haybine?

Hi Peyton, I ran a 477 with my horses for a few years before switching back to a sickle bar mower. I was using four horses because my cart was all set for four for baling. Three would have pulled it easily. I also could have pulled the 9′ easily but didn’t know before hand how the home made cart would do. It worked great, but in the end I like the sickle better. More fun to work horses with. I have tried to make up for the loss in crimping with better tedding. You can see pictures of horses with haybine on my web album if you poke around a little. Got a run. Donn

With a haybine you will notice the biggest difference in stalky crops like mature red clover and things like that. It also depends on the weather and other drying factors. For late first cutting that will dry fast any way it might only be a few hours which can be hard for a horse farmer to take advantage of. In the early first cutting, crimping doesn’t have as big of an effect as tedding does, in my opinion. I also run two seven foot mowers with the same number of horses and one extra person, so I can effectively lay down hay quicker this way.

I use a four star rotatory tedder. I am not sure of the manufacturer; New idea perhaps. I think it is a 15′, but it fits on two swathes from 7′ mowers perfectly. here is a link to the tedder with my new PTO Cart.

http://vimeo.com/70153744

No, I let go of the AC as it had bad wheels. This is a Case V or VAC. the tractor was from about 1948. I actually think the case worked really well. Some of the AC tractors have a final drive that added resistance for the PTO cart. donn

In a PTO cart you want to deliver all the weight to the drive wheels. So I didn’t want any front wheels. Also added weight for horses to pull. It that video it was not perfectly balanced and (heavy tongue weight) and I have since built a small frame behind the seat where I mounted one of the wheel weights. That has balanced it perfectly. One interesting thing I learned from Neal is that by design anytime you are driving the PTO shaft that will put down pressure on your tongue. So having the cart wheel balanced is important. I have two tongues specifically for use with D ring harness. While it has worked well for me it is limiting as to how many configurations I can use. the next step up would be five abreast or three more in front. Donn

Hi Peyton, I have been meaning to look more closely at some of those other tractors. Bit I really don’t know any of them well. Don’t really know much about tractors! What did when I went into a barn full of old tractors was I first looked for something I though might have the right size and weight. I think some of the tractors you mentioned would fill that bill. Then try shifting to the levers to see how it works. Ideally if you can a rear wheel of the ground and get the clutch in, you can check several things. is the PTO shaft free spinning? or Locked by second clutch or separate toke off. does it stop spinning if you engage the PTO. Does it go in and out of gear easily? With the tire off the ground you may be able to spin the rear wheel and by putting the transmission in gear and engaging the PTO it should spin. That is a positive test. If you are lucky it will spin different speeds for each gear you put the tractor in. Also change direction in reverse. It sound like a lot of work but it is definitely worth it before you drag it home. If the tires are no good at least make sure you have good rims – a mistake I made.

Tere may be a few photos of us taking it apart on my web album: picasaweb.google.com/mulemandonn