Sickle Bar Trying to determine model of the old IH sickle bar mower I just acquired

[Olfart]

Hi Folks, I'm just new here.
I acquired an older IH sickle bar mower and could only find this number on the casting. 451491 R or 451491 RM It is hard to see in the sun and not real clear in my pix.
Anyone help me with this info as I want to restore the old girl and keep her in shape. I've replaced grease nipples and gotten most of the joints to take grease. It took a little heat and movement but things are looking up.
I need to replace the drive stick (rotted away) and get a new belt and knife. It seems to be in rather good shape and well worth some effort.
I am going to attempt to attach some pix, but as I said, I'm new here and it may be funny to watch :confused2:
Anyway, thanks to any who can help, and I believe this is a very nice site !! Cheers for the good work !

OF

 

[keegs]

Olfart, ...love the handle... I don't know the mower but it might be helpful to spend some time looking on ebay, youtube and tractorhouse... for sicklebar mowers where they're usually identified for you.

 

[Olfart]

Olfart, ...love the handle... I don't know the mower but it might be helpful to spend some time looking on ebay, youtube and tractorhouse... for sicklebar mowers where they're usually identified for you.

Thanx, it's better than what the wife calls me when I mess up :laughing: I had hoped someone here might have seen, or owns one of these. I have been searching the net for info, guess I will have to keep at it. Thanx for the reply at any rate.

OF

 

[keegs]

I'm looking for a used one too but I'm concerned about parts availability. Not sure, but I imagine parts for some brands and models can be difficult to locate. Good luck with the refurb an keep us updated.

 

[Olfart]

Well, I did get the grease nipples all working, and after some head scratching I figured out how to take the knife out. It was jammed with old grass and dirt as it had been just laying on the ground for the past number of years. Was surprised how good shape it still is in. Plan on sharpening the teeth, getting another one for quick change in need be, and a spare belt. A friend has some hardwood stock that we are going to make some drive arms out of so we will have all of the most usual stuff that breaks, ready to replace. Now... to learn all the little tricks of mowing with one of these !! Will post a pix of it when I finish cleaning her up. Next project is an old wheel rake. They tell me they were never a great piece of gear, but they do work. Price was right ! It needs quite a bit of work so it's last on the list :confused2: Take care and good luck hunting down a good mower. My advice, if something don't look good, it prob. isn't !!
OF

 

[JimPNorton]

Hi Olfart; did you ever figure out what model mower you have. I have the same mower and are none the wiser. Cheers.

 

[shucker]

I have a 7 ft with the same 451491 P/N. I also don't know my model number. Your pictures don't load anymore. I've come to the conclusion that mine is nestled into a homemade frame to make it a 3 pt....so I need to relocate at all those yahoo pictures and look again without paying attention to the mounting systems.

 

[art]

You have several things going on wrong with your mower. The end with the flat plate, it should be in the middle of the pitman not bolted to the side.. On the other end, yes it is bent, You should not see the spring, it should be in a whole on the end of the pitman!

To measure the length of the pitman needed, move the sickle section to the out ward end of the cutterbar, then rotate the drive head to match then measure.

 

[shucker]

Thanks art. I know what you mean by the middle. The cracked one was, but the new one didn't have a slit. I can cut it. I was thinking of removing the 4 bolts to remove the plate to make flattening it easier, however, I didn't know what kind of preload and bearings are inside. Any special considerations?

The old pitman was a Ford part number. The closest IH I see in catalogs is a little longer. I understand what you mean by alignment at full outboard position. I'll check it, and most likely, end up buying a new stick.

About not seeing the spring, there, I'm not sure how to make it happen. The spring I have is pretty rusted. As assembled, it isn't being compressed very much. Does this mean the shape of my rear/front pitman straps are completely the wrong shape, and should be bent

When I view my front/rear straps from the side, they have a distinct downward bias as well... hard to tell about the ones in the catalog. I'm going to buy a new spring, or at least wire brush this one so it slides more freely in the hole in the stick. I could put spaces into the bottom of the 'hole' in the stick in order to cause the spring to be compressed. That's the only way I can kind of to stiffen it up, but, the spring will still be visible. I'll back into internet photo searching to try and find a view of this area on other sickles. Even if it's not exactly the same, is there an IH model that would be a good 'baseline'. I want to buy a manual, and was hoping to buy the correct model, but, close would be better than nothing.

Note for others: My original thread is at: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/317329-mystery-model-international-7-ft.html

 

[shucker]

I made some repairs and tests, step by step.

My wife took the two straps, flap and spring to the nearest Case-IH dealer. He flipped to the L-22 Sickle parts manual and sold us a spring. The other components were not overly worn (lucky day).

First, I used by wood fired blacksmith forge to heat and bend the pitman front/rear straps to grab the knifehead ball.


I brought the two straps inward so they would touch the ball just before they went flat to the stick....so, only a little pre-load. I added slugs into the bottom of the hole in the end of the stick so the New spring ($9) would get about 1/2" of compression when the strap bolt holes were aligned with the stick holes (just guessing about the pre-load, any advice?). Reassembled, this ran at low speed for about 15 seconds before it jumped the ball.

Next, I cut a slit into the middle of the pitman stick so that the attachment plate would be centralized per the recommendation above. I also removed the plate, heated and flattened so I could slide it into the split without putting a 'spreading' load on the split.

At a very slow idle, this ran 5 minutes without any problems. Then, I raised the throttle a bit, and it jumped.

So, this time, I bent the front strap so that there was about 3/16" of gap between the strap and the stick when the cups made contact with the ball.

Starting with the two bolts/nuts furthest away, I was able to get all 4 bolts/nuts in, and tighten it up.... runs, so far so good. But the dew was coming and it was dark, so, the true test will be tomorrow afternoon when the grass is good and dry. Pondering what the purpose of that "hole & wing" is visible on the top flap. 1/2" of spring compression I was able to pull off by hand, much more, and I'd be tempted to use that eye to rig some kind of compression scheme.

I forgot to tell her to buy the manual if the dealer was able to identify it from the parts... which is the original point of this thread and my thread. I ordered a manual for a L-22 via the internet. When it arrives, I'll confirm the model and repost here...solving the model number riddle.