NH 65 compact baler (restoration pics)

[rankrank1]

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

Here are some before and after photos of a New Holland 65 compact baler that I purchased back in June for $200.

a) It had been sitting in the weeds for several years so nothing worked.
b) Installed new phenolic bearings on the feeder forks as an uprade to the wood bearings.
c) Had to teach myself how to time the baler (new chains were required).
d) Also had to teach myself how to get the knotters working.
e) The previous owner had it painted up in International Harvestor colors as well as severe rust. My repaint is not authentic New Holland colors but close enough for me.
f) This is around a 1961 year baler (NH sold this model from 1960 to 1965).
G) Works well behind my Kubota L285 compact tractor due to the smaller bale chamber size of 12"x16" as compared to others balers which are either 14"x18" or 16"x18". (For helpful reference a Kubota L285 tractor is slightly more powerful than say a JD 850, JD 870, NH 1710, or NH 1720 tractor but less powerful than say a JD 950, JD 970,NH 1910, or NH 1920 tractor).

 

[aczlan]

looks wonderful... is the cover that is slanting foward over the knotters? if so do you have a picture of it? the reason I ask is that my FIL has a Sperry-NH 273 which looks similar and we are thinking of making a metal cover to bolt over the knotters.

Thanks

Aaron Z

 

[flusher]

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

Here are some before and after photos of a New Holland 65 compact baler that I purchased back in June for $200.

a) It had been sitting in the weeds for several years so nothing worked.
b) Installed new phenolic bearings on the feeder forks as an uprade to the wood bearings.
c) Had to teach myself how to time the baler (new chains were required).
d) Also had to teach myself how to get the knotters working.
e) The previous owner had it painted up in International Harvestor colors as well as severe rust. My repaint is not authentic New Holland colors but close enough for me.
f) This is around a 1961 year baler (NH sold this model from 1960 to 1965).
G) Works well behind my Kubota L285 compact tractor due to the smaller bale chamber size of 12"x16" as compared to others balers which are either 14"x18" or 16"x18". (For helpful reference a Kubota L285 tractor is slightly more powerful than say a JD 850, JD 870, NH 1710, or NH 1720 tractor but less powerful than say a JD 950, JD 970,NH 1910, or NH 1920 tractor).

]

Super job. Congrats. It's nice to see an old piece of iron like this restored to former working condition.

There's nothing like restoration to learn about farm equipment. I'm restoring a pair of Minneapolis Moline P3-6 grain drills now so I know those drills inside and out.

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

My baler is an old MF-124 two-twine square baler, 14"x 18" bales, 35 hp min pto required. Cost me $2000 last April, but I bought it right out of the field (the seller used it the previous day to bale his 35 acre hayfield). So I still have a lot to learn about that baler.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/ag-tractors-machinery/122270-bought-mf-124-baler-today.html

 

[rankrank1]

... is the cover that is slanting foward over the knotters? if so do you have a picture of it? the reason I ask is that my FIL has a Sperry-NH 273 which looks similar and we are thinking of making a metal cover to bolt over the knotters.

Aczlan - Yes the knotters are covered with a hinged shield. Attached are some pics, but they are not the best as they were taken in the dark. The baler also still has the dust on it from last weekend's baling. A NH 273 is a low capacity baler but is newer and larger than this one. I have read that they are good balers though. My tractor is only 4 foot wide with the treads all the way in and my FEL bucket is also 4 foot if that helps indicate relative size.

 

[aczlan]

thanks for the pix, gives me some ideas for ours...

Aaron Z

 

[zzvyb6]

Looks fantastic ! Can you get some decals or it (or make your own). The other comment I would add is that the knotter cover tends to fill the tucker finger operating zones with a lot of chaff. This can/will cause problems if not cleaned out periodicaly. On un-covered knotter frames, the plunger compression "blows out" much of the dust and chaff. I've often though of mountinf a 12v radiator fan in this area to keep the mechanism clean and dirt free. The only real benefit I see for a cover is for when th machine gets rained on and the water + mud + chaff forms a cement like material. When it hardens, you will have a major STB.

 

[flusher]

Looks fantastic ! Can you get some decals or it (or make your own). The other comment I would add is that the knotter cover tends to fill the tucker finger operating zones with a lot of chaff. This can/will cause problems if not cleaned out periodicaly. On un-covered knotter frames, the plunger compression "blows out" much of the dust and chaff. I've often though of mountinf a 12v radiator fan in this area to keep the mechanism clean and dirt free. The only real benefit I see for a cover is for when th machine gets rained on and the water + mud + chaff forms a cement like material. When it hardens, you will have a major STB.

You said it. I keep the knotters on my MF-124 two twine square baler as clean as possible and hit them with WD-40 frequently while baling and every week or so when the baler is idle. The guy who sold it to me said that's cheap insurance for keeping those MF knotters working normally. I suspect it's the same for NH knotters.