Ford 501 Sickle Mower

[Mark T]

My sickle mower cracked along the frame yesterday where the trip mechanism is close to the shoe. I had a guy weld a patch, but when I went to cut again today, it kept tripping. It also was allowing a fair chunk of the grass to slide under the sickle, so the field I was working on is not pretty at all.

I had to take the thing apart so I could manhandle the frame into my truckbed to take it to the welder, so perhaps I threw something out of alignment. However, I think the weld was not at the exact same angle (it's close, I can't tell by the naked eye) and I'm in real trouble.

I tried tightening the trip spring to stop the tripping but that didn't work. I tried to change the angle of the cutter bar downward but the grass still goes underneath.

What else should I adjust?

[rambler]

I had 2 do that, welded one myself but didn't trust it, came apon the 2nd mower soon after, when it cracked I took it to a pro welder & he linged it up right as I had the bar along with.

I suspect something got warped or off kilter so the latch doesn't hold - it needs to be set up square. Defeating the latch and screwing it down tight or bolted or welded together will lead to a busted frame again real quick......

As to the mowing problem, I suspect one or both of 2 issues:

The mower bar is supposed to actually angle a couple degrees forward at the tip, I bet the welder didn't get the crack closed all the way up and your bar now is angled back a tiny bit instead of forward.

Second, if the crack didn't get closed all the way, or the frame is longer now, your sickle registration is off. As the sickle goes back & forth, it needs to stop with the sickles exactly in the middle of the guards, not a hair before or after centered. If your framework is longer now or angled - even a little - it will affect this. The shims between your frame and the bar head, held on with the 3 big bolts that allow bar twisting are what adjust this registering - add or remove shims.

All in all - yup you got problems. Something in the welding got your frame twisted/ wrong angle and that's going to be difficult to fix as it's causing 2 problems, maybe 3. I think you will be ahead keeping this one for parts and looking for a different one with a good frame. This one - you'll have to cut the weld, get it lined up perfect, and reweld - then that doesn't maybe address what the latch problem is.....

Hope something works out for you.

--->Paul

[poorboy]

yer cutter bar lead,tilt guards up slightly(sickles aren't supposed to shave the ground), adjust yer top link and mower spring tension to where the sickle bar "floats" over the ground. If all these adjustments are right and the cutter bar and sickle are in shape it'll cut.
If the frame was changed slightly rhe cutter bar lead adjustment should take care of it..an i can never get a sickle mower to mow with out tripping frequently, when the guards are tilted down (snags alla old dead stuff and rabbit nest) just sayin.