Sickle Bar w/ B3200HSD?

[cold1313]

Howdy,

Just picked up my new B3200HSD last weekend...but it's been to wet to even get it out of the garage!

Anyway, I need a sickle bar and saw there is an auction this weekend and they list a John Deere 350 sickle bar. Quick homework says this could be a 7-9' bar.

Would my tractor handle this? I don't plan to use it much other than to mow the banks of my pond a few times a year.

No idea what the thing is worth, I'm hoping to get a deal and not over pay...then again, i don't know what it's worth!

 

[hodge]

A sicklebar mower takes very little power to operate, or lift- most any tractor will handle one.

 

[cold1313]

Any idea what an old sickle bar like that is worth? I haven't seen it yet to know the condition.

 

[Bellinghamster]

I run a simiarl New Holland 451 7' sickle with my B7100 =:O (pics below)

The 451 is a pretty heavy mower (592 LBS!), compared to a 1000lb tractor plus a ~400-500lb FEL. The tractor occasionally wanted to pull to the right while heavy cutting until I re-tuned the guards on the mower so it didn't clog up as much. I still run in 4wd to be able to run straight. The FEL helps hold the front end on the ground (nothing in the bucket, tho). Power is no problem, but it's a bit heavy to lift on the 3pt. Also, I had to fabricate a new 3pt mounting yolk as the one that came with the mower was too wide to fit between the lift arms. You may need to do the same.

The baler is the reason I bought a bigger tractor for this year... although my little B7100 and a JD 14T did almost 500 bales last summer without any problem.

I don't think you'll have any trouble running a JD350 with your B3200. It's 700lbs heavier than my B7100. If you don't have an FEL, you may want to put some front weights on.

I paid $450 for my mower. It needed a rebuild with all new bearings and a few new sections, but I still think it was a good deal for a wobble box mower. I've never seen another as cheap, 451's advertised seem to run $1250-2000 used. JD350s seem to be asking even more.