Massey Ferguson sickle plug

[Aacord16]

I have a Massey Ferguson #6 sickle mower I'm pulling behind a farmall m. I finally got it to mow short stuff say 6 inch tall maybe but cannot get it to mow hay or tall fescue that is 12 to 16 inches tall. It wants to pack the grass into the cast end shoe. I noticed a big gap between the bottom of the sections and the guards so I shimmed the back of the hold downs to get it tighter. Helped some but still persists. Help? Not sure what to do with all the adjustments have a significant lead in the bar. Is this grass to tall? Does damp grass cause a people? Far end shoe is set about half way

 

[gotmyfarm!]

Is there a place that sells parts for that no.6? Or do you need to find parts units and take off them? 7' bar? I don't know about using sickles yet, but I've heard cutting wet grass isn't good.

 

[Aacord16]

It is a 7 foot bar but I've had it 3 days. So I don't know much else

 

[gotmyfarm!]

I have to tell you a secret. I bought two of these yesterday at an auction, and am getting ready right now to go pick them up. I think they are Massey Harris, not Ferguson. Hoping to get the 7' bars off for transport, although now I'm worried about how heavy the bar/knives are. Hope I can easily find new little tires for these, or just one of these. I'll probably try making one out of the two. If you have any other details you've found out or noticed so far, I'd be interested in hearing!

 

[spitz]

My old new holland sickle mower was great but still wouldn?t
cut damp grass worth a hoot. Wait till the grass is good and
dry and give it a try. Others on here will be better at
adjustments than me on a Ferguson.

 

[MJMJ]

If the grass is wet don't even start the tractor.

 

[Traditional Farmer]

Do you have a split section or a regular section on the end.With a regular section the end will constantly plug.Also I've bought a lot of sickle mowers over the years and
have yet to buy one with a blade that was sharp enough for me to go cut hay.

 

[Aacord16]

Here is a picture of the end

 

[Aacord16]

 

[old]

That can be caused by being out of time. I.E. when you have the bar all the way in on it stroke the blades should be centered in the guards and all the way out they should be centered if not the timing is wrong and it will not cut well

 

[old]

Another thing I just noticed is you do not have the double end section which can also cause the problem you have

 

[showcrop]

No such thing as grass too tall, especially for a sickle bar mower. Since your problem is at the end I agree with traditional farmer that you need the split section on the end.

 

[Aacord16]

So do I Simply replace the last section with a 1/2 section or is there more to it that that

 

[old]

Yes if the timing is correct you simply replace the normal section with a double section

 

[Roger in Iowa]

The ledger plate/surface toward the center of the machine looks to be rounded off, not as "sharp" as the outer two.
They are the other half of the "scissors".

 

[jCarroll]

I would turn the two bolts over that hold the outer shoe to the cutter bar. The bolt heads will be smaller than those square nuts, and to minimize plugging,
every little bit helps.

Agree with the "section and a half" for the outer section.

Agree with don't try to mow wet grass - timothy, maybe............ alfalfa, maybe ............. grass - NO

 

[MF#1]

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