Grass board source?

[near horse]

I’m looking for a place to get a new grass board for my #9 mower. Any thoughts? Got one previously from Balster’s but they’re now gone; MackNair’s is too busy to deal with these right now ….. so?

[Jay]

Geoff, are you looking for the grass board with hardware or just the wood? I have some wood blanks… Jay

[Donn Hewes]

Hi Geoff, Try Master Equipment / Joe’s Repair; They have a metal grass board. Be sure to ask for a bolt and spring. They are listed in the equip buyers guide.

[J-L]

I have two that are made by the Kosch Co. in Nebraska. Nice metal grass boards.

[near horse]

Wow – I just went to the Kosch website and ordered a metal board. Incredible that they’re still making stuff like that.

Thanks to everyone for your help and support. Now it just needs to get above 45F and rainy to even think about haying!

[njfarmer]

Geoff,
If you dont mind me asking. What did the new metal board from Kosch run you? I am looking for one for a mc #6. Thanks
Brian

[Does’ Leap]

I am intrigued by the Kosch grassboard. Do they work well? I like the look of the two rods and the bottom sweep. My current grassboard is wood and I have an adjustable sweep for short, medium and tall grass. It works well, but took some welding and fussing. I need another for my new mower.

George

[near horse]

Sorry – I replied once but my computer has been acting up today so it appears I lost my connection.

Brian – cost was a little over $30 ($35?) not sure about shipping (UPS ground). They also have a bolt/spring combo for attachment that is about $5. Kosch does not handle credit cards but are shipping to me along with an invoice. Nice.

George – as far as performance, we’ll have to see what Wes (J-L) has to say. Thanks for the link Wes.

[Big Horses]

That sure sounds reasonable! I’ll be watching this too… I’ve got a couple to replace……….

[Jay]

I have replaced the grass board spring with an old valve spring on occasion and they seem to work fine. Jay

[Anonymous]

While I am not currently using a horse drawn sickle mower, I did buy an I&J mower this spring with hopes of using it behind a PTO forecart in the future. The I&J mower comes with this grass board. I have clipped one of our pastures with it this spring and it does appear to work quite well. Plus it is setup to fit many different mower models, JD, McD, etc.

John

[mitchmaine]

the amish don’t seem to like them. the ohio amish anyway. i asked why and the answer was that the hay didn’t make as well flipped on top out at the end. it requires a few pea guards at the heel of the cutter bar to cut through when you wander out into the mown hay. i tried it one summer and it worked ok, but in the end i went and put my old swarthboard back on. it was a metal replacement that we bought a long time ago and still works well even when rusty.

[Does’ Leap]

@mitchmaine 35306 wrote:

the amish don’t seem to like them. the ohio amish anyway. i asked why and the answer was that the hay didn’t make as well flipped on top out at the end. it requires a few pea guards at the heel of the cutter bar to cut through when you wander out into the mown hay. i tried it one summer and it worked ok, but in the end i went and put my old swarthboard back on. it was a metal replacement that we bought a long time ago and still works well even when rusty.

Hi Mitch:

When you mention the Amish not liking “them” do you mean the metal grass boards? What do you mean “the hay doesn’t make so well”? What are “pea guards” same as stub guards? Sorry to come across as obtuse, but I want to read your input on this and can’t make heads or tales of your post.

George

[mitchmaine]

hi george, sorry about that. i meant that the amish don’t use grassboards at all. and that when grassboards are in use, metal or not., that the grassboard flips the last foot of hay upon the hay next to it making a swarth that is heavier than the rest of the swarth and the hay dries slower in that mini- windrow. we most all use tedders now, so that probably isn’t an issue anymore.
without a grassboard, the cutterbar has only the outer shoe on the end of the bar to separate the hay, so its difficult sometimes keeping the heel of the mower in that peice of field on the next pass. so that is the reason for the stub guards. they don’t clog with mown hay. cut through it pretty well. if you ever get out that way, look at the mowers. NONE of them have a grassboard. funny, that. good luck with your mowing. even with the nags, its going to be a week or ten days before we can start thanks to the ten inches rain we have had in as many days. my neighbor has a csa, and the rain last weekend literally carried her soil and cornseed off the plowed ground and down a swale. farmin’ and famine sound alike here in maine lingo. best wishes, mitch

[Does’ Leap]

Hey Mitch:

Got it. Thanks for elaborating. I mow with an “easy cut” system now and I can expect it to mow through some cut grass, but not much. After I mow my fields clockwise I go around in the opposite direction for a pass or two to finish it off. In this case there is no path for my inner shoe made by the grassboard. I just keep my fingers crossed and mow, but I often have to stop and clear a jam. Interesting that the Amish mow this way. I am near completion on a different mower with a haybine set-up and stub guards. Interesting to see how it does in already cut grass compared with my current mower. Hope you dry out and get some decent weather.

George

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