John Deere 594 hay rake (restoration pics)

[rankrank1]

Posted this at Yeserday's tractor so some of you may have already seen but thought I would post these here too.

This old hay rake was my father-in laws and had not been used in 18 years. It was in extremely poor condition and had extreme sloppiness due to wear almost everyhere:
a) I replaced every bolt with grade 5 hex heads bolts(which replaced grade 2 square head bolts and nuts which were worn away to almost nothing from running loose for years).
b) Made all new bushings from scrap pipe for the tongue, adjusting levers, and chain pulleys.
c) Used about 3 lbs of Mig welding wire used to build up parts and do repairs as needed.
d) Put the bars "in time" as they were out of time.
e) Rattle can paint job to spruce it up.
f) Matching the casting codes it is somewhere between a 1940-1948 unit - my repairs should make it usuable for another 50 years.
G) Note the ingenuis home fabricated conversion to steel wheels by the previous owner to replace the original 4 x 36" rubber tires which had deteroraited. (New replacement rubber tires at $230 each would far exceed the value of the rake).

 

[chetlenox]

Looks great! Will you have a chance to take it out and use it?

Chet.

 

[R W]

Anyone know how well these rakes performed when in use? A great restoration job.

 

[rankrank1]

Chetlnox - I have used it twice this year to hay roughly 4 acres each time. The first time was back in July in the "before" condition. It worked but I thought it was going to fall apart as it was so rickety. The second time was 2 weekends ago after all the work had been done. It worked great and should be good to go for another 50 years.

RW - John Deere offered this basic rake in various optional configurations from 1934 to roughly 1958. (horse drawn, steel wheels, optional rubber tires, and finally the "LW" model appeared which had 15 or 16 rubber tires on the front instead of the large 36" tire size. They work great on grassy type hay.

 

[Egon]

Nice restoration.

 

[chetlenox]

Rankrank1,

That's great that you get to use it after you restore it. I know I really enjoy using my mid-70s New Holland 256 Rola-bar rake that my father and I restored this spring. Your comment about being good-to-go for the next 50 years is probably dead on. I hate to admit it, but my 40-year-old rake that has been gone through part-by-part is definitely more reliable than my 1-year-old sickle-bar cutter!

Chet.

 

[rankrank1]

..........They work great on grassy type hay.[/QUOTE]

Should have elaborated a little further on my original reply: All versions of the 594 work well as hay rakes as I stated. However, their one shortcoming is that even the rubber tired models do not tow very well on the road - 10 to 12 mph is about the limit. Higher speeds and the caster wheels will shimmy and the swaying begins - wear and slop will further enhance these effects if the unit is well worn. In short, I would hate to pull one behind a pick-up truck.

I just looked at a "594 LW" model, which has 15" rubber car tires on the front instead of the tall 36" size, that was for sale. Someone had actually removed the entire inboard rear caster wheel assembly in hopes that it would tow better on the road. Their modification did not work. I would have bought the rake if it had been complete, but decided to pass as the condition was rather rough too.

The fast towing limitiation is not a problem for me as my rake will never see the road again (especially with my modified steel front wheels).

 

[flusher]

Posted this at Yeserday's tractor so some of you may have already seen but thought I would post these here too.

This old hay rake was my father-in laws and had not been used in 18 years. It was in extremely poor condition and had extreme sloppiness due to wear almost everyhere:
a) I replaced every bolt with grade 5 hex heads bolts(which replaced grade 2 square head bolts and nuts which were worn away to almost nothing from running loose for years).
b) Made all new bushings from scrap pipe for the tongue, adjusting levers, and chain pulleys.
c) Used about 3 lbs of Mig welding wire used to build up parts and do repairs as needed.
d) Put the bars "in time" as they were out of time.
e) Rattle can paint job to spruce it up.
f) Matching the casting codes it is somewhere between a 1940-1948 unit - my repairs should make it usuable for another 50 years.
G) Note the ingenuis home fabricated conversion to steel wheels by the previous owner to replace the original 4 x 36" rubber tires which had deteroraited. (New replacement rubber tires at $230 each would far exceed the value of the rake).

Excellent job. You do good work.

I'm into that type of restoration. Currently restoring a pair of Minneapolis Moline P3-6 grain drills (10 ft wide, 20 openers, separate fertilizer and seed boxes)

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/vintage-tractors/129031-mm-grain-drill-restoration-update.html

Got both drills for $275. Probably put $200 into them so far.

Great fun.

 

[danlh50]

Does anyone know where I can get a tooth pipe gear Part #G396E for one of, these rakes. No longer available thru John Deere, they still have some parts for it but not the one I need (ain't that the way it always goes), Would appreciate any help as hay season is coming...

 

[rankrank1]

2 options that I can think of for your gear:
a) get lucky and find one on a junker somewhere or buy a whole rake for parts.
b) I actually had good look mig weldinging a couple castings on my rake and they were even cast iron. Many people claim you can not weld cast iron unless you use special rod, but I only used regular flux cored mig wire and furthermore I am a total hack of a welder with zero skill - I think the JD cast is high quality cast which helps matters. The one thing I did do is totally rap my damaged castings in weld such that I was eventually welding over my welds - kinda like when you tape something and rap it in tape to the point where tape is adhering to itself. Anyway, this Might be worth a shot on your gear, even if you have to use a die grinder to shape some teeth.