Sickle mower plugs up

grandpa Love · Oct 19, 2020

We cut a field on Friday that hasn't been
cut in 2 years. Basically cleaning it up
for the lady that let us cut her hay.
Made 500+ bales at her place, she asked
for 50 for her horse. Any way..... The
outside edge of the New Holland 451 kept
dragging the grass for 3-4 ft then it
would dump off in clumps. Grass and weeds
were 5-6 ft tall. Was this just an issue
because of all the thick grass under
growth?

old · Oct 19, 2020

My IH A-16 does that at times in real thick grass. It is caused by the swather board and needing to set it so the hay does not hang up on it

jal-SD · Oct 19, 2020

I would guess the outside sickle section was broken or very dull or gone. The other option would be ledger plate on the shoe was dull or gone. That would be if you were mowing with a #6 Massey Harris mower that I mowed about 180 acres 3 times a year for 6-7 years. But that was back in the late 1950's & early 1960's. I'm not sure if the type of sickle sections or ledger plates used in those days even exist anymore.

MF#1 · Oct 19, 2020

I agree with Old. It's when the clumps keep balling up that there's a problem. It can also be caused by the end sickle being loose on the edge plate at the head. Does that NH have the "sickle and a half" section at the end? Raising your swath board a little and slightly bending the long rod in towards the mower some usually helps mine. I hate cutting tall Johnson grass because of that, causes some big clumps that don't dry well.

Janicholson · Oct 19, 2020

Sanding the board (if wood) and a coat of polyurethane varnish is good to make it slick, if metal 350 grit and some hopper paint with Moly that makes it slippery. Ledger plate, hold down clips, and guards need to be checked. The end sickle section is often one and a half sections and special. Jim
special section not necessarily the exact one you need

Destroked 450 · Oct 19, 2020

Theyll do that in if theres a lot of thick undergrowth
I bent the top swather bar out some on my 451 to take some of the angle out of it, that seams to help

grandpa Love · Oct 19, 2020

Jim....got one like that in the end. It's new....25 acres cut since we put it on. Cuts really good, most of the time. Just wasn't happy in the tall thick mess.

Traditional Farmer · Oct 20, 2020

Probably hitting field mouse nests,catch the nest wad on the point of the guard and it'll cause a plug up.I'd adjust the cutter bar up more to raise the points of the guards.

grandpa Love · Oct 20, 2020

TF, had the mower tipped back a bit. And had the shoes dropped as far as I could. Was cutting 4+ inches high. How many bars should be on the outer shoe? I've got 3....... None very tall. Maybe 2'. We decided to just bush hog the other acre or 2. Not good hay any way and no need to wear and tear the hay equipment. I'm hoping it will rot down over the winter

Traditional Farmer · Oct 20, 2020

Be a good idea to brush hog it again late Winter as low as you can cut it.

BarnyardEngineering · Oct 20, 2020

Do you have a double knife sickle section on the end of the bar?

sotxbill · Oct 20, 2020

boths of my 451's do it... its aggravating, but otherwise, they work well. One of them has a piece of tin closing down the hole over the swather, and that seems to help.

James Howell · Oct 20, 2020

Disclaimer: I am not familiar with the NH 451.

These suggestions are based on my experience with the JD 350 sickle mower.

Make sure the ledger plate in the outer shoe is not loose.

Make sure the 1 and 1/2 end section is "snug" on the ledger plate.

If there is a no gap between the end section and ledger plate, you might consider removing a shim(s).

Make sure the stripper is snug against the end section.

Usually a good, clean cut at the out shoe will eliminate grass clogs.

Hope this helps.

Traditional Farmer · Oct 20, 2020

How many sickle sections are on your blade? For some reason when I buy new 7ft NH sickle assemblies they have 29 sections instead of 28 like all other 7ft mowers.I tried cutting with the 29 sections doesn't work worth a darn,so now I knock off the 29th section and 28th sections,put on the double tooth section as #28 and it cuts great.Have to cut off some of the blade.

Sickle mower plugs up

grandpa Love

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old

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jal-SD

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MF#1

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Janicholson

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Destroked 450

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grandpa Love

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Traditional Farmer

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grandpa Love

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Traditional Farmer

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BarnyardEngineering

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sotxbill

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James Howell

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Traditional Farmer

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