able to find are quite loose and don't seem right.

They also have bolts & nuts which apparently are designed for use with sections. I'm a little skeptical, are there pros / cons for bolts versus rivets?

I'd sure like to get my sickle bar back together in the next couple of days, the John Deere store spent a week and a half trying to transfer rivets from a different store and then still didn't have them... and the store down the street is way cheaper.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can share.

 

[beenthere]

Use the Deere rivets or the bolts (wouldn't have them if they didn't work, I wouldn't think). Keep the pressure on the Dealer, or go to an ag dealer for the parts. The right ones shouldn't be so hard to come by.

But remember the rivets you removed are swelled in diam from hammering them home. So comparing the diam's won't be the same to new.

 

[js5020]

I wouldnt waste my time with rivets, bolts are the only way to go,, once ya use em you'll never go back.

 

[MMagis]

We always used rivets back in our sickle bar days, but I can't see any reason not to use the bolts. Sure seems like it would be a lot easier and faster.

 

[AKfish]

I don't have a good idea of what the bolts you're considering look like or how they fit the sickle sections and the cutter bar.

However, one consideration I would have regarding the bolts is the tendency that they might pull and hold the hay onto the cutter bar and clog/plug the guards.

Sickle mowers are "plug prone" to begin with and anything that might make that situation worse would be a concern - IMO.

That said, if the bolts are very low profile with a rounded head; like a carriage bolt - then, it's not likely gonna be a problem and you would have a much easier job of changing out sections, etc.

AKfish

 

[Mace Canute]

I wouldnt waste my time with rivets, bolts are the only way to go,, once ya use em you'll never go back.

X 2! :thumbsup:

 

[flusher]

I'm replacing all the sections on my sickle bar, and went to find rivets for it... the rivets I can find at the farm store down the street seem to be too small in diameter.

The ones I removed were really snug, had to grind off the tops and beat them out. The ones I've been able to find are quite loose and don't seem right.

They also have bolts & nuts which apparently are designed for use with sections. I'm a little skeptical, are there pros / cons for bolts versus rivets?

I'd sure like to get my sickle bar back together in the next couple of days, the John Deere store spent a week and a half trying to transfer rivets from a different store and then still didn't have them... and the store down the street is way cheaper.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can share.

I replaced the rivets on my old 7-ft MF31 sicklebar with nuts and bolts.

First I had to replace the steel bar that carries the sections (and drill about 60 holes) since the original bar was bent and twisted



Nuts and bolts installed




Hope this helps.
Good luck.

 

[ctlguy]

bolts work fine for these the only thing you need to check is sometimes older style original hold down clips do not have a high enough arch to allow for the extra room needed for the bolts so new style hold down clips may be in order.

 

[Barry Bowen]

Bolts are clearly the way to go as long as they are the right type for a sickle blade. Watch clearance on the hold downs. Forget the rivets unless you like doing lots of extra work.

 

[beenthere]

flusher
Your third pic shows extra length on the bolts used to hold the sections, whereas the last pic shows the bolts flush with the nuts (that appear to be lock nuts). Did you change bolts along the way?

Looks like you replaced a number of parts, and have a good rebuilt mower now.

 

[flusher]

flusher
Your third pic shows extra length on the bolts used to hold the sections, whereas the last pic shows the bolts flush with the nuts (that appear to be lock nuts). Did you change bolts along the way?

Looks like you replaced a number of parts, and have a good rebuilt mower now.

The short bolts are used to hold most of the outboard sickle sections.
The long bolts hold the cutter bar and the inboard sections to the gizmo that connects the bar to the mower drive unit. Here are a couple of closeup shots

 

[sjbrunk0]

So I went to an ag dealer and they had the rivets in stock. They measured exactly the same as the ones I bought at the farm store... it turns out they are the right rivets after all. I got a little more aggressive with the hammer and they are working great!
Since I've already got the rivets I'm gonna follow through with them.
Thank you all so much for your help!

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Cast my vote to rivits. A 4lb hammer, an anvil, a nail set (punch) and years of practice.....Knock off the old ones, peen the new ones....back in the field....No issues w/bolts, I just like the old way of doing things sometimes.

 

[Edward. S]

X 2! :thumbsup:

Make that 3! :thumbsup:

 

[AKfish]

Cast my vote to rivits. A 4lb hammer, an anvil, a nail set (punch) and years of practice.....Knock off the old ones, peen the new ones....back in the field....No issues w/bolts, I just like the old way of doing things sometimes.

Sometimes the "old way" is the simplest. For me, I really try to adhere to the KISS principle...

That said; I'd wager that there's less than 20% of the members here on TBN that could point out the "anvil" in their shop or garage!

AKfish

 

[oldmech]

Hi! Oh! Boy! Bolts for sickle bar. Rivets are a lot better. Fit more tight and cannot got out. Very easy to repair with good tools. I can remove and replace a knive in less 5 min. I put the sickle bar with knives toward down in jaws of my vise and with my 2.5 pounds hammer I hit the top of knive The shock put down knive and cut two rivets in same time. I clear hole with punch. I think today few person repair sickle bar they buy a new one. The How to Do is losted Good Luck! Oldmech

 

[soulasphil]

My sickle bar uses both rivets and bolts. The rivets are for the part that slides under guide plates. I include 2 pictures of the time when the new sickle bar broke because these guide plates had been made too tight at the JD dealer's (they replaced the complete assembly in a matter of days). There doesn't seem to be much trouble with the bolts catching grass or branches.

 

[sjbrunk0]

I like the simplicity of the rivets too... it just seems more reliable to just have one steel piece holding it all together.
So can someone explain taking them apart? I think I may have done it the hard way. I used a body grinder to grind off the end and then drove 'em through with a punch. It worked fairly well but I guess if the grinding isn't necessary I'm interested to learn about that.

 

[beenthere]

sj
oldmech described an alternative way.
Shear the rivets by using the big hammer to drive off the sections (holding the backbone of the sickle bar on top of a large vise). Will take a good heavy vise and a solid bench that doesn't bounce around. Visualize hitting the back of a section and driving it down between the jaws of the vise. Takes a strong arm and big hammer and a clean hit. And some goggles too.

 

[Tx Jim]

beenthere
You left out to only have vise lightly touching section but not tight enough so section won't fall out after rivets are sheared off.The vise and hammer method has been used as long as I can remember and I'm getting old.