Mowing Sickle mower clogging

[biker4jc]

I'm really new to this whole farming thing and I'm having some "growing pains." I'm attempting to bale the alfalfa in the field out back of the farm, and my mower cuts great for a few feet and then it clogs up. I've tried adjusting the bar angle up and down, but it still clogs. I'm using an AC WD45 and the mower is a 7 foot International. It took a little modifying, but I got it to fit and the bar seems to be running square to the tractor. It seems to work fine in lighter stuff, but in the heavy stuff it's just clogged. This alfalfa hasn't been cut this year, and there's about 40 acres of it. I could really use help on this.

 

[sweettractors]

Make sure the sickle is sharp, you have good serrated ledger plates on your mower guards, double cutting section on the end of the sickle, raise your inside and outside shoe to 2-3" and then angle up the front of cutterbar a little. Be sure you have a outside grass board/swath board on the sickle. Make sure the mower does not run in hay that has already been cut(next to the tractor). Ken Sweet

 

[biker4jc]

Thanks for that advice Ken. How much space should there be between the teeth, and the ledger plates? I'll take the sickle bar out this weekend and sharpen the teeth. I'm thinking of using a 4" grinder, will this work ok?

 

[sweettractors]

Thanks for that advice Ken. How much space should there be between the teeth, and the ledger plates?

No space. (5-10 thousandths of a inch). Sickle mowers are very similar to a pair of scissors. All close tolerances. Bring down those toe clamps onto the sickle. Ken Sweet

 

[rdbigfarmboy]

I agree. the only thing to add is gotta be dry. cut in the driest part of the day.
If it were me I would get a drum mower.

 

[biker4jc]

Sorry if this seems like a dumb question, but are those toe clamps bendable?

 

[biker4jc]

I agree. the only thing to add is gotta be dry. cut in the driest part of the day.
If it were me I would get a drum mower.

I'm kind of stuck with the equipment I have, working with a very limited budget. I'm a custom cabinet builder, in Michigan, or ........ that translates to totally unemployed.

 

[biker4jc]

I'm heading out today to check and adjust those things, I'll keep you posted.
Thanks very much for the great information!!!!

 

[DJ54]

Dad always set a block of wood under the cutter bar, directly under the hold downs, and would tap with a decent sized ball pein hammer, to adjust them down. Don't know if this is the proper way, just the way I learned.

Since I see a lot of guys now using the sickle bar mowers, just wondering if maybe Ken would know where to find the double bevel faced grinding stones..? I still have Dad's grinder, and a couple spare stones up on a shelf. But where do others find them..??

 

[pacerron]

Perhaps your ground speed is just a little bit too slow?
You need to go fast enough that the crop lays down over the bar to the rear.
Most bars with serrated teeth are considered self sharpening and you will mess them up
more than helping them with a grinder.
Most bars also have shims to adjust the clearance for wear.
If you have just a few teeth clogging and they are always the same ones, the guards over them may be bent
and need a little smack with a block of wood and hammer.
You said you tilted the front of your bar up a bit, which is good, but if you are still getting dirt in the clogged teeth
your not high enough.
If you have some pasture or even high lawn to practice on try that for an hour before getting into the alfalfa and watch
the bar to see what is really happening. Try it at different ground speeds.

 

[biker4jc]

I've had to take the mower off the tractor to use it for other things (the tractor that is) but will take all this into consideration. The clearance between the serrated teeth and the ledger plates on the rock guards seems to be about 50 to 70 thousands of an inch, I'm thinking that's too much. Also, I'm having to manufacture some kind of mounting system for this tractor and mower to really be happy together. I have tried a variety of ground speeds, but the tractor is limited to a 4 speed transmission, and 1st seems to be too fast. Have to adjust things first I think. The mower doesn't clog in high grass, but I'm guessing it's a coarser stalk and so the excess clearance is less of an issue. Is it advisable to bend the rock guards upwards to meet the sickle bar or to add pressure with the toe clips?

 

[DJ54]

Adjusting the toe clips down is the answer you're looking for. Bending the guards up, if even you could..., would only cause the sickle sections to catch on the ledger plates, and snap them off.

The finer grass is probably not being completely cut, but just gobbing up in that excess space, and making it plug. Also gobs of dead wet grass previously cut will catch on the guards, and allow it to plug.

 

[big lar]

I would echo what everyone else has said, plus add a little more: Perhaps the grass is matted down, by deer or heavy rain, so try mowing in the opposite direction or one-way...........

If it had manure spread on it too heavy(particularly chicken) it would make it very thick and heavy; if its in the shadows, it will take a lot of sun to dry the bottom out. If it hasn't been cut for several years, there would be old grass on the bottom which will cause the mower to clog.

Good luck, it can be frustrating; when I was a kid, I used to have to follow my father when he was cutting, and when he would clog the mower, I would have to clean it; I would walk circles in the field for hours doing this!

 

[Farmerford]

First, make sure the rock guards are all tight; then make sure they are all on the same level by sighting along the points; a good hit from a large hammer near the tip will move one up or down.

Second, I assume the ledgers on the rock guards have reasonably sharp edges.

Third, adjust the toe clips (called hold downs around here) to hold the sections down enough to just touch the ledgers or to have only a few thousandths of an inch clearance, as Ken Sweet said. The most desirable toe clips have an adjustment screw in addition to the two mounting bolts, and you set clearance by slightly loosening the mounting bolts and using the adjustment screw. Non-adjustable toe clips are set by the same hammer method used for the rock guards. I seem to always hit one or two too hard and have to bend them back up.

Fourth, without oiling the knife run the mower slowly to make sure no toe clip is set too tightly. Real tight ones will make a squeal. If none squeal let it run a minute or so while observing the top of the sections. The toe clips should be lightly touching the tops of the sections and you can see the rub marks. After a minute or so stop the mower and feel each toe clip and section with your hand; any that are too tight will be warm to the touch. When set properly the sections, rock guards, and toe clips should not get too hot to touch.

The 50 to 70 thousandths of an inch clearance you have now is far too much as Ken Sweet said. It also suggests that your mower (like one I bought a couple of years ago) is well worn. All the above will help, but if your ledger plates have rounded edges or your knife back (the 3/4 by 1/4 bar to which the sections are attached) is bent so that you can't hold the sections down on the ledger plates for every rock guard without tightening the toe clips so much that the blade gets hot, you will not get a good clean cut in green or rank grass. As big lar said, cutting in the middle of the day really helps; I have one JD 350 mower with a brand new SCF cutter system (double edged guards, roller blade guides instead of toe plates, etc.) and it still will not cut in the shady spots early in the day; I cut in the middle of the field in the morning and return to the shady spots after the sun has hit them for a few hours.

Keep us posted.

 

[Ed of all trades]

My dad always said that the bar needs a little "lead" so that when it gets to heavy hay it will swing back to 90 degrees. The blade needs to be toe up, or the teeth need to point up a little, and as said the cutters need to be sharp and fit close to the guards. Hope things work out for you. keep us posted.

 

[sweettractors]

All the guards need to be in a perfectly straight line when you sight down the guard tips. Sometimes a guard will get bent up on the back side as well (the part that is over the sickle as it moves back and forth) Make sure all guards have about the same clearance there as well. Ken Sweet

 

[biker4jc]

Going out of town for a while, have some family stuff to take care of. When I get back I'm going over this mower with a fine tooth comb and figure this out. So far I feel like you guys have given me a very good start on understanding how this thing works and what I need to do and look at to improve it. I'm very grateful, and when I've tinkered with this thing I'll post the progress and the results. I may even try to take a few pictures and see if I can attach them ......... another learning curve. Again ............ THANKS!!! and I'll keep you all posted!

 

[rambler]

This alfalfa hasn't been cut this year, and there's about 40 acres of it. I could really use help on this.

40 acres of alfalfa and August is the first time you are cutting it for the year???????

Think you have a rank mess of a field, and very hard to dut with a sickle bar.

What shape are the sickle guards in, they get dull over time - the ledger plates. These are so often overlooked, and more importamt than the sickle, really.

Same for the sickle. need to be sharp.

With the modifications, is your sickle carrying right,t hat it is mostly suspended by the tractor, barely floating on the ground?

Is the tip of the sickle bar just a little bit ahead of the tractor end of the bar? Not that the tip of the bar is trailing back behind the tractor.

Is the sickle in time - the sickle goes from dead center of one duard to dead center of the next guard, and back. Not stopping a tad off.

The sickle needs to be laying on the guards, flat. Sounds like your sickle is tipped up, or some of the guards are bent down. New sickle might solve 50% of your propblems, should be in the $100 range and really help you out.

Alfalfa cuts easy with a sickle. The thick stems, way easier than fin stem grass. What are you really cutting, in an 'alfalfa field' that hasn't been cut yet this year??? Weeds, grass, and 10% alfalfa, with the grass grown over 2 times by now? A good healthy alfalfa field even a poor sickle will work ok in.....

--->Paul

 

[biker4jc]

It's alfalfa. We had a drought this summer and it burned down to the sand almost. It's a piece of public land that's been opened up for this, and the alfalfa looks really good. It was seeded this spring when the public works job was done and has almost no weeds. Part of the problem is we've had rain lately and the stuff won't dry out now that it's started to grow. Another part of the problem .......... I have an old worn out sickle mower that I'm trying to revive so I can get my horses fed for the winter. I'd get a new mower, or just buy hay if I had the money, but in our area there's no work ........... automation alley has moved to who knows where ........... it is what it is. I'm trying to make do, learn some and get 'er done. Once again everyone ........ Thanks for all the helpful advice and I'll keep you posted as I work through this stuff.

 

[MHarryE]

I am not familiar with your particular mower. As fast as a sickle appears, when you plot the cutting edges against forward travel there is actually a long time where material is being gathered into the space between the guards before the section edge cuts it off. This is called the crowding area. Combines cut high so we are able to run 75% crowding and still do the job (small grains). Soybeans differ - cut as close to the ground as possible so entered the 1.5 inch section and guard with 3 inch stroke making four cuts were before there was one. You have a sickle bar mower and the ASAE (American Society of Agricultural Engineers) recommends 25% crowding which means slow travel speeds in tough conditions. Also the sickle needs to be running at rated speed to wrk right. That hateful vibration actually helps to clear a cutterbar. If your cutterbar has wear plates supporting the rear of the section they need to be replaced if worn in order to keep the sections flat. I have seen 0.010 clearance between the hold down clips and the section with the section tight against the ledger. This is good - on our combines we recommend 0.030 max but once again ripe grain is easier cutting than green crop and we are talking over 30 foot of cutterbar instead of 7. Guards need to be aligned - they make a tool for bending them or at least they did before disk mowers took over the industry. I was digging around our farm the other day and found 2 old sickle sharpeners from the old days - all thats left is the stone, housing, and pulley - the electric motors long ago robbed for another use. We use our disk mowers for cutting almost everything now because they are so much faster, and what we don't cut for feed we cut with our rotary cutters.