Sickle Bar 3PH PTO type sickle bar mowers

[patrickg]

Still looking for one. Saw one at an auction today. John Deere, old, modified, and no visible means of raising/lowering the cutter bar. Too hot to hang out for another 2-3 hours or more to find out the price. Found one in the WWW from a dealership, John Deere again $450. While at the auction a nice guy who overheard me asking some acquaintances questions about the old dilapitated cutter took out his buisness card and wrote the name of a guy who has just this week inherited a John Deere sickle bar rig with hydraulic raise and lower and is asking $250 for it. Guy says it is in great condition, eady to use. Well the new owner's phone gives a fax signal when I call and his buisness phone is either busy or not answered (usually indicates no one there, busy signal is when two folks both try to call at same time)

A new one of these things is close to $2K. Speaking of things, I mean Things as in VW Things (Kubelvagen, bucket car, literally translated) They had a 72 or 73 at the auction with 5K miles on the engine. Last registerd in '91 and setting in the field for over 10 years with 4 flat tires and lots of rust. I was right in there in the spirited bidding till it went soaring past $4000 and I gave it up.

Patrick

 

[Ozarker]

Send him a fax.......

 

[karmakanic]

You're gonna jump all over that one for 250 I imagine. I've been looking for one for a while to cut the pond banks. Last auction had 4 or 5, depending how you alloted the parts. They went for 750-950 each and all were pretty worn.

And what is it with those VW things? I've heard rumors people are paying hefty prices for them. I worked on them when they were new and considered them a POS. Had the bad habit of catching on fire from fuel leaks.

Dave

 

[Darren]

The JD is a deal but it's going to work you. I've used the old single action cutters where only the knives move and they do hang up in heavy grass. Then it's off the tractor (don't forget to disengage the PTO) to remove the stuff that's bound the knives. Then back on the tractor for another go. If you're cutting really heavy stuff you'll be on and off way more than you exect. If you're just cutting light stuff, they're not too bad. There's a reason why many have gone to disc cutters for haying. The old sickle bars were/are a PITA. One tip is to make sure the knife on the outside end has a double point. If it isn't you can always replace the single with a double. They don't jam up quite as bad.

With a newer double action bar (knives and guards both move) it's rare that you have to stop.

 

[patrickg]

Dave and Darren too, Thanks for the posts guys. As I write this I am fighting hard to hold back the tears... Seems my Knight In Shinning Armor was a slick operator. Apparently he was giving out his buisness card with contact info like candy on haloween. No wonder the guy with the cutter couldn't be contacted because his phone was busy. Half the county was calling trying to get the cutter. It is entirely likely that it was sold before I got his number. Apparently it too was a part of the estate sale but they wanted to sell it "fixed price" not at the auction. I was really and truly bummed out. A little more honest disclosure on the part of the "shill" handing out buisness cards would have been appreciated even though it wouldn't have been likely to change the outcome. BUMMER!!!!

The Thing, in retrospect I probably should have been willing to go higher and just store it in the barn till I could get time to mess with it. I hear the gas leak comment. It has a gasoline fueled heater in the trunk (standard equip). the engine compartment and trunk on this one seemed really clean, not spiffed up for the sale, just not abused. Interior and metal top (no soft top supplied) were real rough.

I'm sure this isn't a unique observation but here is an actual example... On interstate highway I-8 westbound out of the desert up into the mountains east of San Diego there are a lot of scorched places in the slow lane and the paved shoulder. Some required paving repairs but many didn't. These are where car fires heated the pavement (not concrete but sort of blacktop based material). Many of these, the majority I strongly suspect, are VW's in some sort of Viking like self immolation where after having left Wolsburg and lived in the US they are now seeking Valhalla as a fiting end to their "struting and fretting their hour upon the stage" and will be heard no more.

Ozarker, thanks for the tip, it wouldn't have mattered as it was probably sold before I heard about it. I don't think I have a fax application on this 'puter but the modem would support it.

Oh well.....

Patrick

 

[Steve_in_Ont]

I just purchased a Ford 601 (?) 7 ft SB for $500CDN (about $350USD). Pretty good shape. There also was a similar mower in yesterday's tractors photo adds for $450, in MD.

These Ford mowers are 3ph mounted.

 

[Ozarker]

Most versions of windows came with a copy of Quick Link II that you just have to install and set up. Go to Windows Help, look for Fax and it will probably tell you how to set it up to send a receive faxes.

 

[patrickg]

I'm in south central Oklalhoma and would drive anywhre within a couple hundred miles to pay $500 or more for a good working sicklebar mower that had parts still available. MD is a tad far and I bet shipping one of these would be significant bucks.

Patrick

 

[patrickg]

Ozarker, Thinks for the tips. I'm running Win 98 and searched for quick link, no joy. Tried Win Help, searched on fax, no joy. Found a dialer I didn't know I had so it wasn't a total loss.

Patrick

 

[Ozarker]

Bummer. I guess you got the dialer instead of the fax software in your OEM version. I got a full install version of 98 from MS with both dialers and fax software. And my OEM version of ME has the fax software as well.

Of course I don't use it very much except to fax quick text messages. I have a Cannon Fax machine I do most faxing with and I receive faxes through Call Wave on line. It receives faxes, turns them into e-mails and send them to my e-mail box. That way I can get my faxes with my laptop when I'm on the road.

 

[edv]

SICKLE mowers are old technology / high up-keep / limited to cutting light material. You may want to take a look at the VMC ditch bank mower. www.vmc-mow.com

The 160 is ideal for compacts, it will cut behind the tractor as well to the side...

edv

 

[patrickg]

edv, Thanks for the info. If somehow I should win a large lottery pot in spite of the fact that I never buy tickets, I'll be sure to get one of those.

In the mean time (not Greenwich) I'll be looking for and hopefully buying and using an old fashioned sicklebar that costs much less than a car AND will work well on my compact 4x4 40HP tractor. Alternatively, I thought of buying from 2 to 4 push type rotary yard type mowers at local yard sales and making a 3PH carrier for them. Used but good running push mowers are always available from folks who first buy a big push power for their large lot then within a couple months opt for a riding mower.

Bolt them on staggered and overlapping. With my hydrauic TnT I should be able to adjust as needed to do a fair job of my pond edges. If I really wanted a PROJECT, I could always build an amphibious adapter for the tractor so I could brush hog with one wheel out in the pond so the cutter could get to the water's edge. No problem, right? Just keep the heel on the diff lock so the wheel on land drives you forward.

Patrick

 

[Mosey]

patrickg - I went through the same thing you're going through. I didn't want to spend more than a few hundred and also didn't want to buy an old worn out machine. I checked into ads from all over the country but didn't want to buy anything sight unseen plus I didn’t want to pay $150 or more to get it shipped to me. Others have though and they had good luck with buying them from EBay. Patience finally paid off and I found a Ford model 515 sickle mower with a 7' cutter bar at a used farm equipment dealer only 10 miles from my house! I had to free up the PTO telescoping shaft and make some other minor repairs. I also had to make a bracket for the breakback arm. Now I have a good working machine for $325. I'm not bragging about my luck, just pointing out that you will probably find something, but it may take some time. Ford made a lot of the model 501 (pitman arm) and 515 (wobble box) sickle mowers and there are other good brand name ones out there, you just need to keep looking. If you don’t mind buying sight unseen and paying for shipping, try <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.sweettractors.com/used_equip_pg1.html#fort>Sweet Tractors</A>. Good luck!

 

[Dozernut]

Mr Patrickg
Notice the formality and deserved respect. I have an idea that you can take and run with it. Get some sections of two inch pipe, one piece should be about 13 feet long. Build a frame out of the pipe so you can hookup to the three point hitch on your tractor. Have the long pipe stick out on the side of your choice. With the 13 foot section you can incorporate three feet into the hitch and still have 10 foot clear of the wheel. Get some rope and cut four 10 ft. pieces. Tie the first rope 2 ft. from the tire and 2 ft. spacing down the pipe. Tie four nanny goats ( Billies Stink too bad ) to the rope, then put your tractor in low range and just above idle. The 10 ft. section of tie rope will allow the goats to eat grass on slopes and in ditches, following the lay of the land. I know your jealous for not thinking of this first, but I give this to you with no strings attached (or goats )! Hope this helps you out! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[JimMc]

You know, I tried this, but I left my 3 point hitch up overnight and all my goats suffocated. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[patrickg]

Danny, Good for you. Glad someone is getting what they want. Although I would prefer to buy something in my commute range so I could see it and I could probably pick it up for the cost of delivery within a few hundred miles. Still, if no joy soon, I may have to rely on the reputation of some dealer and tele-buy, paying the freight and hoping. I wouldn't mind paying up to about $700 or so if it were a primo unit that was field ready and had parts availability. Still way cheaper than new like the New Holland unit.

Patrick

 

[patrickg]

Dozernut, Thanks for the Goat (I mean, Great) idea. Goats may well be in my future for clearing some fencelines, etc. However, I have way too much right of way and pond periphery in addition to cross fences to have the time for a goat mower to be used. I have 9 ponds now and am eyeballiing a couple three good looking prospects for more. Later, I may put goats on tether lines with a tag (hogging?) line running parallel to the fence so they can not wrap their lead or cllimb the fence but can "mow" within 2-3 ft either side of their "main" line or about 4-6 ft swath from fence ouit.

Put your creative juices to good work coming up with a way to allow the goat to go past a suppor post for his "main" line with out getting away or tangling (like a trolley car on an overhead line passing a trolley intersection or "Y".) With this technology I could do more with fewer goats and less having to manually change positions with them. I thought of trying a continuous (endless clothesline) type arrangement but the devil is in the details.

Patrick

 

[Kodiak]

Jim:

I suppose it was to late to utilize mouth to mouth resucitation.

 

[Dozernut]

JimMc
Sorry you left the 3 pt. up and you lost your cutters. I can see that your a thinking man too. I mean who else but two southern Il. boys, could come up with identical goat mowers. We will probably get deluged with requests for plans. Shoot when your not mowing you could charge the neighborhood kids for rides.

Patrick
The only thing that comes to mind right now is to use the trolley hardware of a barn door hangar. Tack two pieces of light angle iron together to form a track. The trolleys would run on the outside of the track, allowing an unlimited run. You could attach an arm to the trolley extending the leash out to keep the goat from getting tangled around the support posts. The down side would be cost. I will have to think this one over, don't know if I am sharp enough to come up with a solution. Sorry the goat mower didn't work out, I thought I was on to something./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[Egon]

You could also consider using a battery operated device on wheels with a timer that follows a cable and every 15 min. moves ahead the length of the tether ropes. Maybe chain as supposedly the goats may eat the rope.
Also for consideration would be the irrigation system that moves across the field on big water pressure driven wheels.One would have to delete the irrigation factor and mow the entire field at one pass. With this mechanism a watering system for the goats coulds also be added as well as a daily shower to keep them clean.
And best of all, the wife woundn't have to coerced into turning the grindstone.

Egon