469 sickle setting

[bob from ill]

Hi. Just wondering if the sickles are to ride against the bottom of the gaurds. if they are, how do i make this possible. do i remove shims so the holddowns are tight against the top of the sickle sections. or can the guards be bent up to make them tight against the bottom of the sections. I have replaced all knives and it still cuts rough. then i have had to replace sickle bolts and have hay stuck in guards. that was when i noticed there was a gap btween sickle blades and the bottom of the guards. My hay field has a few dips and humps in it. Is there a way to set the cutter so that it doesnt dig into the ground. Other than using cylinder limiting collars. Thanks

 

[Flurette Farm]

Bob, you really need a manual to make the adjustments to correct your problems. You haven't described anything that can't be easily fixed but you need to go through it step by step as shown/described in the manual.
Good luck.

 

[Sam#3]

I don't remember much about adjusting mowers but I do know the sickle rides on top of the ledger plates and not under the guards. The hold downs can be adjusted in a couple ways but don't hit them with a hammer when the sickle is installed. That just takes the spring out and the end will open. The sickle sections should run tight to the ledgers like a pair of scissors. There should be something that adjusts the tilt of the cutter bar and it should be level or slightly up in the front.

 

[Chris in SK]

I have a 461 which I think is similar. It cuts well when conditions are good. If you are trying to cut wet or logged it will not cut so good. The manual has correct knife settings…I will try and look tonight. Without the manual, I would say that you want the knife down as tight as possible on the bottom edge of the guards, but not binding. Unbolt it at the drive end, start removing shims from the hold downs to tighten it down, but keep checking that it moves freely. The guards are tough to bend, so I’ve only bent the odd one gets bent out of line. Check down the guards and make sure they are all in line. I’m not sure if the knife timing is adjustable on that machine, but that maybe another problem.
The cutter bar shouldn’t dig in the ground. It has adjustable skids under it to prevent this. Check your skids. Also the head should float. The 461 floats on springs, not sure if the 469 is the same, but these springs are adjustable. When the head it down, you should be able to lift it up yourself with moderate force. I think the manual says something like 7o lbs to lift it, checked with a spring balance on the bar in front of the reel.
Isn’t it a bit late to be cutting hay….it’s snowing here?
Chris

 

[bob from ill]

ya its gettin cool here, but need the hay for the winter. ive had this mower for about ten years and have just figured it was just wore out and that my fields were the reasons it was doign the things ive mentioned. I was hoping to find a location to download or at least view pages from the manual rather than buying one.

 

[keh]

Sound like you need new guards. The steel plate the guards are bolted to can get bent down or up. Cure is to remove affected guards and use a large adjustable wrench with a cheater bar and bend the plate up or down, checking things by eye often. The guards can be bent up also, in which case the cure is new guards. The parts of IL I just drove through didn't look like it had rocks in the fields to bend the guards. I've had LOTS of experience with rocks here in SC.

Like the other posts said, the header should float.

Is the bushing in the end of the blade in good shape?

KEH