Sickle Bar Mower for B7100

[300zx]

Any particular 3pt sickle bar mower that works well with a B7100?

 

[B7100]

Any particular 3pt sickle bar mower that works well with a B7100?

I've been searching for the same thing but have not found one yet!I haven't found anything suitable to cut down to size either.
Dave

 

[Kytim]

Me too, I would love to have the proper one for the B7100. I understand at one point they were just lying around like dirt. suppose they must all have been scraped.

 

[300zx]

Kytim, I think you are right. Most farmers I see around Virginia and in the mid west have gone to disc mowers. Farming for me stopped in 1965 when I left the family farm. I had to ask my brother-in-law what a disc mower was! Most sickle bar mowers I see are 7 and 9 ft. I would like to stay 6 ft or less for my B7100. I sent an email to my local dealer to see what he suggests.

Dave, I hadn't even thought about the need to cut one down to size!

 

[B7100]

Dave, I hadn't even thought about the need to cut one down to size!

Well I thought that I would not like anything more than 4 to 5 feet sticking outside the line as it may make my 7100 a little unstable especially if it was on the downside of a slope.
The annoying thing is,I had two quite light ones for my Ferguson T20's years ago but they are now long gone
I see there are quite a few sickle bar mowers for auction your side of the pond but not so many here.
There is an Italian co that import them but I bet they are eye watering expensive.
If you can't find one you may just have to run around with a motorised mower mounted to a FEL,
Dave

 

[300zx]

Dave, it is funny you mentioned the FEL. I was talking to my brother in the mid-west this morning and he mentioned that I should rig up a sickle bar from an old combine onto my FEL. He said they all use hydraulic wobble boxes now and I should be able to extend it from the FEL. It's a crazy thought, but would be very interesting to try if I could find something in a scrap yard.

 

[Eric McCarthy]

I dont know why I didnt think of this sooner but here's a cheap solution from Northern Tool if you need to mow in tight spots like a sickle bar mower would.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_757532_757532

 

[300zx]

Eric, that looks like a great design for fenced areas and tight spots. I am looking for something I can use over ditches and along road side banks.

John

 

[Eric McCarthy]

AH gotchya well then take a gander over here! This mower might be more suited to your needs.

http://www.bomfordcenter.com/

 

[300zx]

Eric, I like it. It is out of my price range, but I like it. How do you find this stuff?

John

 

[B7100]

Well this one looks promising,just need to find the price!

http://www.minitrac.co.uk/acneufs/08 barre.htm
Dave

 

[300zx]

Dave, that does look promising. As you have said before, the price will probably make your eyes water! Take a look at this one for your FEL:

http://www.cutthat.com/features.html

 

[Eric McCarthy]

300zx to answer your question on how I found those items is because I run a landscape business on the side and I get all kinds of magazines in the mail for the landscape industry and I just happened to rememeber the A arm mower. It did however take me a minute or two on a Google search to find the exact one I was thinking of!

 

[B7100]

Take a look at this one for your FEL:

http://www.cutthat.com/features.html

I WANT ONE!! I'll have a towel rather than a handkercheif at the ready though!
dave

 

[300zx]

Eric, it would be too dangerous for me to get those magazines and catalogs!

Dave, I found the price on the Sabre Samurai Cutters - $1,350.00 each. Not as bad as I expected, but still more than I would want to spend right now.

John

 

[300zx]

I don't know how much trouble I got myself into, but I bought a 1950's vintage Ford 501 Sickle Bar Mower yesterday. It has had two previous owners who left it in their barns for a long time. The bar and parts of the mower are in pieces, so I don't know how much I am missing. The price was right at $95, so I was willing to take on the challenge. It has a pitman arm driver rather than a wobble box, but the wobble box types in my area are well over $1000.

Here are some pictures:

https://picasaweb.google.com/110263...01SickleBarMower?authkey=Gv1sRgCLK4xv_b2fHlCA

If anyone has suggestions on where I can get parts, let me know. I already know I need the pitman arm stick and all of the connection parts for the sickle end. I have found them on eBay. The inner sole or shoe is missing for the bar. I may need to make one out of a truck spring. And this is just after an initial overview. I can't imagine what I will find missing when I really get into the details.

A lot of parts are rusted in place, so it will be time to get the electrolytic tank out and operating.

Wish me luck, I am going to need it!

John

 

[300zx]

I found another mower. It is a Ford 515 sickle bar mower with a wobble box, so it will mow banks better than the 501's with pitman arms. I need to do some mods to make it work better and lots of adjustments, but it mowed down some tall weed with ease when I got it home, mounted and on its initial run. The B7100 had no trouble lifting it with its 6ft bar and turning the PTO in the tall weeds. I think I will put fluid in the tires to make it more stable on hill sides.

https://picasaweb.google.com/110263...5SickleBarMower?authkey=Gv1sRgCIyEkLyfy8DSswE

 

[Eric McCarthy]

Is that a garden hose I see for a drive belt? WOW thats a huge belt!!!

 

[300zx]

I am not anxious to replace it any time soon. It is bound to be pricey.

 

[kgburns]

I found an old International Harvester pull type sickle mower for less than $200. True, it has the pitman arm so it won't cut below horizontal, but for the money, I can live with that. I had to put new sections on, patch the inner tubes and give it a good cleaning and greasing, but it works very well around the pond and creekbanks.