Sicklemower cutting vertical

[Rising2KRanch]

I got a sickle mower that came with my tractor, how can I tell if it’s capable of cutting vertical or upright as possible, trying to trim a trail out. I have work to do on it before using. Just trying to figure out if it’ll work

 

[hurleyjd]

I got a sickle mower that came with my tractor, how can I tell if it's capable of cutting vertical or upright as possible, trying to trim a trail out. I have work to do on it before using. Just trying to figure out if it'll work

Any idea as to brand and model of mower. This information would be a great help to answer your question.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Does it have a wooden pitman stick attaching the sickle to the PTO at all?

Or a belt drive going to a wobble box attached to the sickle?

 

[simme]

Typical design of a sickle mower is a pto drive to a small rotating flywheel with an off center attachment point connected to a "pittman arm". The other end of the pittman arm is connected to the sickle mower cutter bar with the triangular shaped cutter blades attached. Turning the pto causes the cutters to move back and forth. That design with a pittman arm will work at a little angle, but nowhere near vertical. There are some mowers with belt drives or hydraulic motor drives on the end of the cutter bar. Those will work at any angle.

If that does not make sense, turn the pto shaft by hand with the cutter bar down. Then raise it up. If you can still turn the pto shaft by hand with the cutter bar vertical, then you are probably good to go. If it cannot be turned when vertical, then it is not going to work for you. How big are those limbs you want to cut? A battery powered hedge trimmer might work better for you.

Be careful with your fingers when moving the cutter bar up and down. Mowers with a pittman arm allow the blades to drop by gravity when the cutter bar is raised to the vertical position.

 

[Lucky_P]

Typical design of a sickle mower is a pto drive to a small rotating flywheel with an off center attachment point connected to a "pittman arm". The other end of the pittman arm is connected to the sickle bar cutter bar with the triangular shaped cutter blades attached. Turning the pto causes the cutters to move back and forth. That design with a pittman arm will work at a little angle, but nowhere near vertical. There are some mowers with belt drives or hydraulic motor drives on the end of the cutter bar. Those will work at any angle.

If that does not make sense, turn the pto shaft by hand with the cutter bar down. Then raise it up. If you can still turn the pto shaft by hand with the cutter bar vertical, then you are probably good to go. If it cannot be turned when vertical, then it is not going to work for you. How big are those limbs you want to cut? A battery powered hedge trimmer might work better for you.

Be careful with your fingers when moving the cutter bar up and down. Mowers with a pittman arm allow the blades to drop by gravity when the cutter bar is raised to the vertical position.

Simme,
My surname is 'Pittman'... my great-great grandfather added a second 't' to our family name (originally 'Pitman') at some point in the early 1800s.
The Pitman arm/bar is spelled with one 't'...

If R2KR's sicklebar mower is anything like the old one I grew up with, it will not work in an upright/vertical position, but your description was spot-on.

Video here of power hedging apparatus for hedging pecans:

 

[simme]

Simme,
My surname is 'Pittman'... my great-great grandfather added a second 't' to our family name (originally 'Pitman') at some point in the early 1800s.
The Pitman arm/bar is spelled with one 't'...

If R2KR's sicklebar mower is anything like the old one I grew up with, it will not work in an upright/vertical position, but your description was spot-on.

So you have two "Pittman" arms. But at our age, they probably don't work too well in a vertical position either.:)

 

[Rising2KRanch]

Any idea as to brand and model of mower. This information would be a great help to answer your question.

I think it’s an old Massey, I’ll get some pictures today if it.

 

[Rising2KRanch]

Does it have a wooden pitman stick attaching the sickle to the PTO at all?

Or a belt drive going to a wobble box attached to the sickle?

I’ll get pictures from what I recall it’s pto driven to a wheel with a belt. Has a giant rod that holds it vertical. But it’s rusted and I can’t lower it yet.

 

[Rising2KRanch]

Typical design of a sickle mower is a pto drive to a small rotating flywheel with an off center attachment point connected to a "pittman arm". The other end of the pittman arm is connected to the sickle bar cutter bar with the triangular shaped cutter blades attached. Turning the pto causes the cutters to move back and forth. That design with a pittman arm will work at a little angle, but nowhere near vertical. There are some mowers with belt drives or hydraulic motor drives on the end of the cutter bar. Those will work at any angle.

If that does not make sense, turn the pto shaft by hand with the cutter bar down. Then raise it up. If you can still turn the pto shaft by hand with the cutter bar vertical, then you are probably good to go. If it cannot be turned when vertical, then it is not going to work for you. How big are those limbs you want to cut? A battery powered hedge trimmer might work better for you.

Be careful with your fingers when moving the cutter bar up and down. Mowers with a pittman arm allow the blades to drop by gravity when the cutter bar is raised to the vertical position.

I could use a hedge trimmer but it’s a lot that needs trimming and it’s a long way to walk. So using the mower would be easiest. It’s thin stuff nothing crazy think. Few vines over grew the path. I plan to get some pictures posted today if what it looks like

 

[Lucky_P]

So you have two "Pittman" arms. But at our age, they probably don't work too well in a vertical position either.:)

LOL! You got that right.
I couldn't even get them to a vertical position until I had my rotator cuffs 'rebuilt' about 6 years ago. Can now raise them, and sleep without opioids, but I can't hardly do anything with them above waist height.
But I can still water-ski, albeit on 2 instead of 1. Pic from last weekend.

 

[Rising2KRanch]

This is it. Need to clean it up, it’s a Massey, MF41.

 

[SBMF 2015]

Be careful with your fingers when moving the cutter bar up and down. Mowers with a pittman arm allow the blades to drop by gravity when the cutter bar is raised to the vertical position.

I work with a rodeo announcer who is short an index finger because he had his hand in the wrong place while lowering his sickle bar.
It was a fairly long bar. He wasn’t strong enough to push it back over center. Never cut his leather glove, but slowly pinched his finger off.
He had left his phone in the tractor and held that sickle bar up for four hours before someone came looking for him.

 

[greybeard]

Even this one wouldn't cut vertical (and I'm glad it wouldn't, It slung enough stuff on ya just cutting laid down flat)

 

[cowman82]

I work with a rodeo announcer who is short an index finger because he had his hand in the wrong place while lowering his sickle bar.
It was a fairly long bar. He wasn't strong enough to push it back over center. Never cut his leather glove, but slowly pinched his finger off.
He had left his phone in the tractor and held that sickle bar up for four hours before someone came looking for him.

when I first started out I went and bought a 9' NH sickle. I was about to grab it to lower it down on the trailer and the guy said.. hey, make sure you don't put your hands in those blades b/c they will move as you lower it. Well... I was about to do just that! glad that guy said something to me as I had no idea. Those are some dangerous cutters.. glad I got rid of mine as soon as I was able to afford a disc mower.

 

[jltrent]

This is it. Need to clean it up, it’s a Massey, MF41.

A little TLC on that one and it looks like it will cut vertical. My belt driven NH 451s will cut vertical.

 

[jltrent]

Even this one wouldn't cut vertical (and I'm glad it wouldn't, It slung enough stuff on ya just cutting laid down flat)

View attachment 48836

View attachment 48838

For its day that one looks to be in good shape.

 

[Lucky_P]

This one showed up in my FB feed today:
https://www.cutthat.com/product/sab...6WntHj_aem_t27mVb8sDNEACSERxpMW9w#description

 

[hurleyjd]

This is it. Need to clean it up, it's a Massey, MF41.

I would not waste my time on that mower it has seen its be

Even this one wouldn't cut vertical (and I'm glad it wouldn't, It slung enough stuff on ya just cutting laid down flat)

View attachment 48836

View attachment 48838

 

[hurleyjd]

Even this one wouldn't cut vertical (and I'm glad it wouldn't, It slung enough stuff on ya just cutting laid down flat)

View attachment 48836

View attachment 48838

Here is a story that I wrote about hay baling Uncle cut the meadow with a 4 foot sickle similar to your photo.
In 1946 or 1947 My Father and two of his brothers cut and baled a hay meadow owned by their Sister Lil Osborn. I will try to explain the operation as follows. Uncle Carl cut the meadow with a horse drawn sickle mower with a four foot bar. After the hay was cured they borrowed a baler that was powered by a horse. The transport wheels were taken off and the baler set on the ground it was maybe forty or fifty foot long on the ground. Set up in shade for evening work. The horse walked in a circle at the far end of the baler opposite of where the hay was fed in walking in a circle pulling a lever that powered a bell crank that moved the plunger head back and forth. There were wooden blocks made with grooves that wire were fed through to tie the bales. A block was placed between each bale. The bale hooks in the baler would catch the block and keep everything from backing up. My Uncle Earl drug the hay to the baler with a sulky rake and My Father and Uncle Carl fed the baler with pitch forks.The wire being used was in a long bundle and place along side and inline with the baler. My cousin Ladale Hurley would poke a wire through the backside of the block that divided the bale and when the next block showed up that divided the bales I would poke the wire back through on the front side of the block and Ladale would tie the bale off. Two wires for each bale. My Father paid me a penny a bale for my work. I made $7 that summer and bought a pair of Yellow Acme cowboy boots. My older Brother Cecil drug the bales and stacked them away from the operation and kept the horse walking. Each brother divided the bales equally. I can remember this as it was yesterday sure wish my mother would have taken a photo with her Kodak for history's sake.

 

[SBMF 2015]

Here is a story that I wrote about hay baling Uncle cut the meadow with a 4 foot sickle similar to your photo.
In 1946 or 1947 My Father and two of his brothers cut and baled a hay meadow owned by their Sister Lil Osborn. I will try to explain the operation as follows. Uncle Carl cut the meadow with a horse drawn sickle mower with a four foot bar. After the hay was cured they borrowed a baler that was powered by a horse. The transport wheels were taken off and the baler set on the ground it was maybe forty or fifty foot long on the ground. Set up in shade for evening work. The horse walked in a circle at the far end of the baler opposite of where the hay was fed in walking in a circle pulling a lever that powered a bell crank that moved the plunger head back and forth. There were wooden blocks made with grooves that wire were fed through to tie the bales. A block was placed between each bale. The bale hooks in the baler would catch the block and keep everything from backing up. My Uncle Earl drug the hay to the baler with a sulky rake and My Father and Uncle Carl fed the baler with pitch forks.The wire being used was in a long bundle and place along side and inline with the baler. My cousin Ladale Hurley would poke a wire through the backside of the block that divided the bale and when the next block showed up that divided the bales I would poke the wire back through on the front side of the block and Ladale would tie the bale off. Two wires for each bale. My Father paid me a penny a bale for my work. I made $7 that summer and bought a pair of Yellow Acme cowboy boots. My older Brother Cecil drug the bales and stacked them away from the operation and kept the horse walking. Each brother divided the bales equally. I can remember this as it was yesterday sure wish my mother would have taken a photo with her Kodak for history's sake.

If people today would work that hard just think how much better the world would be.