[AT] pitman anyone?

[Larry D. Goss]

Farmer, I noticed during Cubfest that you have a whole bunch of
rear-mount sickle bar mowers that you have allowed to congregate
together out east of the barn in a rather secluded space where (if you
don't watch them closely) they will reproduce!  Did you know that
removing the pitman bar from select ones can render them harmless?  It's
kind of like "fixing" a tom cat.  I would highly recommend that you take
that action before it's too late.

Seriously, you saw the Power King sickle bar mower that I dragged home
from up north.  I'm trying to rehab another one just like it that
doesn't have a pitman.  No one has a pitman as short as the one I need,
but more importantly I need a set of pitman mounting straps.  The style
I need is kind of "plain Jane" in design, but just doesn't seem to be
available anywhere.  I found a bunch of IHC logos on the mower parts so
I tried the local Case/IH dealer for pitman bar hardware.  They came up
with a photo of what I need in an old catalog, but all the current part
numbers are for more sophisticated designs with roller bearings on the
crank end, etc.  The local John Deere dealer is ready and willing to
sell me their hardware, but the crank joint mount is more sophisticated
on the model they pulled up on the computer screen (model No. 9) than
what I can use.  The model No. 9 crank connection makes use of a wrist
pin arrangement that I don't want.  What I need is a pair of straps for
the sickle knife end that uses the "standard" ball connection and for
the crank end I need the straps with the conical faces that simply slip
over matching depressions in the bearing block with a carriage bolt up
through both straps to hold them together.  Do you have a pitman out
east of your barn answering this description that you would be willing
to part with?  Length is no object because I'll make a custom stick for
this mower anyway.  I think the hardware I need is identical to what I
remember on the John Deere L that we had on the farm when I was a kid.
I'd like to stay away from the Allis-Chalmers design simply because
hardware on the knife end of those pitman's is more sophisticated than
would look right with this mower.  But beggars can't be choosers.  Let
me know what you've got.

If all else fails, I may pay my brother a visit and see if I can talk
him out of the spare pitman for the Allis G that's been kicking around
the shop for the last 50 years or so.  Come to think about it, that
pitman won't work either. The conical mating surfaces on the crank end
of an Allis pitman are just the opposite of what I need. 

Larry