Need help with JD 1209 cutterbar

[BryanM]

I have a new to me but used 1209 mower conditioner. I want to change a few of the knifes that are worn out ( serrated part is gone). I need some words of wisdom. I went to TSC and bought a few knifes and a package of bolts. What is the easiest way to change the knifes? Take the hole cutterbar out and remove all the rivets? Which way do the bolts go through the knifves? Do the splines on the new bolts go through the knife or do they go through the bottom plate so the nuts are on top?

 

[Niji]

I've had 1207s and now have a 1217, so yours should be the same. I pull the cutterbar, which is a matter of removing a bolt at the pitman arm which allows a round pin with a grease fitting on top to pull upwards and out. This should free the cutterbar. On some you can just grab hold and pull the whole thing out. I find most of the time it is too hard to get easily, so I take a chain or ratchet strap and put it around the end of the cutterbar so I can stand back and pull on that, and get better pull. (I've been known to pull it with a truck if things are really bad, but I don't advise this for the novice as you could cause collateral damage really quick).

Once out, the changing of blade sections is a snap. The trick is to set the thin edge of the bar on the edge of a vise or anvil keeping the section free with the triangle part of the blade down and its back rested against the anvil. I keep a piece of railroad track about a foot long in the truck for this. Then, take a hammer and hit the top thin back of the blade section (opposite the triangle end) a few good whacks. This cuts the rivets and the section drops out. It takes 10 seconds. Then clear the rivet chunks out of the holes in the bar, sometimes they drop out, sometimes they need a little convincing with a punch and hammer.

That might be hard to visualize...let me know if you get what I mean. Super simple once you see it.

Put your new section where it goes, align the holes, and use rivets (not bolts) to attach. Position the rivet so the head is to the back of the bar and the shaft goes through the bar and then the blade section, then put the rivet head down onto the hard surface of the anvil, and then whack the top of the rivet with your hammer and it flattens out and holds the section tightly in place. Do the other ones, put it back in, grease her up, and voila...go cut hay.

Really, once you get it figured out you can change a section or two start to finish in under 10 minutes.

 

[slowzuki]

The bolts go up from underneath, you need to pull the bar to put them in the first time but after that if you only need to change one knife you can unbolt a hold-down and get at the nuts to change the section.

If you need to replace more than a half dozen its faster to pull the bar.

Old pros at it like rivets but everyone else has gone bolts. A little cordless impact wrench can get a whole mess of them done in the time the old pro has fished the first chunk of rivet out of the hole.

 

[Niji]

Ah...I had no idea. Hate showing my age like that. Better listen to Slowzuki.

 

[BryanM]

I understand great info. Is the cutting bar 1 long section or 2? If 1 section its probably 9ft long? And if I under stand right i need to disconnect at the drive joint? ( or pitman arm) Right?

 

[zzvyb6]

Cutter bar can be a couple of sections, jointed at the Pitman arm blade. Note that there are several lengths of bolts because the jointed sections add some thickness. While you have the cutter bar out, check the end section, its usually a special double blade. Also, check the guards for bent or broken parts and the hold-down clips. Once the kniife is back in, you can pound down the clips with a pein hammer, some of the clips may be worn and ready to break off. Now is the time to change them. TSC has all these parts. If the line of guards is not straight (as you look along the width of the mower), take a long piece of pipe and place it on the guard tooth and "adjust" it. A straight line of guards makes it a lot easier to put the knive back in. Wear welding gloves when you do this, one slip and your Italian will be messed up (talking with fingers, get it?).

Watch the local auctions for spare cutter bars. My NH holds a spare cutter in the suspension crossbar. Sometimes its just easier to change out a bar rather than repairing one in the field with mosquitoes and other critters buggin you. I also recommend that you use an old ammunition box strapped to the gearbox to hold spare bolts, knives, its own set of wrenches, gloves and guards. I've adopted the policy of keeping a set of tools and parts on the machine that needs them instead of a walk back to the shed to get them. Garage sales are the place to find them. That even means a ratchet wrench to remove the cutter bar bolt. While I'm thinkin' of it, check the bushing in the bar at the drive end. Mine went bad last year and I was loosing all the action from the cutter. The knive was moving at low speed but at full rpm, it just went to sleep.

 

[slowzuki]

Another tip, the hold downs can't be set properly with a hammer, if you hit too hard they will bend the tips and end up higher, and tips contacting the knife prevents them from getting bent down. The best way is to pop them in a vice and bend them to match a known good one.

Oh a plus for the rivets, they are a lot cheaper than bolts, but obviously not reusable. They did used to make tools so you could press the rivet out and press a new one in. The tools cost as much as changing to bolts and aren't as fast.

 

[zzvyb6]

Hold down clips are easily "adjusted" using a ball pein hammer. The secret is to wack the back side and drive it forward. Yeah, hitting the top may cause a springback, but if I was going to remove them, I'd put in new nuts & bolts and new clips ( or old clips that were already reset).

 

[BryanM]

a few questions just to make sure I got it right- 1) bolts being used The nuts are on top right and the splines go into the cutting bar?

2) what are the hold downs being used for and is their a spec of measurement betwen hold downs and knifes?

3) should I paint any of the cleaned up parts?

4) do I use oil or grease to lube slides and knives? what kind?

Thanks! Glad to see you chime in on this one ZZvyb6!

 

[zzvyb6]

Nuts on top. If changing from rivets and a bolt is loose, use your pein hammer to shrink the size of the hole down to where the bolt will stay in and retain torque. I don't recommend using an impact wrench because you can easily snap off the bolt and waste parts. Nuts tend to be 1 or 2 times use only. They are a type of lock nut. A hand ratchet is pretty quick. After while of use, especially after running thru some dirt and/or ant hills, the nuts will become well worn and rounded off. Rubbing a guard can do this too. Use a 6 point socket.

Paint will be gone after a few minutes. I recommend the leaf blower or air nozzle to clear the cutter bar for a quick inspection after mowing. This will show you chipped knives, missing bolts, loose guards, etc. At the end of the season, pour old used motor oil on the cutter area to prevent the metal from rusting and the pan from corroding thru.

Grease isn't much help, either. The system gets a pretty good lubrication from the hay. Keeping the rubbing parts cool is part of longevity. You will see wear patterns form on practically everything. There are some rules on type of knives to use also. I use over-serrated knives because they are the most common at TSC where I shop for end-of-year special deals. If you are doing that, slow down or belt up the drive pulley. Make sure the cutter link bolt is vert tight. If it runs loose, there will be a bang and maybe an oh-shoot. Check your tire pressures periodically, a soft tire won't last long because of a belt edge separation.

I'm glad your stuff is working out. Hope you are having some fun with the machinery.