Ford 501 Sickle Bar Breaking

Old motor oil cut with diesel if there is build up of sticky weeds. Otherwise once a day before use.
Is cutter bar near level? May need to lengthen or shorten 3rd link....James

Dad and now I have run 2 501s since the 1970s.

Never oiled the sickle, ever. And dad over greased and over oiled everything. I don't imagine it hurts, don't see where it really does much, the plant juice would be the lubrication in my mind.

Sounds like you have a random 'catch' happening, when the sickle is pushed back with a load of grass on it, a rivet or sickle bolt is catching on a hold down or bent guard or some such type of thing, causing it to break. It won't show up by hand or running free not doing any work?

You could loosen the belt so it about slips, and cut for a while, see what is going on when the belt slips, if you can see what it is catching on, if the sickle is always in the same spot when it catches, etc. will be a long day having the belt slip often, but might be able to learn what the problem is. You should be able to catch the problem in the act this way, when it is a random problem.

Did you taper that extra sickle back you put over the top, wherever it ends, it could be smacking a guard and causing problems. Are you using rivets or bolts, and do they clear under your hold downs? Do they clear when the sickle is pushed rearward under load?

Something along those lines.

Top serrated sickles work well in course or dry stuff, like a combine header. They also work good in something with a reel, like a mo-co or haybine that pulls the cut grass away with the reel.

Bottom serrated work well in wet thinner stemmed grass.

With aggressive new serrated ledger plates on the guards, smooth sickle sections sometimes work better than bottom serrated. And combining top serrated sickle with a good serrated ledger plate can cause lots of problems in fine stemmed grass.

I've always used bottom serrated for a grass cutter as the best compromise in many conditions, as well you can sharpen them a time or two.

Paul

Rambler. Dad never oiled his either that I can remember. $9 H Farmall and JD #5 mower. He DID go through around 5 mowers in around 50yrs time. Ive had this simi mount IHC for 44yrs, tho so Im gaining on him.

That's 48 H Farmall. Just remembered, I havnt had it that long. More like 25yrs.

My 454 IH hydro is a '74 model, I bought in '76. I bought a 990 IH mower conditioner and a 430 baler the same year. I also bought an almost new 1300 3pt.mower at a farm sale in March that year. I still have the mower and tractor. I have put 3 sets of the throw away guards over the years. Some years it mowed 600 acres of grass hay. It is always wet in the bottom of grass hay, here and very thick with dog hair grass. The over serrated have always done the best. I always ran underserrated on combines in wheat. Several times I had problems with them when milk weed was real bad. Then we cut diesel with kerosene to clean and lube a sickle....James

Is your 454 diesel?I've got a neighbor that has 6 IH tractors and one is the 454. All the rest are bigger. I've tried to get him to turn loose of it but he won't.It's exactly what I need for what I do. His has a bucket and front and back spears. Just perfect for my needs.Really a nice little tractor.

Wade

Gas and hydro, rare tractor, most hydros were in the 2400 industrials. I built 3 of them from 2400s and 454s. I like the swept back front axle for utility work but the straight axle of the 2400 for loader tractors. The hydro makes a great loader and haying tractor....James

I bought a new sickle bar for it last year, so except for the section that has been doubled it has rivets. I replace the rivets with bolts whenever I change out a section. I have high arch hold downs across the entire bar, as the old sickle bar only had bolts as I replaced all the blades on it. This is the mowers last chance to work good for me, or its being replaced. I bought a Ford 515 last year so it better behave.

Thanks for everyones help, hard problem to troubleshoot over the internet.

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www.jlmissouri.com Lewis Family Farm

Not the root cause, but your belt is too tight...Should slip before anything breaks..a lot of people will tighten the belt adjustment more when it starts slipping to MAKE it cut instead of replacing ledger plates in the rock guards or whatever else the mower might need...They are expensive to keep up in good shape.. A sickle should be sharpened every 20 acres or replaced,,Years ago when I was doing custom work with these old beast I kept,bought, rebuilt several sickles..If I was cutting and broke a section I just put in a fresh sickle and kept on cutting, repaired the broke one that night. I always used the under serrated as I didna lose my serrations when i touched up the sickle with my grinder..Cut over 600 acres one summer with an ole c farmall and JD mower..

Im on the same sickle I bought for another simi mount IHC in the EARLY 70s.

I always had 2 sickles, one in the mower and one ready to go. I always thought it was easier to remove and repair, then to try to repair in the mower. Later with the tool it was easier, then bolts came along. I could tell a lot about the condition of the whole cutter bar by pulling the sickle....James