Using sickle mower to mow crp ground

[drastic dave]

Need ideas to keep the blade straight while using stay chains, Or ideas on finding or building clipping wheels for international 1300 sickle mower
 

[caterpillar guy]

If keeping it straight you mean the bar is kicking back like if it hit something and tripping? You have a few issues. 1 The knife is dull 2 driving to fast for the knife to cut it 3 the trip latch could be loose or worn. For the dull, you need to look at the sections and guards and hold downs if the hold downs are letting the knife raise off the guards then they are worn out if the knife has chips ,cracks, or is worn compared to a new one then new sections are in order,and if the ledger or the guards are not looking like new ones then you need new guards or it could be a combination of all of that. if the vegetation is thick tangled stuff you may need to slow down a bit and if the latch is worn then it needs fixing.
 

[drastic dave]

I dont want to cut at ground level I want to cut it about 12 high. I want the bar to be level at that height. My 3 point hitch leaks off so I was thinking chain stays would keep the mower at the proper height but didnt know about the bar. Ive seen clipping wheels on older mowers but cant seem to find any for a international 1300
 

[flying belgian]

I would think you could take a wheel off that old lawnmower behind the shed. Bolt it to the divider board.
 

[Timmycornpicker]

You'd have to fabricate a wheel. Is 12 now a requirement? I haven't had CRP to mow in a long time, just curious.
 

[flying belgian]

I missed the 12 inch first read. Bicycle wheel?
 

[drastic dave]

Just want to cut it high and not cut the grass that I drilled this spring. We have had almost drought conditions here in West Ky and grass i sowed is just getting by and I didnt want to cut it. As far as I know there are no height requirements.
 

[300guy]

I have made and used a wheel to raise my bar up 6 to clip off my CRP the first time it was planted. You need to use a very solid type of wheel. I used one off of an old air compressor. A bike wheel or similar light duty wheel will just fold up and bend when you turn. I know from experience. After two tries I finally used the heavy wheel with a solid, hard type of rubber and had a heavy gauge metal rim. I made some heavy metal brackets to hold the wheel and bolted in onto the outer shoe. I took an extra used inner shoe and welded some metal together on it so it would hold the bar off the ground 6. It all needs to be fairly strong or it will bend and such when turning or going around curves. The wheel should have a good bushing so it can be greased or the hub will wear out quickly.
 

[cleddy]

My Dad made a runner out of flat bar just like the slide on the end of the bar only taller about 6 tall. It was just a 1/4 x 3 bar formed at an angle in the front and mounted firm. We mowed acres of Sit Aside acres back in the day. It held up good and I just noticed in the Junk I saved??? If you was close I would give it to you or could take a picture and post it. Sounds like you are set on a wheel and as others said it has to be a real heavy duty one. I had a light duty one and it fell apart?? Cleddy
 

[Leroy]

What make and model mower? Some mowers the lift will hold the inner end of bar at abought that height but then the bar is angled up at outter end and not enough strength to hold and use that way and outter end would be cutting higher.Others would not be like that. I did not have any mowers that could cut with ine inner end at that height. So to do that I think you will at least need to run it in normal lift height and need something on both ends of bar to carry the bar. I tihink but have only seen the wheels to cary the outer end of bar in parts books but that they wereless than 6 inches in diameter. If pitmamless mower it would I would guess work better than a pitman mower because running a pitman mower is outside the normal lift range and might be hard on the mower, don't know about pitman less as I never was around one. Newest one was an Oliver that was before pitmanless time and going back to the steel wheel horse mowers for my experiance with mowers.
 

[paul]

A foot is pretty high. On occasion Ive run my mower over a bean field to clip a patch of giant rag weed along a field edge or such, the 3pt will work that way. It does angle the blade upwards, you can set it a bit more level but the far end will rise and fall on bumps and dips. Just a regular 501 Ford. Worked on a level field, wouldnt on a full sized bumpy hay field.

I think most of the time you only wanted to go up 4-6 inches. A whole foot Is a lot to carry the sickle up, think that might have several problems, not sure the sickle will clear itself or catch as much vegetation as planned.

Paul
 

[Tony in SD]

Back in the 90s we built a very narrow, light but solid 12 high shoe for the end of the sickle bar. That will work better than a wheel in tall grass.
 

[J.Wondergem]

What about a spring drag tooth turned up side down and run it as a skid shoe.