Antique Sickle Bar Mower - Part 1, Introduction & Adjustments
Vložit
- čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
- 1944 Allis Chalmers B; the basic operation and terms of an antique 6' sickle bar mower. Allis Chalmers "No. 5 Power Mower"
After getting this model B back to operation condition again, it's finally time to tackle the sickle bar mower. This video is for the novice user. It's an introduction to terms and the names of parts on a 6' sickle bar mower, and making adjustments prior to using it for the first time. Lift spring, lift handle, manual lift, transport bar, inner shoe, outer shoe, swathboard, pitman arm, pitman bar, sickle shaft, PTO belt, mower bar, cutter bar, knives, knife blades, rock guards, knife guides, knife guide clearance 1/64", proper adjustments, sickle bar "lead" adjustment, mowing height adjustment, testing knife blades by hand, adjusting convex bow out of the mower bar, PTO belt tension adjustment, pitman arm alignment, sickle bar "register".
T he 3 1/4" adjustment needs to stop on the guards at the same location at the end of the pitman stroke. I think it's called timing the sickle. If it goes further one way than the other way in relationship to the ledger plates on the guards, it will cut fine going one way but the sickle section (knife) won't travel across the ledger plate on the guards when it returns to the other side . This is very important so it cut equally going other ways. I hope you understand my explanation because on the video it appeared to go past the guard one way and not the other way. You keep doing this. I really look forward to your projects. You do a great job. Don't stop!!!
Thank you!
I'm glad that people like this are restoring pieces of history and even better showing us younger kids(in my 40's now) what they've learned and know.
I hope to see more videos like this.
Thank you Donald.
Thorough explanation.
Thank you.
A wonderful presentation of how a sickle bar mower works and should be adjusted properly. I have mishandled a few in my 25 years of small acre weekend farming. Mostly due to lack of insight, lack of a manual (who uses that?) and multitudes of stones, rocks and ant nests. All takes it toll on old machinery. But only a few days ago I taken on the winter project of restoring a Kuhn 6' sickle bar mover that I broke the wooden pitmann arm on years ago. In your video at 2:45 and again at 20:35 I recon that you are missing a shoe for the outer end of the bar since you have the same adjustments available like I have on my Kuhn - with a shoe on. Once you have that, I would set it at the same level as the inner shoe. But then again I haven't mastered the sickle bar mower completely. Yet.
Thank you very much. Yes, you are correct about the shoe.
wow its been since the 1980's I used to help my Dad using a sickle bar to harvest our Hay crop, fun!!!
We used a John Deere sickle bar back in the day I really miss that, but we havent cut hay in y ears, yay.
I have an Allis Chalmers C with this exact mower, this has been very helpful!
Glad to hear it! Thanks.
That’s pretty cool love old equipment from the past!
Thanks Shelby!
When we used those to make hay we poured used motor oil over the whole thing while it was running. Switched to mower conditioners in the 1960s
I also have an Allis C with that mower. The transport rod lays on top of that little flat iron that is bolted to the large angle iron that supports the front of the mower. The pitman should be wood for the reason you stated. The one on it now is too long. The tip of the knives should travel from center to center of the rock guards. The second handle (the one that was stuck) is meant to adjust that angle of the knives on the go, depending on conditions. Tip the bar up for rough, rocky ground, down for downed tangled grass. The belt tension is adjusted by adding or removing shims in the top pulley.
Thank you sir!
Yes the pitman arm was a breakaway yes so it didnt break other parts. There is a clutch if the blades bind you can hear that clutch popping!
Happy First Day of Fall! Looking forward to the next video.
I have the same thing watch your cutter bar hanging down to far in transport I chained mine up after breaking the knife
As mentioned, all the sickle mowers I've seen uses a wood pitman arm. I have a Ford 501 sickle mower, that attaches to the tractor's 3 point hitch and uses the tractor's pto to run the mower. I had to buy a new pitman arm as the one on mine when I bought it was broke.
Your end board is held on to the rod on the end by a couple c clamps that screw to the board
Every sickle bar I've owned or even seen had a wood link from the eccentric to the knife bar...
The part that breaks first as a sacrificial, and easily repairable, piece. Once used an axe handle for a weekend to finish cutting.
Yes, wood seems to be the best way to go.
You have adjustment rods on the outside of those bolts that you took the washers out of.
To adjust your belt you see the big long nut and the lock nuts on the top and bottom of the adjustment nut and there is threaded rod on the top and bottom of it, that’s how you adjust your belt for the Sickle Bar Mower!
Great! Thank you.
The outer edge or guard was actually a board about 5" wide. The pitman bar that made the cutter bar work was made of wood as a safety feature which broke off depending on the terrain or obstacle in its way.... that's why picking stones after plowing was important to make sure the terrain was smoother. My dad had an Allis Chambers C with that same mover. H bought new in 1949. It's still in family in Holland Vermont.
Thanks. That’s neat your C is still in the family.
I know I'm late posting this, but I would not use this mower with a steel pitman arm. The wood pitman is designed to break before anything else that is more expensive and in this case rare!
Nice work on the adjustments, let's go haying
Soon!
Your end of the bar fnife section should be a knife and a half or end of the bar will plug up I mowed with Grandpa's b and the same mower you have there's also a metal arm so you can use the hydraulic plow lift on the back of the tractor right behind the seat
It looks like your outer shoe is actually missing the skid plate or “shoe”. It has a hook on the front that goes in the square hole and a bracket that bolts into the long slot at the back to adjust how high the cutter bar is held off the ground
Thank you.
The lower pulley is adjustable , add or remove shims to change. Pulley diameter. Or it’s on a cam like the fan pulley
Your videos are a delight to watch. I’m enjoying your Allis Chalmers B series. I have an Allis Chalmers CA wide front. It came with a 59” belly mower which I took off. I tried to roll it during a winter month. The CAs have a dip stick for the transmission on the left side of the casing which was missing. I found out when trying to roll it during winter it had water in the transmission. FROZEN. So I had to heat it up to drain it and then add fluid. Rolled fine after that. I’m from Minnesota. Where a you from? Thanks for the videos.
Thanks Dennis! I am in the great state of Idaho.
Hand starting keep your thumb on same side of crank as you're fingers if backfires will break your thumb good rule starting anything hand crank
I agree, thank you.
Re-read the part about register. From what I saw in the video, you're about a half of a knife section out of register. The ends of each stroke should line up with the center of the guards. That maybe caused by the pitman being to long. Seeing how it's a metal replacement, I would imagine there's an error there in it's length being to long. Mowers out of register tend to plug up in heavy grass. Having the knives centered on the guards is sort like a neutral position for the start of the next cut cycle. 40 or 50 years ago all Ag equipment dealers had stacks of pitman arms. They were considered a disposable and an often replaceable part. They were cut to the proper length for the model of the mower and drilled for the attaching hardware, and your hardware looks to be in decent shape. Maybe the wood is still being offered in aftermarket catalogs. I have an old JD #5 mower owners manual that explains how to adjust knife hold-down clips. It's pretty crude, but very effective for a field adjustment. If the hold-down is to loose ( jamming on an oversized piece of brush), smack the end with a hammer to get it back to it's position. If you smack it too hard and cause it to bind on the knife, use the ball peen end of the hammer and hit the hold-down between the bolts that attach it to the bar. That action will restore the clearance. From my own experince, you'll have to tighten the hold-down bolts after each adjustment. A quick and easy field adjustment without having to go back to the shop for washers or a new hold-down. Most of the hold-downs and guards are made from malleable iron, so they can take some bending without fear of breaking them.
Thanks Ed, as always, for the insight.
Please be very cautious when raising or lowering the bar to or from transport position. The knife can move abruptly in the bar and fingers have been lost. Always handle the bar from the back, or the outer shoe and keep your fingers clear. The pitman is typically made from hardwood.
Yes, that is an excellent point. Thank you for mentioning it.
Hay can u show how the starter linkage is on the b I have one gust like it I gust have to put it back together and u do have hydraulic on that b
put a coolant filter kit on it, with a zinc plug.
Or welll yes sometimes eventually the wooden pitman arm will totally break
Haven’t read the comments. Just purchased a used model like this. Curious on where you found cutter blades and they counter parts. I need some is shy I’m asking.
It came complete so I didn’t have to buy any blade parts. Not sure where to find them.
@@AntiqueCarsandStuff thank you.
Does anyone have a breakdown of the bearing hub on the PTO side of the pitman arm?
Do you know the manufacturer and model number? I have one just like it.
It’s an Allis Chalmers mower. “No. 5 Power Mower” not sure about the model no.
BE very careful about your fingers in around those blades