[Farmall] Sickle Bar Mower Question

[Jim Becker]

Mike pretty well covered it.  Here are a couple small additions.

You can remove sections from the knife pretty easily by holding the knife 
with the front edge down with the main bar of the knife supported on the 
edge of an anvil.  A hammer blow to the back edge of a section will shear 
off both rivets.  (much easier to do than explain)

If you need to replace the pitman stick, if you can still get a new one from 
CaseIH, do so.  The right length is critical.

Jim Becker        jim.becker at verizon.net

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Sloane" <mikesloane at verizon.net>
To: "Farmall/IHC mailing list" <farmall at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Friday, April 15, 2005 6:38 AM
Subject: Re: [Farmall] Sickle Bar Mower Question


> The good news, Carlton, is that all the (wear) parts for virtually all of 
> the old IH sickle bar mowers are pretty much the same. The "sections" (or 
> 5 sided knife pieces) are standard and can be purchased from any farm 
> equipment store, Case IH dealers, or on-line/catalog from Valu-Bilt, 
> T.H.E. Company, etc. The confusing part is that they come "plain", "under 
> serrated", or "top serrated", and which you use is somewhat dependent on 
> the material you are cutting.  (The sections come in packages of 10.) I 
> happen to use under serrated on grass and weeds. I find that I often 
> needed to replace the original IH guards, as they get beaten up when 
> cutting along my stone and stump filled lane. Replacements are also 
> available from the same sources and not expensive (and they last forever). 
> Be sure to buy new mounting bolts for the guards, as the old ones are 
> usually in pretty bad shape. (The replacement guards are usually painted 
> green, unfortunately. But if that bothers you, that is easy enough to 
> correct.) I was also able to buy a complete bar with sections attached 
> from Case IH some years back, but it was old stock, and they may not have 
> them any more. The biggest problem for most folks is the rivets. You can 
> drill out the old rivets and hammer the new ones flat, but I never had 
> good luck with getting a really tight fit that way. I bought a portable 
> rivet press that punches out the old rivets and "sets" the new ones very 
> nicely. Valu-Bilt item T55-0584 it the right item, but there is no image 
> of it on their Website. (The price has about doubled since I bought mine!) 
> You can, I have heard, convert your riveted sections to bolt-on, but I 
> have never done that. Pitman sticks and hold down clips are also and 
> available from the same sources. I would give Valu-Bilt 
> (www.valu-bilt.com> and T.H.E. Company <www.the-co.com> a call and ask for 
> a copy of their current catalog.
>
> Mike
>
> Carlton Houston wrote:
>> Hi All,
>>
>> I am wondering about where I should start in trying to find replacement
>> teeth/blades for my sickle bar mower.  I know you must be able to find
>> pitman arms, etc, but I don't quite know how to even identify the parts
>> in a good enough way to actually order them.
>>
>> My mower runs on my 52 Super A.  I am planning to work on the thing this
>> weekend.  If I dismantle the existing blades, are there numbers or any
>> such identification on them, or are they an eyeball replacement part
>> from TSC?  I apologize for asking dumb questions with so little
>> background information, but I have so little time when I do get to play,
>> I want to ask first.  Maybe it'll help me get more done...
>>
>> As always, I appreciate you guys offering your wisdom and wit.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Carlton Houston
>> Summerville, GA
>>
>
>>
>
> -- 
> Mike Sloane
> Allamuchy NJ
> mikesloane at verizon.net
> Images: <www.fotki.com/mikesloane>
>
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> aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily; and why older 
> persons, especially if vain or important, cannot learn at all. -Thomas 
> Szasz, author, professor of psychiatry (1920- )
>
>
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