Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations SICKLEBAR MOWER REPORT (LONG)

Our sicklebar is a Ford Model 50I (or possibly 501, the last digit is hard to read) my wife picked up last January. I finally got around to getting it hooked up last weekend, after hay making was completed and I had time and a tractor available. I think at least a couple of folks were looking for or considering getting sicklebar mowers for their tractors, so I thought I'd give my experiences. It may let you judge whether or not you want to mess with the hassle of finding and using one.

1. SIZE/WEIGHT: The mower is very heavy and what is more important, awkward to move. With the bar raised into the storage/transport position (see below)



it took two adults to spin at around and move it enough to partially attach it to the Massey so we could pick it up and move it from the corner of the barn where I dumped it with a front-end loader last January. MAYBE after I get used to this thing I will try it alone, but for the first couple of times you handle one you will want help.

2. COMPLEXITY: This sicklebar is far and away the most complicated thing I have ever attached to a tractor. It attaches to the hydraulic lift arms, the 3rd point, and the PTO, but not at all simply. It hooks up to the lift arms not just at the holes at the end , but also farther up the arms (see below):




The upper lift arm attachments are basically clamps built-in to the mower. They are in good shape on ours (a little rust but not seized up), but since the mower is OLD (1950's vintage, I believe) they were intended for a much smaller tractor than many in use today (probably the 8N or Golden Jubilee size) with thinner lift arms. I got them to clamp on my Massey OK, but it was close and I intend to keep a close eye on the clamps for a while.

The 3rd point is more complicated than a simple adjustable bar and attaches to two places on the mower (see below):



It was also made for a smaller tractor and had to be adjusted to fit, which meant grinding off the rust-frozen bolts and drilling a new hole. This is SOP for using "new to you" old machinery, but notice the great big spring at the lower ("3rd and a half") attachment point on the mower. I couldn't extend this spring by hand, so we moved the partially attached sicklebar mower up and down with the tractor hydraulics (my son handling the controls while I steadied the mower) until I found the sweet spot where everything would come together. That part's a little tricky.

Overall, this is not a tractor attachment you will be putting on and taking off on a whim. My wife's family used a sicklebar for cutting hay back before I came along and they dedicated one tractor to the mower for the entire duration of hay season. I guess I will not be putting ours on until after we are done with hay each year (unless I need to use it as a back up for cutting hay if our haybine breaks).

3. USAGE: It's made to cut grass, etc. while sliding along on the ground, and this is what it's best at. My wife says when you're used to it you can make neat, square corners. She has been good to me and has not gotten on the tractor and show me up with a demonstration.

For cutting at some set height above the ground, the sicklebar is more difficult to use. It seems to me it is more complicated to mow with the sicklebar than with a haybine (which is pulled behind the tractor and maintains it's own height above ground with hydraulics), but a lot of that is probably unfamiliarity. The big mass of the arm sticking out 9 feet or so to the right is very prone to swaying up and down after any vertical movement or bump.



There is a fair amount of vibration generated by the knife assembly sliding back and forth while operating. Since the mower is firmly attached to the tractor, much of this is translated back to the driver (not objectionable, but noticeable). I have already had one nut/bolt combo vibrate loose twice with a locknut on the first time and a locknut and double nut the second. So I'll need to check all the bolts on the mower for looseness regularly.

So far I have mowed one field off high (messy), one field off at ground level (not bad), and cut off the tall grass, etc. at the edge of the pond (WONDEFUL!). It is extremely easy to mow the edge of the pond with the sicklebar and is safer (IMHO) than with my bushhog. I mowed the pond side face of the dam down to the water's edge for the first time ever today, and did so keeping the tractor a foot or two higher up on the dam than the lowest I used to go with the bushhog. The far end of sickle bar does not cause any difficulty if it gets under the water – just don't run into anything solid with it (see below).

4. SAFETY: I knew ahead of time these things were full of sharp, pointy objects. It is more apparent how fiendishly they are constructed once you have handled the actual hardware.

DO NOT PUT YOUR FINGERS ANYWHERE NEAR THE TEETH ON THE CUTTER BAR WHEN RAISING IT INTO TRANSPORT POSITION (or even when lowering it)! HANDLE THE CUTTER BAR ONLY BY THE REAR SURFACE OR BY THE SWATH BAR HOLDER AT THE END! I avoided touching the teeth on general principles from the beginning; I thought "it might save me a few minor cuts on my fingers." It turns out I was correct to be wary, but replace "might" with "will almost definitely" and remove the words "a few minor cuts on my" in the above statement. WHEN YOU RAISE THE CUTTER BAR, THE KNIFE ASSEMBLY SLIDES DOWNWARD DUE TO GRAVITY AND IS EASILY CAPABLE OF REMOVING FINGERS! You can look at this picture of the hinge joint and a few of the teeth on the knife assembly and see how fingers could easily be placed in harms way:



I have not had the pleasure yet, but my wife says if you run the extended cutter bar into a fence post, stump, or other immovable object, it is readily capable of spinning the tractor around (or worse). She says even thick grass with a lot of pea vines (wild morning glory) will turn the tractor to the right. THIS WOULD BE VERY DANGEROUS IF IT HAPPENED WHILE MOWING THE EDGE OF A POND.

5. CLOSING ARGUMENTS: So why would you want to try to find, fit, and operate a fifty year old, heavy, complex piece of mowing equipment (that would put a true OSHA believer into a coma) other than to be able to pretend to pick your nose with a missing finger, the way my great-uncle used to? You can use it for general mowing chores (although I think I will be slipping the bushhog onto one of the other two tractors for that), you could cut underneath things too low for the tractor (deer-trimmed trees, knee-high single strand electric fence (I MAY do some of this after I get more familiar with the sicklebar, but only where I know there are no immovable hazards sticking up to run the cutter bar into), but for the main reason, I will let my better half end the discussion:

"The wife's statement that he's not allowed to post this story without: I hope that the readers of Pond Boss approve of mowing around a pond with a sicklebar mower. I "wasted his money" purchasing this "piece of junk," because I have a severe fear of him taking the tractor for swim while he mows next to the water. A neighbor of ours died last summer while mowing next to his creek when the bank collapsed and the tractor fell on top of him. I keep trying to remind my husband (who mows around the pond more often than he mows the yard), that if he gets pinned by the tractor under water, he'll drown before I can get help."

P.S. I mowed around the pond AND in the yard today, Honey.

A couple of thoughts.

This thing appears to complicate your life and is dangerous. Why mess with it? There are just too many things bidding, actually screaming, for attention that I don't have time, or maybe inclination, to get to. This contraption just doesn't appear to be a labor saving device.

I wish my wife would buy some equipment for me.

Theo,

When the sicklebar bites the dust (they aren't very rugged and insanely expensive to reair) look into a string trimmer. They aren't cheap either, but work great, are safe, easy to attach, and cheap to maintain. It will fling grass clippings into your pond, which is the biggest negative.

I am considering planting ground cover around my pond edges so I won't have to trim at all. That won't help me with the mile of fencing I have to maintain.

Theo,

We had one of these on the family farm in Missouri...until the family dog made the mistake of crossing in front of it.

I'm a fan of simplicity, of nostalgia, of do-it- yourself but some things about the way it was are better left that way...the sickle mower is one of those.

Ford made their sickle bars too complicated,bulky and heavy. If someone wants a sickle mower, shop around at auctions for an old Internation Harvester. Much lighter,easier hook up ( 2 bolts on draw bar ) and less up keep. Used one for about 20 years until I got a drum mower.

Well, it looks like I've found something everyone at the forum can agree on (except me, I guess).

This darn machine is really good for two things - mowing weeds off of used pature fields and cutting off to the right of the tractor. I really like it for mowing around the pond.

I also think I need to keep SOMETHING as a backup for the haybine in case it goes down during hay season. The sicklebar stores in a pretty small area and we've only got $250 in it (with a bunch of spare parts including 5 knife assemblies in various conditions to cannabalize). It takes the same teeth as our haybine, which simplifies things.

And it gets the Mrs. off my back about taking the tractor for a swim - that, she really worries about. All the sharp edges and nuts&bolts to tighten, I think she figures someone who rebarrels guns, reloads his own ammo, and has been married to her for 22 years knows enough to avoid a few piddling dangers from a sicklebar.

But they sure aren't for everyone.