sickle bar mower adjustment & mowing under fences

[@richardheinen1126]

WARNING WARNING for those out there thinking about buying one of these, keep your fingers away from the blades when fold the bar up for transport. Sickle slides down....finger gone. Great video btw!!! I almost lost a finger the only time I folded one up. I didn’t know anything about this type of mower at the time.

[@frankcadillac9151]

Your right Richard first thing I was taught.

[@dlckweed8345]

@@rogercarrico4975 you should get sign on the locked door danger beware of the sycle bar.I cut my little finger deep when some bugger was taking the blade of the combine when I was a teen .still have no feeling in it.lol.I know it happend again with with another boy working on the farm again changing the blade on the combine header .with the same bloke who nearly took my finger off.He slide the blade without warning and took a couple of his fingers off .the funny thing is everybody thought it was funny at the time and we where calling him passion fingers.Until we saw his fingers on the ground.so I ran and got a coffee cup to put them in .when I came back .the lads were doubled over .the farm dog had eaten one of his fingers and were laughing too Much to catch it.so once we got most of his fingers we but him in the back of the pickup truck and took him to hospital.The wrong hospital as it turned out the nearest one only treated children.. Found a proper one eventually. Lol

[@barnycanuck6234]

Yup 50 years ago learned the hard way too, had to drill press a third hole in a knife section. Thot I’d just hold it by pressing down on it. Lucky just got a bad cut.

[@jodydoakes8754]

That was the first thing I learned about these mowers from my father, 65 years ago, and he had all of his fingers. I was on edge of my seat during this whole video. Pete had his fingers in the wrong place many times.

[@hiscifi2986]

Absolutely agree, never get your fingers anywhere near the blade when it is in the upright carriage position, the cutters will move down a lot. I had to repair the wooden push rod on one machine, went to a timber merchant and he made a piece of the right size, from what he considered to be suitable wood (maybe ash.?) I had to make the slot for the drive end myself. I think they cut much lower than the modern rotary mowers, and leave less on the field. . . .

[@MarkLasater]

My mower cut like that yesterday, not so much today. After fiddling with the bar quite a bit today, I decided that the belt needed to be replaced, where upon it promptly broke. So, tomorrow, off to the NH dealer to get a new belt and then trying to figure out how to put the new one on. You seem to be a bit further down the road in the farming adventure than I am. Man, I wish I'd paid more attention to what grandpa was saying all those years ago.

[@MarkWYoung-ky4uc]

It's a pleasure seeing the old Super C doing more than just pulling wagons. I'd love to see it in a tobacco field with a 2 row cultivator. I remember mowing with Grandpa's Cub and the Cub 122 mowing machine. It was a pleasure to operate. The mowing machine mounted under the belly of the tractor and the sickle bar was in front of the back tire so you could easily see what you were mowing.

[@crslyrn]

Nice work explaining the sickle bar mower basics. You're right, operating a sickle bar mower is a lost art, as are several other old school farm practices. Thanks for sharing. Stay safe.

[@matthewtaylor2185]

I'll never forget watching my uncle and his two boys race around the neighborhood hay fields with three Farmall H tractors fitted with sickle bar mowers. The three of them working as a team could flat out lay down some hay. 21 feet of cutter bars and skilled drivers.

[@matthewtaylor2185]

@@redrustyhill2 a 19ft sickle bar would be useless on this ground around here!

[@matthewtaylor2185]

@@redrustyhill2 I didn't realize that, but still, it is hilly and rough and back when my uncle and cousins were rip roaring around the neighborhood on farmall H tractors, they were cutting off of all kinds of little, often oddly shaped patches. 6 or 7 ft cutter bar was handy.

[@allanlavallee7171]

My brother and I used to cut wild hay all summer. We routinely cut about 21 tons per day with two seven foot mowers..

[@damnyiffers]

I LOVE learning from older individuals who have obviously lived a life full of experiences.

[@dwhollrah]

Set the sickle in the vise, nose down and beat the back of section w a 2 pounder. It'll sheer the rivets. Skips the grinding. I use the 2 pounder to set the rivets too. Fast, never a problem. I cut 100 acres a yr this way w a NH456. I sharpen up the flat side of the sections w a flap disc every couple days too. Good tips here Thanks.

[@petrokrasnov2967]

I’ve seen that shearing tip. Thinking about trying it eventually.

[@KKing55]

A Lost Art~ One of the things you can do to help Future Generations is to Teach young men and women HOW to use and FIX old tractors and Equitment ~!!! Thank You for this Video~!

[@amosmoses8718]

It's such a blessing to watch you use the old equipment and to teach us about it. Thanks for sharing with us.

[@ramcowboy79]

Like you, I love sickle bars. I used to run them on roadsides. Your right takes a lot of patience but they are fun! It's an art . -Enjoyable video!

[@JohnDeere1945]

This was one of those videos that I wish had another 20 minutes to go. I bought my grandfather's farm about 4 years ago not too far away from you. I tried learning and adjusting a sickle mower but as I watch this I'm waiting on the clogs and stress of getting it right. I only make hay so I don't have a big need for one so I sold it. But I still like seeing others use the old machinery and see it work as it should

[@Livoirienyvoitrien]

Just a few acres. That's the kind of farming I fell in love with 50 years ago, and it still burns holes in my sore heart each day. It's like flying in the silken air of creation not knowing about yourself nor about anything. With your head against the flank of a cow you milk her in the evening, smiling without any feeling of pride, just content, thinking how much God must envy you. I'd sell my soul for a farm like that.

[@BenoitFreund-of3og]

BRAVO À TOI !!!!! EXACTEMENT C EST UN BOHNEUR INCROYABLEMNT FABULEUX !!!!!!!

[@starflite3]

I remember mowing with my grandfather when I was a kid on his 53 Cub with a mid-mounted sickle mower. I recently started making hay again on my neighbors field and I completely rebuilt the 5ft bar on the cub. Later i bought a 7 foot bar for my 544 I got last year. It is a fast hitch mower and does pretty well. Does not like wet grass so I have to wait till the grass dries to mow which eats into drying time. With a full time job and the weather the factored in I am going to buy a new disc mower soon. Wont be as nostalgic as the old sickle mowers but I dont have time for nostalgia any more. I still get out the cub with the 5ft sickle and mow under the pine trees as much as I can. I almost got a baby deer laying under one tree last spring so now I will just leave the tall grass for them to hide in. Thanks for the video.

[@brendenhuntcustom]

Great video! Im a 7th gen and make videos of our family farm in northern Missouri, and watching these videos bring me back to the antiques I was lucky to grow up with!

[@devinbarnes7891]

Hey we farm 2k plus in Columbia row crop and 100 head or so with few thousand acres of pasture triple b farms is us I’ve heard of you guys

[@badcallsign4204]

Boy that takes me back to my childhood. Our landlord had one of those with his beautiful old Allis-Chalmers tractor. He was good with it too. REALLY good after watching this video and how much there is to it. He kept the property looking so nice with it.

[@billybobs841]

Bud i gota say you have a gift 4 explaining sycel bar mowers ...I bought a 1960s Jari (basicly a 36 inch sycel bar on the front of a 3.5 hp brigs and straton it works great for mowing under electric fence

[@beboboymann3823]

You are an honorable man sir. You are a knowledgeable man who has a passion for your trade and your tractors and implements are like grandkids that you dearly love. Your passion for sharing your knowledge with those of us fascinated by what you do is truly a righteous thing. I always get excited when I get a notification that you have opened the doors to the classroom with another video. Thank you.

[@billroberts3864]

Pete, thanks for the memories. I drove a team of horses pulling a cycle bar mower on a dairy farm in Newburg, NY. Then I used a horse drawn dump rake to gather the hay into windrows for bailing.

[@matthewrichard8083]

Pete, Thanks for making the videos. My wife and I have recently started (of course we’re Covid homesteaders) the more self sufficient life. We started now with gardening and chickens. I’ve found your videos on economics and the Dexter cows to be very informative. I appreciate your style and your approach with raising animals is where I am. (As organic as possible but being practical and humane to the animals). I want to get into beef in the next year or two and would have gone Angus because it’s what we had growing up but because of you I’m Going Dexter. Thanks again for taking the time and effort and God bless. Matt Richard

[@matthewrichard8083]

Sorry my prior post wasn’t related to the video- just wanted to say thanks

[@JustaFewAcresFarm]

You're welcome Matthew! Best of luck with your farm!

[@homesteadspirit9209]

When i was 16 i was going up a hill with a farmall H and a sickle bar mower in our field and caught a rock and it lifted the fron of the tractor off the ground and swung it around and when it stopped it was facing downhill and i was like "what just happend" love this channel lol

[@mokpot]

You have a gift Pete. You are an excellent Teacher

[@karnellhillscan2834]

You do not need to drill out the rivets on the knife sections just set the knife bar on the edge of a anvil or other square iron withe knife sections pointing down and hit the back of the knife section you want removed with a hammer and it will shear the rivet, really fast and easy. Great video! Thing I like best about a sickle bar is no dust!!!! In CA when I need to mow the ground is dry and dusty.

[@adamfontana537]

I blame you Pete! Your enthusiasm is infectious! I just got an international GL-223 sickle bar mower and have spent all week doing it up. It was sitting in someone’s paddock. Thank you so much for the information you share, it’s priceless

[@robertnymand9889]

Very good job explaining how the sickel mower works and the adjustments.

[@paulrichardson4353]

On our family dairy farm where I grew up in Canton, New York we had this similar Sickle Mower. I was the oldest son out of four boys and I remember with pride when my Dad would say after evening milking “Paul, you can mow about seven times around that field we were haying, if you want to” I really enjoy your videos. Brings back memories

[@Tom-Carraher-Fla]

Pete,wanted to say,your mower vid enhanced me so much,I was convinced I could do the same,so recently I found and purchased a 79/80? MF 41 dyna balance sickle,wobble box is tight,so I purchased it( for a song)! Of course the knife needs attention,and some new things got it apart now,going to mount and set it up on a 55 Ford 600 I have. Excited about it and completion,soon,hopefully.

[@cleobean8723]

Thanks. I run a -16A mower on my Farmall A. Same stuff. One thing I've learned: Save The Old Rock Guards!! The newer replacements (OEM or aftermarket) are not the same in fit!! They leave a big gap between ledger and sickle knife. I have a big headache now since I threw away all my old-style guards. And I thought I was upgrading....

[@curtisdunham2074]

This is the best video I have found that explains how the sickle works and how to repair and adjust it. Thank you! I use a JD350 to cut with, used to use a Ford 501 Mower.

[@stevem5302]

The meticulous way you maintain your equiptment is deserving of high repect sir. You truly love and enjoy tools. Kudos to ya!

[@imaoregonbum6683]

Thank You! I have had subcompact tractors for just rotary mowing. But last few years I've collected other attachments with the most recent being a 46" sickle mower. So you information has made a difference for us.

[@markgamble8377]

U sure got that tuned up. Had one in the beginning.hated doing rivits went to bolts too.then hay bine hated them too. Lastly discbine.died went to heaven. Cows mostly trimmed fences but where didnt trimed with gas powered trimmer.thats a slick way of doing it with sicklebar !

[@the-burrito-mega-blox]

Very informative video! I haven't been able to make a successful pass without it clogging skipping , but after watching this I have a pretty good idea what needs a fix .

[@jefffrayer8238]

You need to find an owners manual and carefully adjust it. Original or reprints can be found at tractor shows or on line. Once worn parts are replaced and adjusted correctly it should mow just fine no matter what brand.

[@blindfarmerguy]

This was a great video. Reminded me of my dad working on his sickle bar mower, pounding out rivets and replacing blades, all the work he did to it before we would go out mow with the Ford 8n. A summer ritual.

[@jondaniel540]

Very nicely explained. I now have a better understanding of the sickle bar and it’s finer details. Thanks Pete.

[@Kallaus_built]

I learned so much from this video. I got my new holland model 46 pull type sickle tuned up and now its cutting awesome!

[@JustaFewAcresFarm]

That’s great Kyle!

[@karenschlenker1241]

Use these sickle bar mowers when I was growing up as a kid, love all the old tractors and equipment. Used a lot of them. Love the info and vids

[@juleswells7421]

Great video thank you. Just bought an old mower to restore and hope to use it on my small holding here in France next season. Very useful and entertaining watch. Thanks again

[@AndrewHCann]

My dad used 1963 B-414 McCormick International 40 hp Desiel motor loader tractor to pull type with 2 wheels Sickle Mower McCormick International type similar to your style used for Hay cutting then leave week then get rake up with raker plus different tractor for baled in 2 weeks too ! Yes lots fun fix to Pete :) and had my chore to on repairs too! The one my dad to lift was power take pull lever on clutch of Sickle Mower that drove knifes cutting bar was chore to use and fun to use!

[@wilscooley3083]

Great video Pete. I’ve spent years of my life mowing with an H and a 120. There’s no more relaxing way to mow when conditions are right😊

[@JustaFewAcresFarm]

That is such a great setup, much better than the rig I used in the video. I wish mine were running, but the H has engine problems.

[@donaldwhite2744]

Another great, detailed video Pete. On our '53 Super C we used a JD #5 semi-mount sickle bar mower. Today I have a Rossi 3point hitch sickle bar that I use for trimming. That works well with both the section bar and the guards move and allow the cutterbar to operate from 90 deg. up to 75 deg. down. This helps tremendously with a road bank we have.

[@Midnight2Mist]

This was a really good video that pretty much answered all the questions I had. Thanks!

[@garyjohnson4458]

Great video many on here using sickle bars have no idea of how to set them up or just them

[@elricm13]

Thank you! Another great video! It’s hard to explain the joy of mowing with a sickle bar mower! The adjustments and lubrication were very helpful

[@chrism.2231]

Timely video, Pete. The wife and I decided a short time ago that we would attempt on a small scale to put up some loose hay for the goats on only a small portion of our 5 acres. Not sure we can be 100% self-sufficient, but it moves us in that direction. That gave me the green light to find some vintage equipment to tackle this, but not looking to spend a lot in the process, at least until I prove concept to myself. Wrong color, I know, but I found a cheap JD no. 5 mower for $50 on CL. I have seen used behind an 8n (which I have) and the price was right, even with a few issues. Add to that a Massey Harris No. 11 rake which I dropped $250 (but the guy did deliver it) and we are cooking with gas! We are really only looking at a 1 1/2-2 acres of hay with the space available, though it is possible we could branch out to a neighbors property or some nearby family land. I am not planning on a baler, hence the loose hay. I might try a hay loader or maybe a buck rake at some point, but the plan now is to use a pitch fork to pick it up and then pile the hay up on a pallet in a shed for storage. Anyway, the sickle mower had a broken knife bar as the previous owner got into some fencing with it about 8 years ago and parked it. I was able to easily find a complete arm from an agricultural boneyard with relatively new sections and the ledger plates even looked good. I have it apart in the shop now to clean and plan to get that installed on the mower shortly. Still need to replace the pitman, make a swathe board and reinstall a manual lift on the mower that I also plucked from the donor mower. Looking forward to getting this thing operational, though it will be a bit before I can use it, as I was still out clearing pasture with the chainsaw last night and have some more work to do there. Along those lines, how picky do I need to be with stumps? Do I need to be thinking about a stump grinder or if they are low to the ground is that something I can expect to be an issue? Any insight there is appreciated. I helped an uncle back in the day, but that was stacking on the hay wagon or in the barn. Sickle mowers and raking are new to me. Sorry for long post. As always, enjoyed the video. Keep up the good work.

[@JustaFewAcresFarm]

Hi Chris, good luck with your hay! Even an acre or 2 of hay is a big job to pick up with pitchforks. If you can find a hay loader that'll help. I'd try to cut the stumps flush with the ground as much as you are able. It's bad enough when you hit a rock that has popped up because of dry ground, but that stump won't move when it's hit!

[@todphillips3935]

Thank you so much for this video. It is so helpful. I just got my first Sickle Mower and I’m so excited to get going.

[@SuperMAZ007]

This video came to my news feed just in time. The Soviet one KSF 2.1 is very much the same as the C-21 in the video. I have no idea what mower the Soviet engineers used to construct the KSF mower. Probably a old McCormick or International mower. But the video is very useful since it sums up all the basics.

[@MrFarmer1997]

So happy to have found your channel, reminds me of working with my grandpa when I was a boy. Plus the information is clear and to the point. Cheers from eastern nebraska.

[@bluegrassluke2989]

Thank you, very informative and helpful information for those of us looking to get started. Don’t have a ton of mechanical experience and it’s by far the biggest “catch” in the plans.

[@bslturtle]

Just watched today's video, 6/202/2022, now I am here to figure out how to adjust my sickle bar mower, Thanks again Farmer Pete!

[@dwaynekoblitz6032]

Now that’s a tractor/implement rig that I’d be able to do for more than 5 minutes before getting bored. I’d LOVE to just cut a whole field with it one time. That’s really neat. The technology really is there. Quite some engineering right there.

[@carlheugel7472]

Brings back memories of getting a john deere no5 sickle mower ready to cut red clover hay with a 1949 john deere Model A tractor

[@ColinPorthouse]

Well, I'll be. I was recently given one of these mowers that has been converted to 3 point linkage. I'm intending to use it to mommy grass under the fence wires. My disc, drum, and flail mowers are to high in their cutting heads to fit under the wires. Your video has been helpful for me on this project. I'm about your age and run a beef operation which is ideal for my cognitive and physical fitness. I have 7 tractors and all have connections to Case New Holland. I make my own balage and hay too. I enjoy watching your tractor rebuild projects, in particular the MD project as I was curious as to the finer detail of the operation of the petrol diesel switch over. All my tractors are direct start diesels, and i am a retired diesel mechanic

[@iamrichrocker]

me Grandpa would love this video..and the old timey implements..brings back good times...

[@6.2_vortec]

Very informative and helpful video. I recently got a old John deer no 4 horse drawn sickle and most of the things you covered on this are identical to mine.

[@curtshelp6170]

Thanks for this guide. My troy built 42" isn't cutting grass well so I'll follow your procedure tomorrow.

[@donplautz9788]

Don't the sound of that mower bring back memories 🚜 thanks for sharing this video,

[@timziegler9358]

You are excellent and thorough in your video instructions! Thank you

[@randallsullivan3692]

Absolutely EXCELLENT instructional video! Good work!

[@petrokrasnov2967]

Yes I really did enjoy the video. Going through cutting problems myself but hope to be tuned up soon! Good tips. Thanks.

[@frankcadillac9151]

Thanks Pete, A sickle bar mower is all I still use a # 9 deere. I use it two or three times a year and first cutting, I'm rusty, Its not easy to mow right and its where most of us learned to cuss.

[@gowenrv3762]

You have a lot of knowledge on these type equipment. I have an old Super C and few equipment with it,,, but not a sickle mower.

[@tinkerinbruce6560]

A well tuned owner will mow in very heavy hay. I used to paint my bar before I put it away for the year and then it was like starting with a new mower

[@nateswiss]

Yo. This was a super informative video! Thanks for your thorough set up. I came here to figure out what was wrong with my new to me Deering No 7 and I learned a lot.

[@leonardwinterhalt5461]

When growing up I would ride with Dad on JD ar used to cut with sickle bar mower Dad would have a nap in the shade & would let me cut hay was very fun

[@ILGuy2012]

This afternoon, I was mowing the ditch alongside the road using a bush hog mower attached to my JD 4200 utility tractor. I'm always leery about the tractor tipping over when driving on a slope. It seems like the wheels on the tractor are spaced too narrow for driving on slopes. I was thinking a sickle bar mower would be safer to use, but I didn't know much about them. Then when I got on youtube tonight, this video displayed on the recommended videos screen. Did youtube read my mind? LOL Anyway, I appreciate you taking the time to make this video, so I could learn about sickle bar mowers.

[@hunti123]

Thank you very much, i learned a lot about my sickle bar mower that i didn't know yet. I will do my first mowing with it in a few days.

[@ultrafarmer3069]

My grandfather had a similar IH sicklebar with the 3 point and a long leaver to raise/lower cutter bar. Back when manufacturers thought about farmers, using a piece of timber as the sheer/weak point meant you could fix it quickly without having to go to town for parts.

[@jiminykripes4937]

I would use a chisle and hammer to replace those rivets we went threw many boxes of knives. Good memories. Thanks for posting

[@All4Most]

Man, you are a GOOD educator and explainer! AND I'm not even a farmer but I liked this vid! :) But I haven't even owned a tractor either ... what's wrong with me? I'm going to have to buy one for my yard !!!

[@umichbran]

Pete, I really appreciate you putting this video together! I've been having trouble finding a comprehensive overview of these mowers. I've been working on getting an old sickle bar mower going and the knife looks like it's angled up a bit. None of the knife sections make full contact with the new rock guards, even when you push down on them (so they immediately clog, even on 2-inch tall wisps of grass). Looking it over last night, it looks like the drive mechanism that the knife attaches to might have a little bend in it. I had no idea how finely tuned these need to be. Hopefully I can get it figured out and go trim under the fences soon. The fence is shorting out in the rain today!

[@JustaFewAcresFarm]

Best of luck! The last time I put all new rock guards on my International 120 sickle bar mower, I had to bend all them to get the knife tight to them.

[@umichbran]

@@JustaFewAcresFarm Good to know... thanks for the information and inspiration. We've been learning a lot from your videos!

[@Aldoleapold]

Thanks for suffering in the heat to bring back a memory my many hours spent on an old Ford 4000 mowing canadian thistle with a sycle bar. Was a young kid, dropping the bar felt very hazardous

[@markwells5624]

Pete: I really enjoyed this video. I have subscribed and have viewed several of your other videos. I have one comment on this video. You did not mention checking the register of the cutter bar as an adjustment. I have a C-21 mower and I got a manual for it. Register refers to each sickle section being under a rock guard at both ends of the pitman stroke. On a C-21 the adjustment for register is right next to the bar angle adjustment. One loosens a bolt and the cast iron cover (which holds the cutter bar inner end) for the pitman end can slide in or out to adjust the register. Being in register is also important for proper cutting. Thanks

[@JustaFewAcresFarm]

Good point Mark. Thanks for describing the process!

[@duanedean3256]

I have this same exact setup except my tractor is 1954. My rockguards like to be pointed up, cuts like butter that way. Thick thistles, rag weed, cockleburrs, grass, milk weed, clover etc, snips them right off. As far as the oil on the bar goes, i do it before every use. As it sits probably 3 months at a crack before use again. Just that little bit of oil helps to slicken the sections, ledgers etc,. get a little lube before it gets into the grass. I dont dry run them, i know it isnt long, but metal to metal and rust as a lube does pan well for me. I love my setup and a blast to use when its on. Thanks for showing.

[@martingardener90]

A live drive tractor would certainly make life a lot easier for you Pete!

[@RLGGIBSON]

We used the same sickle bar mower to cut hay with on our farm , they are best that international ever built .

[@garyrumer153]

I started using one of them when I was twelve years old. If I had to get between a blade on a sickle mower then I used a stick of wood as a safety precaution. I would shut the engine off if I had to get my hands anywhere near the sickle blade. WHen I lifted the bar up then I lifted opposite of the blades behind the sickle bar to keep my fingers out of the path of the sickle bar.

[@noelkeane5603]

Fantastic video. Really enjoyed and derived great value from it. Recently renovated an old MF mowing bar. You are so right using the scissors comparison.

[@wildbill23c]

A sickle bar mower would be great for mowing along my irrigation ditches. The way I do it now, if the ditch has water in it, or its still wet, I have to straddle the ditch with the lawn tractor, mow down to the other end, then backup to the other end of the ditch again, and if you don't stay perfectly in line with the ditch due to the narrow width of a lawn tractor, you end up in the ditch LOL...so a sickle mower would be quite useful for that chore as well.

[@greatnorthern706]

Great video Pete. I am edging ever closer to quitting my corporate job and moving to the country. How does that old John Prine song go? "Blow up your TV, Throw away your paper, Go to the Country, Build you a home..."

[@kiritnaik3099]

Wow Pete great video and you mention all your antiques Trecter good job

[@NEAFarmKid4010]

Where the issue of running under-serrated sections and serrated ledger plates comes in most often is on the old horse drawn mowers. Since those were ground driven, it means that your sickle speed is at a given ratio to your ground speed all the time. I have a McCormick-Deering No. 7 mower, which was IHC's first enclosed gearbox mower, and my great grandpa converted it to be pulled with a tractor. There are all other kinds of issues with that, such as not being able to get to the controls when driving, but my grandpa was telling me that you would always want smooth ledger plates and serrated sections or smooth sections and serrated ledger plates, which is what mine has. He said if both surfaces were serrated, the slower speed of the knife would allow a blade of grass to get in between both serrations, and lock the mower up easier. Don't know if that's completely true or not, since it locks up a lot anyways, but that's what he told me. By the way, great video! I would love to find me a PTO-driven sickle mower to go with one of our tractors. We only have one IH tractor (a 1974 1066), we mainly run John Deere and Allis Chalmers. Maybe I can find an Allis 82-T one of these days.

[@jameslcoble248]

Can't wait to get mine back up and going. It's been sitting for years.

[@tonyallemand222]

Very well spoken gentleman. Thank You.

[@rickokemp1244]

Great video, you know your stuff. Just pulled grandpa's out of the weeds and I think I can get it running with your video. Thank You.

[@jacoblatshaw3004]

Great video! Good information. I love old equipment like this

[@CB71SS]

I have cut fields with one and it does take some skill but when it's right does a fantastic job. The one thing you didn't mention was speed. These are not like modern cutters, it takes a while longer but will do a good job.

[@JustaFewAcresFarm]

Right on, Charlie.

[@benjaminlewis1246]

Love your videos and personality.

[@randykov]

What I find amazing is that the sycle bar was invented in the days of horse drawn mowers and grain binders and the technology is still much the same today on modern combine harvesters and swathers.

[@JustaFewAcresFarm]

Hi Randy, I think that's cool. A little slower than modern discbines but still does a nice job with not much horsepower.

[@markmiles4359]

Excellent and informational video! I'm thinking about buying one to mow pond banks and I'm wondering what down slope angle you can achieve.

[@lazio7495]

Really great step by step video. Thanks 👍

[@Drottninggatan2017]

A tip for the IH mower. You can disconnect the ball joint by stepping on the latch with your foot. That spreads the two halves apart and pushes down on the ball. No special tools needed.

[@JustaFewAcresFarm]

Thank you! I thought there was an easier way but it had been a long time since I removed that knife!

[@TomBiggerstaff-gn1ws]

Wow Pete grate video theres a life time of knowledge there that I've learned on my own the only thing more I do is sharpen the points of the rock grades we have a lot of rock here in east Tennessee and sometimes blount the ends of the rock guards the old hay the rake left or those bang mouse nest I run one and run a disk mower do all the trimming and mow over and around the rock with the sickle thanks Tom

[@alphaone101]

When you were using a sickle bar mower to cut your hay did you then use a "crimper" (after mowing) to crimp the hay to squeeze some of the moisture out of the hay to help it dry quicker? I spent many hours over several years crimping hay, following the farmer as he cut the hay with a sickle bar mower. I haven't seen a crimper in decades, either being used or just rusty away in a field.

[@Sherrod37]

Pete I don’t care what they say your the best

[@georgenelson9662]

Sickle bar (iirc, it was 6 ft) on a Farmall A in the late 1940s to mid-1950s. I logged in a lot of mowing hours during those halcyon New England summers. I tried hard not to hit rabbit nests or pheasants, but in thick hay, it was difficult to avoid them. My least favorite part of the job was humanely dispatching mortally wounded bunnies and birds: I carried a 4 ft length of baling twine for that purpose. I was taught to ALWAYS shut down the tractor before I dismounted to deal with any issues. (I knew too many old-timers missing fingers. Thankfully, at age 82 I still have all 10 digits.)

[@jondaniel540]

Love your videos Pete.

[@deanbenedict707]

Pete, I had a Dearborn mower that i ran with my 8N. It cut terrible until my grandfather rolled out in his wheel chair and told me it was out of time. You may have wanted to cover that as well.

[@bige.3474]

I attached an ATV winch to my Ford 501. Turned it into a completely different mower around trees and fence posts.

[@thomashogan7272]

Good video. You described one way to replace a blade section. We would just pull the bar out of the mower, put it vertically on the edge of an anvil (or a railroad rail section) point down, then smack the back flat edge of the section in line with the rivet to shear the rivits. Punch out the broken rivets. Then peen in a new section with a ball peen hammer. Could do a section in around 60 seconds.

[@mylifesaga]

Great informative video about sickle bars but why cut the grass under the fence? Just keeping house?

[@JustaFewAcresFarm]

To keep the electric fence from grounding on the tall grass.

[@mylifesaga]

​@@JustaFewAcresFarm aaaaaaaAAAAAHHH!!! Thanks for repling had no idea you would personally