Stub Guards on Outer Shoe?

[Mark Cowdrey]

Good thread.
Random thoughts:
If I assume that the cutter bar is properly setup and knife is sharp as discussed, and then step back, I see that the issue is making the cutter bar and particularly the grass board & stick as slippery as possible to slide through the cut grass while opening up the best consistent path for the inner shoe for the next round.
Seems the first step might be removing the grass stick.
From there, maybe loosen the spring tension on the grass board so it could flex & “dump” (though we are trying to avoid the necessity of “dumping”) more easily. This is presuming a wooden grass board. I am not sure that the fingers on a steel one are removable.
Fabbing a “second cut” grass board that is smaller in some dimension(s) might be worth a try to give a path that is bigger than shoe only but more consistent than the standard grass board.
Also though this may sound extreme, my outer shoe has spent quite a lot of time outdoors in its life and is rust pitted. Drag your fingernails over the surface from front to back. Do they catch? Might be worth polishing and maybe even waxing.
Finally, my knife sections & hold downs are held with the “nuts up” configuration & I have cut any of the bolt that extends above the nut so it is flush (4″ angle grinder) to minimize the “attack profile” of the entire cutter bar.
Then there is, if available, the helper to follow with a fork to “pitch back”. 🙂
Mark

[mitchmaine]

i like what mark said about the rust. my mower doesn’t really start to mow well until the rust on the bottom of the bar has polished itself running on the ground. someday in mid summer when you lift the bar to bolt it up and you can see yourself in the bottom of the guards like a plow after its done a few acres, that is when things start working well for me. also, a flip or two on the foot pedal as your mowing, lifting the bar an inch or two and letting it fall lets matts go sometimes.

[Carl Russell]

I have two tricks I use in second cut, or a field with thatch or left clippings, where cut grass is clogging my mower. First I tip the cutter bar back, lifting the points of the guards. Also I keep my foot on the lift pedal, and when I see a bunch forming I give the bar a little bump to shake the grass free.

Carl

[Donn Hewes]

I think Carl and Mitch are right about keeping your foot on the lifter and “bouncing” it as you see problems develop. Of course this works well .. until it doesn’t. You might be surprised at how well you can do with out a grass board when the grass is short (say less than a foot tall). You will still have a little path to follow from the outer shoe, and your stub guards can easily go through the mowed grass. The first time I ever saw stub guards the Amish in Indiana were mowing second cutting alfalfa and none of them were using grass boards because of the unequal drying it caused. I have done a fare bit of clipping with out the grass board and it is like a fun challenge. Unfortunately it is a dead issue with a beginning teamster, they “suffer” with out the grassboard!

[Mark Cowdrey]

On a somewhat different but related note, I thought I would be smart and set my inner guide shoe to cut a little closer since our dry July didn’t give me the greatest growth for my second crop. I typically run in the second hole from the top (out of 4 total) on my McD #9. I set it down one hole and tipped my bar forward a notch or 2 more than typical as I find that effects the height of the stubble as well. I didn’t have a lot of plugging trouble but got launched off the seat over the left wheel more than once when that small difference found rocks I usually glide over. When I let my good sense over rule my greed I reset to my original position & finished without incident. As it happens, when I did the reset I was in the middle of a piece that I mow in 2 sessions. When the hay was all baled and I looked over the stubble, I couldn’t tell from the stubble where I had changed.
Perhaps I have learned my lesson.
Mark

[near horse]

That’s what you all get for taking 2nd and 3rd cuts! Shame shame shame. 😮

Sorry if I’m asking a simpleton question but on the “heavy grass” George mentioned, was much/any of that lodged? Granted, we only get one cutting here and it’s pretty tall by then but high N, rain w/ wind will create a tangled mess that can challenge your swather let alone the mower. Sometimes you have the top half of grass plants in your path while the root/base is just outside your outer shoe. You would think a sharp setup would handle it but it is a challenge.

[Does’ Leap]

Geoff:

That hay I just cut was not lodged. I have cut lodged hay and I agree it is a challenge.

George

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