[AT] Sickle Mower Question

[Mike Sloane]

If you go to 
<http://public.fotki.com/mikesloane/tools__equipment/rivettoolforsickleb.html> 
you can see the tool that I use for dealing with sickle bar sections. 
The nice things about it are that 1. you can use it without removing the 
  whole bar, 2. it removes the old rivets easily and cleanly, 3. and it 
does an excellent job of setting the new rivets very quickly.

I managed to hit a metal fence post with the end of my IH 100 mower a 
few days ago, and it took only a couple of minute to remove the remains 
of the broken section and rivet on a new one. Of course, I have had a 
lot of practice over the years. :-(

When I use the IH 22 mower on my '48 Farmall Cub, I keep the belt a 
little bit looser than recommended - if I encounter an obstruction, the 
belt slips, stalling the bar and saving the expense and effort of 
replacing the Pitman arm.

As far as the cutting, I agree with others that you should keep the 
ground speed down when cutting weeds and trash, but you should keep the 
PTO speed up in order to prevent the mower clogging.

One note, Dick: the sickle bar mower is one of the most dangerous 
implements you can own. If you have to leave the seat of the tractor for 
ANY reason while you are mowing, it is a good idea to not only disengage 
the PTO, but shut down the tractor. Those mowers can cut off a finger 
just as quickly as they can chop down a 1" sapling. One particularly bad 
time is when you are manually raising or lowering the bar - it can move 
just enough to cut whatever is in the way. I treat the bar very, very 
cautiously. And, of course, keep children and other small animals far 
away from the machine.

Mike

Dick Day wrote:
> Thanks. I really like the "same number of fingers" idea :)
> 
>