Dearborn 14-40 rake

[Erik OK]

I have an old Dearborn 14-40 hay rake, with the rake hooked to my tractor and the reel height adjusted all the way up the teeth are digging into the ground about a half inch. Someone has put what look like John deere baler teeth on it and I'm wondering if they are too long. It has round bars so I'm wondering if i can put rubber NH style teeth on it but I'm not sure they are much shorter. I can modify the linkage that raises the basket to raise it higher or hitch the rake to the 3pt to pick it up sightly, I'm just trying to figure out if I'm missing something before I modify anything. The frame of the rake is sitting level when hooked to the tractor. Any ideas?

 

[Dave Sherburne NY]

Does it have a slotted piece of angle iron sticking down from the frame on the front to support the the basket frame. Is it at the top of the slot or the bottom? I think the slot is to adjust the angle of the tines to make a fluffy or tight windrow. but an adjustment might help you to make it usable.

 

[Erik OK]

The angle iron bracket is at the bottom of the slot, the front is as far up as it goes. I think these rakes were designed to be used with the N series tractors, I can"t imagine the hitch being much higher if any than modern tractors, I"m beginning to think the teeth are too long.