small scale haying

[Verticaltrx]

Whats the info on that side mount sickle bar on the B3200? Are you powering it off the mid-PTO? I've often thought about such a setup for my little Kubota. Any more pics of it underneath?

 

[NH-Rob]

Whats the info on that side mount sickle bar on the B3200? Are you powering it off the mid-PTO? I've often thought about such a setup for my little Kubota. Any more pics of it underneath?

Save yourself lots of trouble and just get a 3pt model. I found this one at a used equipment dealership. it is a 5'. It is made by the kosch manufacturing company. I originally bought it to go under my b7510 but gave up on it as there was so little to hook to under that machine. I have shortened the driving shaft and narowed the arm that holds the sickle bar to get a good fit under the b3200. It has a shaft that runs down the middle of the tractor with a flywheel on the front and a pully on the back that comes out just below the rear pto. I then use a belt from there up to another pully on the the pto. I will get some pics later today to help explain it better. I have spent too much time and money on this thing so I am married to it or else I would just go with something else. It is a uniuqe piece though.

 

[NH-Rob]

Here are some pictures of the mid mount sickle mower.

the first one is a view of the mount for the back of the mower. It hooks into the lower 3pt mount pins

2cnd is how the front is bolted to the tractor You can see a bolt sitting in the mount hole. it goes up through that mount and into a bracket bolted to the tractor

3rd you can see the view of the flywheel

4th is a view of the pulley set up

5th is the front mount that is bolted to the tractor

6th Is the guard to keep the grass out of the tractor driveshaft and cuting seal.(see other thread about splitting a b3200 http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...3200-replace.html?highlight=splitting+a+b3200 ).

 

[Soundguy]

one day i'm getting a sickle mower.. one day...

 

[skylarkguy]

What is the advantage of a sickle bar verses some type of rotor mower?

I could see that it would cut the grass off and then not twist it all around, perhaps leaving long fibers intact in the grass. Perhaps this is better as forage?

 

[Soundguy]

yup.. while i have seen people do 'poor hay' with a rotary cutter.. etc.

the SB cuts it long stem and lays it over to dry...

 

[NH-Rob]

one day i'm getting a sickle mower.. one day...

I will tell you that when my mower is working like it is supose to it is lots of fun. I think it was my first cut this year that had been laid down by heavy rain a few days before I mowed it and I had to mow the same direction as the layed down grass and I hated mowing that with the sickle bar.

 

[Verticaltrx]

Thanks for the pics, looks like and interesting setup.

 

[flusher]

I will tell you that when my mower is working like it is supose to it is lots of fun. I think it was my first cut this year that had been laid down by heavy rain a few days before I mowed it and I had to mow the same direction as the layed down grass and I hated mowing that with the sickle bar.

Trying to mow lodged hay with a sicklebar is generally an exercise in frustration. Better to bite the bullet and get a drum mower for $3K or so that will handle all kinds of hay crop in all kinds of conditions (wet/dry, standing upright/lodged, etc) and that will speed up the mowing job at least 2X compared to a sicklebar.

 

[cowski]

to me a sickle mower has several advantages over a disc mower.it mows in rocky ground,it is cheaper to buy,lasts longer and will require less horsepower.disc mower cuts way faster and will cut downed hay.i would think a sickle mower would be more profitable on a smaller operation .