Farmall A Sickle Mower

[Boomerang1955]

I recently acquired a 1941 Farmall A from my uncle, his father(my grandfather) bought it new and I am now the third family member to be its caretaker. I moved it from Wisconsin to North Carolina where I am preparing an old 10 acre farm for my retirement digs. There will be hay to cut and I am wondering what would be the best setup to use with the old Farmall A. When I was a boy I remember my uncle cutting hay with a rear mounted sickle bar but there must be many options and the hilly terrain on my NC property may be better suited for something else. I love the old machinery and if a sickle mower would work and I could find one to restore, that would be my choice. Looking for some good advice from some old timer experts.

 

[old]

I recently acquired a 1941 Farmall A from my uncle, his father(my grandfather) bought it new and I am now the third family member to be its caretaker. I moved it from Wisconsin to North Carolina where I am preparing an old 10 acre farm for my retirement digs. There will be hay to cut and I am wondering what would be the best setup to use with the old Farmall A. When I was a boy I remember my uncle cutting hay with a rear mounted sickle bar but there must be many options and the hilly terrain on my NC property may be better suited for something else. I love the old machinery and if a sickle mower would work and I could find one to restore, that would be my choice. Looking for some good advice from some old timer experts.

The sickle bar mower made for the A is the model A-16. It has a hand lift and is a mounted mower. I have one on the BA I built

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Limited power and lack of hydraulics pretty much eliminates any modern means of cutting.

Your best bet will be to find an old semi-mount (the kind with the tailwheel) sickle mower that bolts to the u-shaped drawbar on the tractor. Those have the best chance of being complete because they're self-contained, unlike a mower specifically made for a Farmall A, which are usually missing small crucial parts needed to mount them to the tractor.

 

[Boomerang1955]

The sickle bar mower made for the A is the model A-16. It has a hand lift and is a mounted mower. I have one on the BA I built

Thanks for the information, good to know what model I need. Going to keep a lookout for one.

 

[Boomerang1955]

Limited power and lack of hydraulics pretty much eliminates any modern means of cutting.

Your best bet will be to find an old semi-mount (the kind with the tailwheel) sickle mower that bolts to the u-shaped drawbar on the tractor. Those have the best chance of being complete because they're self-contained, unlike a mower specifically made for a Farmall A, which are usually missing small crucial parts needed to mount them to the tractor.

Thanks, I appreciate the advice. Finding something that will work is half the fun of working on these old machines.