cutting hay question???

[HuskyBoris]

I have a quick question about cutting hay,,after some novice trial and errors I am getting my direction and pattern down 1/2 way decent but I was wondering at what speed to cut?
I have a 46 Farmall H with 13.6 x 38 tires and a 540 pto coupled with a John Deere #5 sickle mower,,I have been mowing in first gear but after watching some videos on you tube I see people are moving faster,,am I going to slow ??,,plus I have a minor problem of hay accumalating at the end of the bar by the swath/grass board,,thank you in advance

[haypoint]

If you go too fast, it will bunch up around each guard, pull grass out by the roots or leave lots of uncut hay.
Lots of things factor into speed. New, sharp sickle sections and sharp guards with good wear plates and properly adjusted bar, a few inches ahead at the end of a 7 foot bar, light down pressure on the sickle sections and dry light hay, you can go a lot faster than mowing wet, thick late season birdsfoot trefoil with worn out equipment.
You can figure out what is too fast for what you've got.

[HuskyBoris]

it cuts good in 1 st gear but it is sloooow,,I tried cutting tonight in fairly thick stuff after a couple days of prior rain,,perhaps it was a bit too soon,,the sickle is new to me and my last one was a patched together hunk of crap,and I just want to get the most effeciency out of the whole process.like I said being a novice at this I have to work out the kinks myself but sometimes a little direction can help a lot.

ps how do I adjust lead?

[DaleK]

Go as fast as you feel comfortable with as long as it's cutting cleanly. Everyone's equipment and situation are different.10-12mph is pretty typical for me with a discbine and plenty of tractor but way too fast for you

[Vahomesteaders]

With our Super C I find a little faster cuts better. I set the drawbar to allow about 3-4 inches of hover off the ground on the main guard unit with it angled back and run it in second. I dont get any build up under the unit or on the end. Make sure your in the right direction. Always keep your bar outside the previous cut line in a clockwise motion. That should minimize build up on the end.

[arnie]

love the disk mower its fast but our motto is we got more time than money . and with spare parts for tractors and equipment being so expensive . its experience that will let you figger out how fast a you can go

[potatoguru]

I mow at about 2 miles an hour which is about 3rd gear for my tractor with my sickle bar mower. If you mow too slow the grass will not have enough time to clear the mower and fall back down into it causing it to clog. I believe its recommended to mow at a speed of 2-3 mph with sickle bar mowers.

[FarmboyBill]

I mow pararie grass in 1st gear, as theres so much give to the plant. I mow haygrazer in 2nd, and could likely go faster, but its all I can do to stay straight on turns in second.

Danged if I can see how you could make a close 90 angle cut at 10+mph.
#1 what is it your cutting?
#2 Do you have one of those sections at the end that looks like it has 2 or 3 sections, each smaller than the one to the left looking at it bevel side up?
#3 Are you useing a swath board? IF so, do you perhaps have it angled too much creating drag when the grass is cut and not flowing thus causing bunching up.
#4 What kind of mower are you using. I use a belt drive IHC simi mount. I bought last year a new belt for it. Don't know if that made a difference or not, but it had to help.

BEST advice I can give you, is go and have your sickle sharpened at a sharpening service. I did it for the first time last year, and I was AMAZED at the smoothness of the cutting. Heck, I cut small sprouts twice the dia of my thumb on the end on the last round.

[jwal10]

We mowed in 4th gear with an H and a #5 JD mower. We used over serrated sections and had the hold downs, down as tight as possible and still push the sickle bar in by hand but usually used our boot. Make sure the sickle is timed right and the bar has lead in it. We throttled down on corners. We cut 6-8' heavy sudan grass in 3rd gear....James

[secuono]

People here "bushhog" and then rake and bale. Never even knew there was another way to do it...Are there other types of machines to mow hay other than those two??

[potatoguru]

Originally Posted by secuono

People here "bushhog" and then rake and bale. Never even knew there was another way to do it...Are there other types of machines to mow hay other than those two??

Many types of implements to mow hay. There's sicklebar mowers, disc mowers, drum mowers, haybines and self propelled swathers. IMO bushhogs do a poor job as they
mulch up the hay and leave it in clumps which makes for uneven drying and poor quality hay.

[Twobottom]

Originally Posted by potatoguru

Many types of implements to mow hay. There's sicklebar mowers, disc mowers, drum mowers, haybines and self propelled swathers. IMO bushhogs do a poor job as they
mulch up the hay and leave it in clumps which makes for uneven drying and poor quality hay.

I've heard of people cutting out a section of the side of a brush hog to allow grass to 'escape' before it is chopped up too much. Never tried it but seems like it might work.

[Twobottom]

Originally Posted by HuskyBoris

I have a quick question about cutting hay,,after some novice trial and errors I am getting my direction and pattern down 1/2 way decent but I was wondering at what speed to cut?....

Just curious, what is your direction and pattern? I always just go around in a circle ( cant remember if its counter or clockwise depending on what side the bar sticks out...) and when the circle gets small enough I'll go straight down the middle until its all cut.

I cut with a JD 350 sicklebar. I'm usually in 3rd gear "B" or 1st gear "C" depending in terrain and thickness of grass.

[HuskyBoris]

Originally Posted by Twobottom

Just curious, what is your direction and pattern? I always just go around in a circle ( cant remember if its counter or clockwise depending on what side the bar sticks out...) and when the circle gets small enough I'll go straight down the middle until its all cut.

I cut with a JD 350 sicklebar. I'm usually in 3rd gear "B" or 1st gear "C" depending in terrain and thickness of grass.

well first I thought I was in NASCAR and did all left turns,running over my previous cuts,clogging stuff up and basicly just not doing it properly.
I then decided to watch some videos because I realized I didn't really know what I was doing ,one showed a John Deere A or B with a no.5 sickle mower and he made all right turns(counter clockwise) as did alot of others,,so this now my preferred method,I also wondered why all the RH brakes are weak or gone on tractors,,this is probably why.,

[jwal10]

Originally Posted by Twobottom

I've heard of people cutting out a section of the side of a brush hog to allow grass to 'escape' before it is chopped up too much. Never tried it but seems like it might work.

If you have rough ground or gopher mounds, ant hills or other rodent mounds the bush hog mixes the dirt into the hay. Makes it dusty. I have cut with flail type hay cutters too, MC rotary scythe was one type. Took a lot of power and poor hay quality. I like sickle type mower conditioners best but drum and disk mowers are faster and better in smooth fields....James

https://www.google.com/search?q=mc+r...%3B1019%3B1405

[rambler]

For the bunching of the hay on the far end: the farm supply stores have a sickle section made for that, it is a regular size sickle with a little baby section beside it, all one sickle section. Rivot or bolt it on in place of the end sickle section, and that little baby section will help clear out the clogs there on the end.

Most folks watch the condition of their sickle, but equally important is the shape of the ledger plates on the sickle guards. You basically have a dozen or 2 scissors there with the sickle cutter, and both sides of this sorts need to be sharp. If the guards are rounded over, it just won't cut well.

Paul

[HuskyBoris]

I wonder if thats whats going on with mine,it only bunches a little on the very end and seems to push it through the hole on the end,the cut is fine,,it's nice and clean and thats why I asked about speed,I was thinking maybe the grass was falling on top the bar and getting pushed through because I was going to slow.
I am just waiting on the weather th decide if wants to rain or clear up so I can try it again

[FarmboyBill]

Ya still havnt told us whatcher cutting.

James, Id suppose with haygrazer 8/10ft tall I could cut that fast too. I had it that tall ONCE. Cut it with a horse mower, so didn't get outa first on the Case.

NEVER want it that tall again lol.

[Twobottom]

Originally Posted by HuskyBoris

well first I thought I was in NASCAR and did all left turns,running over my previous cuts,clogging stuff up and basicly just not doing it properly.
I then decided to watch some videos because I realized I didn't really know what I was doing ,one showed a John Deere A or B with a no.5 sickle mower and he made all right turns(counter clockwise) as did alot of others,,so this now my preferred method,I also wondered why all the RH brakes are weak or gone on tractors,,this is probably why.,

But if you make all right turns aren't you driving over the grass, pushing it down before you mow it? I've often wondered which is worse, driving over the cut grass or driving over the standing grass before you cut it?

I usually drive over the down grass thinking that once I drive over the standing grass it wont stand up for the cut.

I cut sort of like this;

YouTube

[jwal10]

Yes, go clockwise running over what you cut. IF you had a wide front with the tires set out you don't really run over much, just at corners. Narrow front always runs over it. We used to run a conditioner right after the trail mowers and it put the hay into a narrower windrow so not much got run over with the wide front tractors.

Bill, the sudan was so tall, we thought 3000 lambs were enough to keep it ate down, they didn't. We thought we had them all out but we did cut the feet off 2 because we couldn't see them, we ate 1. the other lost just the hoof on her left back leg. We kept her for a ewe, the dewclaw grew into a hoof. She lived a long life, dying on the farm of old age. She was a lamb from my original 6 Montadale ewe lambs my parents bought me after polio, to get me out walking with my braces....James