sickle bar length

[Iron Rose]

What the length of the sickle bar on a one horse mower.

Thanks
Dan

[Jay]

I have seen both 3 and 1/2′ and 4′ bars on McCormick 1 horse mowers. I have also seen a 5′ bar on a #7 made into a one horse mower. Jay

[j.l.holt]

agree with the 3 1/2–4ft bar..seen both my self. but was told by old blacksmith who was cutting one down,,3 1/2 was plenty..or the two horse’s all would be 6ft and bigger. His thoughts were that a two horse mower should be just double that of a one horse. So that puts a two horse in the 7-8ft range..never seen any that long, even on old tractor pull types.

[Donn Hewes]

Once again, not a lot of direct experience in this; but lots of plans to build one as several friends want one. I personally think a converted #7 or #9 would make a great one horse mower. I would make the mower bar length based on the number of acres to be mowed, hills? type, size, and temperament of horse. I believe some big horses could handle a five foot bar, for short periods on small acreages. For bigger fields, for more hours of mowing I would shorten it to 4 or 4 1/2 feet. One of the big challenges with a long bar is not strictly the power required, but the side draft created. I see this clearly using a 7 foot bar and a team. The single horse in shafts would not experience this to the same extent.

[Ed Thayer]

The Deering 1 horse mower I had had a 4′ bar and that was plenty for my 16.2 Belgian. Lots of rest even on flat ground was required. But it did a fantastic job clipping pastures and around the gardens.

Ed

[ethalernull]

I now own the single-horse mower that Ed had, has 4′ bar. It’s all original and users manual indicates 4′ bar length on all of these footlift models. Not too big a pull for my 16.2 belgian either, seems easier for them than tillage work just covering more ground. THIS MOWER IS FOR SALE, TUNED AND FIELD READY!

-Evan

[Iron Rose]

Thanks for the input guys. I converted a No. 7 international regular gear to a one horse mower . Got a chance to use it this weekend. My 1800 pound mare did ok on the 4 1/2 foot bar but she had to work at it, of course she is pretty soft. Thinking that I’ll cut it down to a 4 ft. bar. Only use it for clipping pastures or weed patches. All in all I’m satisfied with it but can see that I will need to tweak a few things.

Iron Rose
Dan SE Mn

[Jay]

In my experience, the biggest single cause of extra draft in a mower is little bits of slack or shuck in the drive train to the knife. Slop in the flywheel shaft, the flywheel bushing or bearing, slop in the knuckle connecting the pitman stick to the knife. Just a little bit doesn’t seem like much but if there is just a “little” more in another spot, 1+1 does not = 2, it equals 6 or 8 in terms of increased draft. The same applies to register being off “just a little”. It makes a huge difference. A mower running really right and smoothly is such a pleasure to use… IMHO Jay

[daniel grover]

Jay, what do you mean by register? We are generally happy with our two mowers #7 and #9 but i’d like to learn more about mower tuning and adjustments. Would you recommend the Lynn Miller mower book? Any other resources you’d point to?

Thanks,

Daniel

[Donn Hewes]

Register is the same as timing. Making sure your knife and guards are lining up with each stroke. I couldn’t agree more with Jay about the little bits of slop adding to the draft. In repairing hard working Amish mowers it is really clear that those little bits of slop get in the best mower just from hard working conditions. When not addresses immediately they not only add draft but quickly also lead to a mower break down. This time of year, everyone wants pitman straps, bearings, plates, sticks and the knife head rivets have come loose from the knife. All these things started with a little slop in a hard working mower that kept working to finish the field.

[robie robinson]

how does IandJ mower stack up other than being uber expensive.

[Donn Hewes]

I have only seen them at HPD and the like, but my impression is that the double acting knife is working great. Pulling easy and reducing plugging likely. Worth the extra expense? That depends on a few other factors. Your desire / ability to perfectly maintain the traditional mower. cash on hand, etc. One of the smart things I & J did was make that mower available in any set up. Horse drawn, PTO trailer, PTO with 3 point hitch, or small motorized. This makes the double action knife available to anyone with any team, or using a PTO cart (motorized or ground drive) or not; any size team.

I still like a well rebuilt #7 or #9 as they are much cheaper, and work great when set up well.

[Jay]

Like Donn, I have only seen the I&J mower at HPD- it sure cuts nicely. Just looking at it my impression is: will work superbly for some time- I would want to hear from people who have used them long enough for them to start to really wear. How are they to repair/rebuild when worn? Second, the cutting parts seem really exposed – how do they react when the mower runs into the inevitable rock or tree or whatever and the knives get bent? These are the concerns that came to mind when watching the I&J being demonstrated, it sure is impressive.
The question of what is register: as the flywheel is turned by hand, the knife traveling back and forth is supposed to stop at each end of it’s stroke in the dead center of a guard. If the mower is cutting at all, then the register isn’t off too much, however if it’s off dead center at all, it’s costing you extra draft (harder work for the horses). One of the commonest ways to get the register off just slightly without realizing is to try to “save money” by making your own pitman stick. The measurement that is critical is the distance between the bolt holes at each end of the stick as they determine the effective length of the stick which sets the register. (I am NOT saying don’t try, just be very careful with your measurements). A new pitman stick for either a #7 or #9 (they are about 3″ different) costs only about $10 from Norm Macknair. Jay

[Author]

Posts