Sickle Bar Sickle mowers

[patrickg]

Mosey, Thanks for the info. It confirms what I found out. Now I am told that a Ford 505 is a belt driven sickle bar mower and that it cuts at higher and lower angles. I'll be trying to find out how high and how low and if good enough I will try to get one. I have a dealer who is likely to get one in real soon so if it meets my needs, I'll get to put the Great Sickle Mower Quest to rest.

Patrick

 

[Mosey]

It would certainly be worth looking into it to double check me, but I don't believe there was a Ford 505 sickle mower. There was a 501, which is the pitman arm type, the 515, which is often called a belt drive type and uses a wobblebox, and the 502, which is a mid mount (I'm not sure if it was a pitman arm or wobblebox type, but I think it was a wobblebox), but they are rare and would take some work to make one fit anything besides and older Ford tractor.

The was a Ford 505 rotary cutter, so that may be where someone got the "505". You could try posting over at the Yesterday's Tractors site under the Ford or Implement Alley forums. Those folks know more about the older stuff then folks on this site.

 

[patrickg]

Mosey, I really appreciate the effort you have put into helping guide me through the maze I'm in trying to find a suitable mower. If you and some of the others hadn't spoken up in a timely fashion as you did, I would be the proud owner of a fine mower at a great price that couldn't possibly do what I need due to design limitations. I hate to have to operate in an area of personal ignorance and that is what you and others of TBN are preventing. Luckily, ignorance is curable and y'all are the doctors.

Now, about the 501, 505, 515 issue... One of the dealers I am in contact with has been offering me a series of mowers to try to keep up with my increasing level of refinement in understanding what it is I need. The latest is by his claim a Ford 505.

An excerpt from his latest mail...

********
This is a Ford 505 belt driven mower. As best I can find out, it will mow 90degress vert. and 75 degress horoz. These mowers are much better than the pitman mowers, but tend to bring more at auctions also. I got this today off of an equipment dealer who I am good friends of--we do some trading with equipment from time to time. He did confirm that you can get parts at your local Ford/New Holland dealer and said that also New Idea, and International had a mower that these parts with interchange with--so if Ford can't get them, then New Idea or International should be able to.....
********

He sent 5 pix of it, two of which, for brevity, I will share.

He is asking $500 + shipping and I am inclined to get it unless there is a late breaking development, like one falls off a truck in my driveway or some TBN denizen has a relevant revelation.

Patrick

 

[patrickg]

The other side of the mower.

 

[Mosey]

This is the first time I've seen one of these. I'll ask around a bit. Do you have a picture that shows the wobblebox or whatever it uses to drive the sickle bar?

 

[Mosey]

Patrick, I just saw your post over at Yesterday's Tractors Implement Alley. It looks like the Ford 505 is a later model than the 515. It's very similar to the 515 as near as I can tell. Now, I guess it's up to you if you want to buy it sight unseen! By the way, the double posts over at Yesterday's Tractors is common, they have something wrong with their forums software.

One thing you could do is to call a New Holland dealer and ask them if they can get parts for it and an operator's manual. They should be able to tell you what years it was built. That's what I did before I bought my 515 and they told me it was built from 1955 to 1979. They said I could get parts and a manual, which I did, for under $10.

There is one thing I'm curious about in those pictures. The cutter bar is laying flat, which surprises me. When my 515 is in transport position, it lays back at about a 45 degree angle, so it sticks up farther but it's not so wide. It could be that they just didn't lay it back on the holder or something, or it could be something is missing. Have they stated in writing that it is fully operational?

 

[gbirky]

This sure looks like a "wobble box" mower to me. They are the only ones in know of that you can lay the sickle over the rest of the mower like in these photos. You cannot see the "wobble box" in either of the photos, but the big pulleys and belts are where the pitman arm would be on that type of sickle mower.

 

[patrickg]

Danny (AKA Mosey), Further investigation reveals that there is a manufacturer's plate on it with model number and serial (the seller says). As suggested, I posted on "Yesterday's Tractors" and found this reply...

YUP THERE IS SUCH A THING AS A FORD 505.
It is actually a IH 1300, which is now a
CASE-IH 1600. They are good mowers.

No one has told me yet how you raise and lower a sicklebar mower while in operation. Any comments, anyone (and I don't mean "CAREFULLY") I mean the process.

Patrick

 

[Mosey]

Patrick, I understand your question. I'm interested to find out the answer also. My 515 has a lever that connects to the draw bar via a chain. The chain is adjusted so that when the mower is level and just barely touching the ground, the cutter bar is level. When the mower is raised via the 3pt lift, the cutter bar raises up. It will raise up to about 3 or 4 feet at the end of the cutter bar. That seems to be plenty high enough to get over obstacles, such as a rock or stump. Of course, if the terrain goes up and doesn't go up too sharply, then the cutter bar will just follow the terrain and the chain will get slack in it.

Another thing I'm curious about on the 505 is how the break back system works. Every sickle mower I've ever seen has some sort of break back system. It's purpose is to let the cutter bar swing back if you hit something, like a stump, so you have time to stop the tractor before something on the mower breaks. There was a bracket missing on my 515 and I had to make one.

Unless you have a real bad need for a sickle mower right away, I would recommend that you be patient. It took about 6 months for me to find one once I started seriously looking. How far away is the place that has the 505 for sale? Can you drive over and have them hook it up to one of their tractors and see it run? That's what I did before buying, but it was only 10 miles for me.

 

[Darren]

Unless it has a hydraulic cylinder, and I don't think most of the old ones did, you're not going to change the angle from the tractor seat. Those were designed to follow the lay of the land. Unfortunately when they dig in that usually trips a breakway allowing the bar to swivel backwards to avoid damage.

You get to climb off the tractor and reset it. You might be able to add a cylinder. Having one means you don't have to go around obstacles, just swing the cutter up, get pass the obstacle,and drop the cutter. I'd check to see if that model has a kit available to add a cylinder. Even if it doesn't, it shouldn't be impossible to add one. You might have to custom fabricate mounts for the cylinder.

I think you're looking at one of the best deals you're going to find.