[AT] Bush hog needed for the '51 McCormick

[Larry Goss]

The only part of your message I would disagree with, Mike, is the portion where you say that you HAVE to have a riveting tool.  I riveted an awful lot of sections without a tool when I was a kid.  I begged for a tool, but Dad wouldn't buy one.  He told me that riveting was building character.  :-)

But the rest of your message is on target.  That doesn't keep me from owning one. I still mow creek banks and fence rows with one.  But I'm tempted to invest in one of the tow-behind devices that Northern Tool has for sale.  Has anyone on the list had experience with one for mowing fence rows?

Larry


----- Original Message -----
From: Mike Sloane <mikesloane at verizon.net>
Date: Monday, October 27, 2008 16:44
Subject: Re: [AT] Bush hog needed for the '51 McCormick
To: Antique tractor email discussion group <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>

> A former neighbor used to "brush hog" his sheep pastures with a 
> pull-behind cutter powered by his JD MT. The only time he had a 
> problem 
> was when he managed to "jackknife" the rig (he wasn't the most 
> skilled 
> operator in the county, but a long shot. Then he would have to 
> drop the 
> cutter and use a chain to pull it back. I think that if you 
> don't have a 
> lot of tricky corners or have to do much backing up, that would 
> be your 
> best bet.
> 
> I have a couple of sickle bar cutters that I use for trimming 
> the 
> shoulders of the lane  and around ponds, but I wouldn't use 
> them field 
> cutting. To do a decent job, they require a lot of maintenance, 
> spare 
> sections (blades) a rivet tool, spare guards, etc. In other 
> words, 
> except for their ability to reach out and cut where the tractor 
> can't 
> reach otherwise, they are a pain in the butt. That's just my 
> opinion, of 
> course, and other will probably differ.
> 
> Mike
> 
> Roy Morgan wrote:
> > The folks who hayed our gone-to-weed fields are pretty much 
> done.   
> > They left a lot of places because of gopher holes and rough 
> terrain,  
> > and say that if they can they'll come back with a bush 
> hog.  Or I  
> > should get one, or a sickle bar cutter.y
> > Advice?  It seems to me that soon, we'll have nice hay on 
> all the land  
> > and may not  need a bush hog much at all.  Would a 
> carefully handled  
> > sickle bar cutter be best for us in the long run?  We 
> plan to share  
> > the hay in the future with folks who can rake and bale it at 
> the best  
> > times for the fields and the hay.
> > 
> > The tractor I have is the '51 McCormick W-4.  It has a 
> PTO and  
> > swinging bar hitch, (no two- or three- point hitch.)  It 
> has hydraulic  
> > with two valves, one in use for the front plow and one unused, 
> so  
> > hydraulic power for a towed implement is a possibility for the 
> future.> 
> > Roy
> > 
> > Roy Morgan
> > k1lky at earthlink.net
> > 529 Cobb St.
> > Groton NY, 13073
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > _______________________________________________
> > AT mailing list
> > http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at
> > 
> > 
> _______________________________________________
> AT mailing list
> http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at
>