Your Candor and honesty is refreshing. I’ve heard people say they trust my feedback because They know I won’t lie to them. Now I know what they mean. I like to see the old timer’s way vs the modern compact tractors.
I am a regular viewer, and I really like your levelheaded and honest approach to implement reviews. And, this sickle mower brings back a lot of memories from my youth.
In my youth, 65 years ago, I mowed a lot of hay with a sickle bar mower. In the beginning, we pulled an old horse drawn machine with a 6 foot cutting bar behind an old JD A. Later we got a late model B and then a 50. We used a JD semi mounted model 5 with an 8 ft bar . We mowed in 4th gear at about 5 mph. The big difference is the tractor weight at about twice what a 1025 weighs.
We just bought one after we just couldn't get parts for our old 1950 German made sickle bar mower. We mowe 200 acres ever year and its been doing a great job.
I have a 1949 Farmall Cub that has belly-mount cycle-bar mower as one of the attachments, and I love it. I used this mainly to cut my orchard grass due to the fact that I was able to get under the trees without getting into the branches or damaging the fruit/buds. I grew up on a farm in Kansas, so did a lot of hay making. Love your series on these tractor comparisons, and very informative as I am making a decision between these two tractors for my next purchase.
My dad has a John deere no. 9 sickle mower, remnants of the old farm in Southern Illinois my dad grew up on as a kid. That was one of my dads favorite things to do on the old farm, he loved to watch the grass fall and still does. We still use it to mow around my pond with. We have many old attachments that are old and hard to find, it would make an interesting episode. My dad has kept many attachments and one of the tractors for sentimental reasons.
Thank you Tim and your family for being so thorough with your opinions. After watching your TH-cam videos we decided on a new 1025R. With the backhoe. Bucket loader. Forks and tiller. We’ve been using it like crazy since day one!!! It’s definitely part of our family!!! My wife son and grandson are having a blast with it. Keep up the great work!!!
I had a care company growing up. I jumped at the opportunity to buy a hayban 4’ cycle bar mower for my cub cadet. I got it for only. $250. I used it for all you have mentioned. The other benefit is you can cut the rough grass, remove large limbs and rock that might damage a rotary finish mower, and then use the finish mower to cut up the cuttings. I found this method also did not load the tractor as much as trying to cut heavy grass with the finish mower alone. Great video!
We used to have a sickle bar mower when I was a kid. It was on a 860 ford power master. We used it for cutting hay and mowing banks/ditches. The serve a purpose well but definitely a love hate relationship. It wasn't much fun to work on and dangerous. Dogs and other animals need to be kept away when in operation. They seem to understand a brush hog but a sickle bar is much quieter and sticking out the side. That being said I have considered buying another just for banks and ditches. That one seems to work well.
Hi Tim and Christy i am 68 now Tim and i remember the horse drawn sickle mower i spent many a happy day on them its been around for a long time and we had to turn the hay by hand and we used to harvest the corn using a scythe in them days our hands were our tools nice video
🤠 Well that fired up the ol' memory retrieval system! Spent several Colorado summers way, way back when in my youth cutting and bailing "upland" hay (non irrigated light density) using a JD 1020, a 9' JD sickle bar mower, a JD 3-pt reel rake, and a JD 24T bailer. I can still smell it right now in my memories!
Available on Amazon (and presumably elsewhere) are “cup” magnets. These are flat magnets with a reasonably strong pull, and a countersunk hole in the middle. Also available on Amazon is some spring type broom holders designed to be screwed into a wall or cabinet. What I did was order a package of each, and using some M5 flathead bolts & nuts that i already had on hand, bolted the broom holders to the magnets. Then I stuck them onto the loader and ROPS to hold hoses & wires for my sprayer... something similar would probably be helpful for your hydraulic hoses. They also come in handy for holding a cane, walking stick, or long-reach tool.
The first tractor/attachment I ever used was a 1949 JD "M" with a sickle bar on the 11-acre farm I married in to. Compared to the new devices, the old mowers were archaic. "Down" was only about 7-degrees, "up" was maybe 35-degrees. To transport the machine meant turning off the PTO, getting off the tractor, retrieving the transport bar (a 5/8" rod about 5' long with a hook at one end and an eyebolt on the other), thread the eyebolt through a hole in the blade, lift the blade to the vertical position by arm and back muscle, and hook the transport bar hook to the appropriate place, get on the tractor and transport to the next field. Then reverse the steps. The mower could not run in the up position without self destructing. Because of the limitations of the swing range the mower was useless at mowing pond banks or ditches. Of course, the same could be said of bush hogs and flail mowers in the same circumstances. With the new stuff I might be tempted back to the sickle world.
I have about 4 acres here in S.E. SD, when I first bought my place all I could afford to cut it was a 1965 Wheel Horse garden tractor with a 4' belly mounted sickle, 8hp. It took me a while but I could cut all 4 acres no problem, sickles take so little power. I've since upgraded to a Branson 2400h with a 5' Rhino Bush hog. It's a lot faster. However in the spring that ground is too soft and wet to run the heavier tractor. And by the time its dry enough the grass is almost 3 or 4' tall in places which really slows me down on the Bush hog. That little sickle mower don't care how tall the grass is and the entire tractor only weighs 450 lbs so I can skim right along over soft ground. It sure turns heads when people drive by seeing that little tractor cruising along just laying down the grass so nice. Theres something so satisfying about watching a properly tuned sickle run.
Tim, I have an IH 1300 sickle mower that I used in the past to mow a ditch. Haven't used it in years, but works excellent, and you are correct...I think I paid about $1200.00. I haven't sold it because as soon as I do sell a piece of equipment, I realize a situation I could use it for. Thanks for the info, and the Maschio flail mower looks like a great mower. Bob
Boy does that bring back memories. The City of Gloucester DPW used a sickle cutter for years along roadways and ditches. When I was a kid we spent a lot of time playing ball and a special treat was when "Sickle Sam" would show up in the tractor and sickle along foul territory and outfield. Us kids would then rush to where he just worked and look for lost baseballs! I think the city now uses a side mounted Grass Hog now. Best Regard, Jay
I bought a used 7 ft New Holland sickle bar mower about 15 years ago when I thought I wanted to cut hay on my 12 acres. Decided it was too much work. Sold everything except the mower. Use it about 4 times a year to cut pond dam and ditches. Best $800 I ever spent.
Man this brings back memories...Dad and I did about 4 acres of hay for a number of years with an old 3 pt Ford sicklebar mower, JD rake, and ancient New Holland square baler. Those mowers absolutely hate fire ant beds...and we have em everywhere. Got real good knocking rivets out and even sharpening teeth. Interesting to see a shiny, fancy new one. I think for a lot of folks with some spending change, it'd be a fun "tool".
Even though this is not something I'd need, you give it a good enough overall view for me to know this is not something I need. It's not a bad thing. It's an informed thing. Good video.
Thanks. I get it...and that was the goal! Many of the attachments we show are sort of geared toward niche markets. However, it seems that our viewers enjoy seeing them operated and described anyway. Appreciate your comments.
I have a 7 ft Farmking (Enorossi) double acting 3 pt mower that I love to use. Never plugs. Has hydraulic lift (the only way to go). I use it to cut 25 acres of hay, to mow my pastures, etc. I highly recommend these double acting sicklebar mowers. Mine was about $4500.00 two years ago purchased from a Case IH dealer delivered to the farm and attached to my 33 hp Mahindra tractor.
All I know is 60 year ago as a kid this is what was used by very talented operators to cut the roadside and ditches in our town. A perfect place to live but progress came an destroyed it. It will always be my favorite attachment for a tractor.
Tim I’m not gonna be really critical. But I learned to mow hay with a sickle mower. And honestly I seen a few mistakes you made but I think those mistake were made because you are not used to mowing with this style of mower. There are some tricks to using this mowers that I’ve learned over the 25 years of running a hay farm. God Bless and thanks for the great video.
Nice! Like the quieter tools. As they are easily used at midnight without disturbing the neighbors. Ah, who am I kidding I'm to busy sleeping. Great vid🤠
Tim, maybe do a 1025r hay bailing series? I see this tractor being perfect for someone who maybe doesn’t have cattle but has horses or goats. Something that doesn’t require a lot of hay. My neighbor has a 1025R and he thinks I’m a wizard because I know so much about it. All thanks to my secret source, Tractor Time with Tim. 😁🤫
Not sure if they make a baler that would work on a sub-compact tractor? A sickle mower, and rake would easily work behind a sub-compact, but I don't think a baler would, unless you find an old baler that has its own engine.
Tim I would really like to see you find some hay ground and get Tractor Tools Direct to send out a Hay Package with net wrap baler, disc mower, and belt rake. I know it is a niche market, but honestly for gardeners it has potential too.
This right here !!!!! I have a 2019 2032r and I need some sort of hobby farm haying solution !!!! This sickle bar mower is perfect other than being frontier green ;) as he said. But we need options for bailing and wrapping equipment !!!!!!!!!
The little hay mower fer small tractors would be a drum mower not a disk mower. I have one fer doing hay and its awesome. Granted I use it on a full size tractor but the smaller mower can be run down to somewhere in the 20 pto hp.
Sickle mowing was a way of life in the fifties. Brush hogging today on a steep hillside can be dangerous. If it wasn't for the cost it certainly would be a consideration. Thanks for trip down memory lane! Best wishes.
Tim; When I was a kid and we used sickle bar mowers the board on the end was called either a mold board or swath board. Enjoy your TH-cam channel. Bob Merrill
I had a walk behind sickle bar for my BCS. Wonderful machine! It even cut a few trees I didn't intend to. A lot of times the best option is to just clear everything!
Growing up we had a Cub tractor with a sickle mower. Later I spent many an hour cutting hay to rake and bale at a friends place. They are tough pieces of equipment that always did the job for us.
Until I recently sold my farm, had a six foot Befco sickle bar mower that l mowed horse pasture with. Loved all the advantages mentioned here, particularly mowing faster at a lower RPM. I just disconnected the curl hoses on the FEL and connected the mower’s single hydraulic hose for mowing, avoiding a costly hydraulic kit.
I have nothing but good things to say about my Maschio Gaspardo sickle mower. All sickle bars require routine maintenance and adjustments to operate properly. I have used mine hard for 3 years
I sold my 100 acre NH 451 with a 9' bar last summer. I'm in NE Texas and the man drove from Alabama to get it.90's model and was stored in a metal shop building since early 90's.Got out of the hay business right after I bought it new.Man wanted it specifically to mow around his 10 acre lake. Got video up of it running etc.Back when I bought it I seem to remember it was $4200.00 new. Lot of money back then.Had another NH 451 with same 9' bar before it. Bought it new too but it had a factory defect and would eat wobble head bearings. Fought it for several years and finally convinced the dealer to swap it out.Mowed in 4th gear on a Ford 2810. Each season and with 3 cuttings I was baling about 200 seasonal acres:by myself.
You had mentioned that it would cut in a vertical position as well. Would like to see you try that maybe on some of the trees on the tower project before to mow them down with the brush crusher. I thinking it would be great to keep fence lines in check or hedge rows.
Tim,the proper name is swathboard. Some people say grassboard. Early mowers such as horse drawn mowers it was made of wood with a stick that looked like a cut off hoe handle up at an angle. Keep the great videos.
Tim I remember those cycle bar mowers when they were pulled by horses . many a cat lost their legs to a cycle bar mower because they were so quiet. and the cats were in the tall hay hunting.
Another excellent video. Like probably many of your subscribers we have a grown up daughter with a few horses and about five acres of fields. Probably of no surprise that she is often suggesting that her Mother and I buy her exactly this sort of equipment! 😆
I was farm raised and spent many hours and days using a sickle bar mower. I will be honest in a days time this little machine would lay down alot of hay. With a side mower on a single 3,000 Ford tractor a side delivery rake and a compact 65 New Holland Square bailer. We would average 20.000 bales during a summer. With that 6 foot cutter a rake and one of those little round bailers you could easily put up enough hay to support a homestead cow farm of at least 50 head or even a 75 head farm.
Tim, use caution when you run over the cut swath with the low clearance on the 1025R. My dad twisted his front drive shaft completely off on his 1026R with cut hay getting wrapped up on it using his sickle in heavy hay. I liked your comment on the IH 1300 that is what I use on my 2520 SUT. Made a new three point mount and had to counter weight the left side to help with the twist when lifting. Regards from Wisconsin.
I saw some bales of hay - wrapped in plastic and 2x2x3 and it was used for spreading by hand over seed to protect it. Easy for young FFA to haul. Small as well.
I remember sickle bar mowers well my grandfather was still using A horse drawn one into the early 90’s & my dad would take his summer holidays to cut on our neighbors farm with A IH tractor & A sickle bar mower. I was lucky they had upgraded to A rotary drum mower by the time I was old enough to drive the tractor 😂
I just attached an old ford 7 foot sickle bar to the back of a yanmar ym 2000B. It mows 600 feet of road ditch, and the perimeter of two different ponds in nothing flat. I would say it saves me days of weed whacking, but the reality is that it was so difficult I quit cutting it. I should have used the sickle bar years ago.
Hey Tim good rule of thumb I use when cutting fence lines of around trees is figure out how wide ur tractor is for me I have to be a foot away from the fence with my tire so I drive right upto the fence or whatever and that’s ur gauge
Hi, I’ve got a new Holland 448 sicklebar mower that I put on my Kubota B2530. Works well in hay that’s not laid or too thick in the bottom. Also got the star hay turner & mini round baler, both work well but balling is a little slow with it only having a 70cm pickup. Splitting the windrows is advisable.
Before I got my tractor and flail mower I had a neighbor mow the fields with his 6' sickle bar mower. The primary design of the sickle bar as a hay cutter was a problem for me because my fields have a lot of thick hard stalked weeds that grow to 6' (you would appreciate the mower end marker stick in that). They would fall and make huge mats that would not decompose before killing everything underneath. Seems like you need to trim close by having the "obstacle" on the RIGHT side of the tractor so the cutters get close but you and the tractor stay clear. You need to get Christy a rake and a baler for cleanup :D
I'll tell you what, I had a heck of a time finding all of the fittings for my BX! Nobody makes a kit specifically for the old ones anymore! That said, everything I found said not to use teflon tape on hydraulic systems. Eventually little pieces can get into the fluid and then into the valves and cause them to leak or clog. I used Permatex 80632. I don't think it worked too great, the NPT fittings were still a bit of a pain to get sealed.
After mowing my creek bank, I went back with the grapple angled down with the lower teeth just skimming the ground. It did a good job picking up all that long cut grass. Only problem, I have is my sickle bar is attached to the third function also, so I had to disconnect it to use the Grapple. I was also happy to see how you routed the aux hydraulic lines. That's the same thing I did with mine, except on the Kubota, the third function valves are on the left. I don't really care for it like that, but it's the best option for an attachment that's not going to be getting regular use.
Hi Tim Dad had a sickle bar mower, it was a Grey Ferguson mower on a Ferguson 35 and later on a MF135 I used it quite a bit, it did a great job. The only hay mower Dad ever had and I loved using it. I will have to start looking for one for my 1025R. Just one thing, I think your mower needs a bit of adjustment the cutterbare should be angled slightly forward in relation to the tractor, the one you are using looks to be angled back, it will give a cleaner cut. Regards John
Always wanted one, but the price got to me.. Ended up with a JD M37 pull-type.. Whole thing cost me $800 incl. new sickle bar.. Very handy items, these types of mowers.. I mow the weeds along our road when they get high.. I ride motorcycles - and high weeds at the road shoulders are dangerous to us.. The county does it but so late that it's worthless.. Our neighbors all appreciate it when I mow these shoulders down.. Nice machine there, Tim..
That hose kit is a great idea, but please don't use thread tape on hydraulic systems. It causes so many problems when it blocks valves and orifices. Liquid thread sealant only.
For many decades a lot of rural communities road crews used sickle bar mowers for mowing banks and ditches along the road. Now days they use huge articulating brush hog mowers.
Good video on good old sickle bars. Still have one we just use for ditch banks and anything where an offset mower is needed. Don’t use for hay anymore but can remember when it was used. Thanks for a great video 👍✊Jdmich
The sickle mower would be great in a few places I need to mow, but wow they're expensive. Yes, the sickle mowers typically like faster ground speeds. A friend of mine uses their sickle mower for cutting hay. They cut 6-7 fields with their sickle mower 3-4 times a year depending on how the weather goes. It does a great job and they can go faster with it so it takes far less time. I like your hydraulic setup, I would never have thought about using the loader hydraulics to run the hydraulics on the sickle mower without having to have rear remotes added at a much higher cost than a few hoses and couplers.
Wow. It looks like if they're set up right and you don't have a bunching problem, sickle mowers do pretty good, even if the grass is laying down a little. My dad had an old Oliver sickle mower run on a 9N tractor. He had a lot of trouble with grass jamming up and seemed to want to lay over a lot. He later bought a drum type mower. It ran pretty good. There were only 2 drums on it and 2 blades on the drums. When one side wore down on the blades, you flipped them around and cut with the other end of the blades. Then when that side wore down you replaced the blades. They seemed to have good wear life.
Really enjoyed this episode. I recently bought an old IH 1300 you referenced for use on our 5-series for cutting ditches and banks. After watching the video I'm tempted to try it on our 1025r as well just to see. Thanks again!
Thanks, Tim the sickle bar mower demonstration was extremely informative and it answered many of my doubts acting as a refresher course to what it can do. I would like to jump through my computer screen and assist in getting the tower greens completed, especially at the cable points. A serious trimmer would do it. Also, it was refreshing to see a mow without rocks, stumps or anything else ruining the blades. Excellent camera work by the way for the entire episode.
Sickles take a bit of experience to run well, that and they require much more maintenance than a rotary mower or flail. That's the main reason they are not used much these days. I run a 5 foot unit on my cub cadet tractor to do banks, ditches and ponds.
In Texas, East Texas, the problem with sickle mowers is fire ant mounds. That's why hay mowing is done with the round disc cutter now. Fire ant mounds basically destroys the sickle section of it.
Good morning Tim thanks for the video. Read some other comments and it looks like if you did a haymaking video with the small haymaking equipment it would be great. I thought it was just me that would want to see it but it looks like others want see to. This is a good video and I remember the horse drawn sickles with iron wheels when I was a boy watching my grandad. Thanks again brother and God bless
Excellent vid! I learn many things from you explanations, especially the short segments on the hydrodro connections! Thanks agin Tim! Ken from western NC.
Thanks for all of yalls videos. I found them helpful in deciding on what I might need for my property. Fri I get my new little Johnny. Now I just need a few more attachments. Wish yall were in north Ga. and Id let you come over with all your attachments lol Iv got stumps ,brush, ground leveling, driveway needs fixing, ect ect.
There are smaller round balers that make 50-80lbs bales that could be run by these small tractors. They are mainly used in East Asia. It seems like there would be a market for them here, but few seem to sell them.
Court - the issue is, what would you do with the small, round bales? Horse owners are too picky for all but the finest feed, and economics make the small bales worthless to large dairy farms. About the only sustainable busienss model I could imagine working is to sell the small, round bales to urban homeowners for fall / Halloween front porch decorations. Find a hobby farmer offering pick-your-own pumpkins, gords, honey, maple syrup, apples, and see if you can make a arrangement to offer your small, round bales at their road-side stand.
We have a small hobby farm and raise just a few goats. Little round bales that could be handled with our 1025r on uneven ground would keep us from packing small square bales all winter.
@@DougAlesUSA Agreed. As a horse owner/breeder, and someone who owns a 1025r, I would never consider buying hay equipment for this tractor. It is a good all-around compact tractor, but does nothing really well on a farm. The cost of equipment and the capacity of the system just isn't anywhere near practical - at least in the US. Of course I have neighbors who own 61 in Scag mowers to cut their acre property, so there is money out there.
Don Enderlein thank you. On Facebook, I’m a member of a popular lawn care business group. Your idea about the 1023e/1025R being capable for many things but good at nothing is verified by what I read at that group. If the business is focused on mowing, they use a commercial grade zero turn mower, gas weed wacker, and gas, pack pack style blower. If they do much trenching, they get a dedicated excavator. If they do much stump removal, they get a dedicated stump grinder. Anyone that tries anything else soon comes back to these dedicated equipment items. I love the 1025R for its intended purpose, a person / family taking care of their own property where can can not justify owning a machine shed full of different dedicated pieces of equipment. Maybe occasionally helping out nearby family and friends. For that person with 1 - 10 acres with varied projects, productivity is not relevant, however flexibility is important. In my opinion, thats where these sub-compact tractors win.
these Blade type mowers have been recreated in a bigger form by an Austrian company, BB Umwelttechnik (BB Environment Technics). The big positives to these types of mowers compared to drum type mowers is that they are lighter, require less power, are more eco friendly and they dont get as much dirt and dust mixed into the grass. The negatives are that they for the longest time used to be to small for bigger farms and that sharpening the blades take forever unless you use an expensive sharpening machine.
With the disc mower, it shreds the hay more than a mower conditioner and you end up getting less hay over the whole field because the baler can’t always pick up the smaller stalks of hay.
This mechanism is very efficient, light weight, and has low power requirements. There were horse drawn versions, after all, which were unpowered. That's one reason they're so quiet. It should use a lot less fuel to mow the same ground than other types of mowers. Especially the longer the grass gets.
That’s quite a unit. Interesting and informative video. Christy must have to jog to keep up with you.😉 I remember mowing hay with sickle mowers. I recall some of the old ones had a “break-away” feature if you caught the swath board on fence or obstacle it would allow the bar to “trip” without causing major damage. FYI, I do have an clear area around my woods in hay type grass that I think would work nicely for testing it out, but I just mowed down with a rotary cutter. I’m not far from you. Maybe later this summer?? Enjoyed the video and blessings to you folks!
Great minds think alike, I just got one for my BX23S last week. If you had an Orange tractor it would match the sickle bar better than that green thing. ;)
I actually was look at old sicklebar mowers. Thought of fixing one up for hay use and getting an old wheel driven hay rake with a $1500 4x5 round baler. Its crude, but as long as it cuts and bales thats all that matters to me. I just believe the 75hp will be too much for the old equipment
I have an old International 1300 I use in the fall to clip goatweed. I can raise it up to 6 inches to leave grass and top the goatweed. Works better than spraying to eliminate next years growth.
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Your Candor and honesty is refreshing. I’ve heard people say they trust my feedback because They know I won’t lie to them. Now I know what they mean. I like to see the old timer’s way vs the modern compact tractors.
I am a regular viewer, and I really like your levelheaded and honest approach to implement reviews. And, this sickle mower brings back a lot of memories from my youth.
It is nice to see that implement manufactures are realizing there is a market for compact and subcompact equipment.
In my youth, 65 years ago, I mowed a lot of hay with a sickle bar mower. In the beginning, we pulled an old horse drawn machine with a 6 foot cutting bar behind an old JD A. Later we got a late model B and then a 50. We used a JD semi mounted model 5 with an 8 ft bar . We mowed in 4th gear at about 5 mph. The big difference is the tractor weight at about twice what a 1025 weighs.
We just bought one after we just couldn't get parts for our old 1950 German made sickle bar mower. We mowe 200 acres ever year and its been doing a great job.
I have a 1949 Farmall Cub that has belly-mount cycle-bar mower as one of the attachments, and I love it. I used this mainly to cut my orchard grass due to the fact that I was able to get under the trees without getting into the branches or damaging the fruit/buds. I grew up on a farm in Kansas, so did a lot of hay making. Love your series on these tractor comparisons, and very informative as I am making a decision between these two tractors for my next purchase.
My dad has a John deere no. 9 sickle mower, remnants of the old farm in Southern Illinois my dad grew up on as a kid. That was one of my dads favorite things to do on the old farm, he loved to watch the grass fall and still does. We still use it to mow around my pond with. We have many old attachments that are old and hard to find, it would make an interesting episode. My dad has kept many attachments and one of the tractors for sentimental reasons.
Hey you could make a TH-cam video
Thank you Tim and your family for being so thorough with your opinions. After watching your TH-cam videos we decided on a new 1025R. With the backhoe. Bucket loader. Forks and tiller. We’ve been using it like crazy since day one!!! It’s definitely part of our family!!! My wife son and grandson are having a blast with it. Keep up the great work!!!
Congratulations!
I had a care company growing up. I jumped at the opportunity to buy a hayban 4’ cycle bar mower for my cub cadet. I got it for only. $250. I used it for all you have mentioned. The other benefit is you can cut the rough grass, remove large limbs and rock that might damage a rotary finish mower, and then use the finish mower to cut up the cuttings. I found this method also did not load the tractor as much as trying to cut heavy grass with the finish mower alone. Great video!
We used to have a sickle bar mower when I was a kid. It was on a 860 ford power master. We used it for cutting hay and mowing banks/ditches. The serve a purpose well but definitely a love hate relationship. It wasn't much fun to work on and dangerous. Dogs and other animals need to be kept away when in operation. They seem to understand a brush hog but a sickle bar is much quieter and sticking out the side. That being said I have considered buying another just for banks and ditches. That one seems to work well.
The piece on the end is called the swath board. Really helpful when you get in really thick hay like something with a lot of crown vetch.
Hi Tim and Christy i am 68 now Tim and i remember the horse drawn sickle mower i spent many a happy day on them its been around for a long time and we had to turn the hay by hand and we used to harvest the corn using a scythe in them days our hands were our tools nice video
🤠 Well that fired up the ol' memory retrieval system! Spent several Colorado summers way, way back when in my youth cutting and bailing "upland" hay (non irrigated light density) using a JD 1020, a 9' JD sickle bar mower, a JD 3-pt reel rake, and a JD 24T bailer. I can still smell it right now in my memories!
Available on Amazon (and presumably elsewhere) are “cup” magnets. These are flat magnets with a reasonably strong pull, and a countersunk hole in the middle. Also available on Amazon is some spring type broom holders designed to be screwed into a wall or cabinet. What I did was order a package of each, and using some M5 flathead bolts & nuts that i already had on hand, bolted the broom holders to the magnets. Then I stuck them onto the loader and ROPS to hold hoses & wires for my sprayer... something similar would probably be helpful for your hydraulic hoses. They also come in handy for holding a cane, walking stick, or long-reach tool.
The first tractor/attachment I ever used was a 1949 JD "M" with a sickle bar on the 11-acre farm I married in to. Compared to the new devices, the old mowers were archaic. "Down" was only about 7-degrees, "up" was maybe 35-degrees. To transport the machine meant turning off the PTO, getting off the tractor, retrieving the transport bar (a 5/8" rod about 5' long with a hook at one end and an eyebolt on the other), thread the eyebolt through a hole in the blade, lift the blade to the vertical position by arm and back muscle, and hook the transport bar hook to the appropriate place, get on the tractor and transport to the next field. Then reverse the steps. The mower could not run in the up position without self destructing.
Because of the limitations of the swing range the mower was useless at mowing pond banks or ditches. Of course, the same could be said of bush hogs and flail mowers in the same circumstances.
With the new stuff I might be tempted back to the sickle world.
I have about 4 acres here in S.E. SD, when I first bought my place all I could afford to cut it was a 1965 Wheel Horse garden tractor with a 4' belly mounted sickle, 8hp. It took me a while but I could cut all 4 acres no problem, sickles take so little power. I've since upgraded to a Branson 2400h with a 5' Rhino Bush hog. It's a lot faster. However in the spring that ground is too soft and wet to run the heavier tractor. And by the time its dry enough the grass is almost 3 or 4' tall in places which really slows me down on the Bush hog. That little sickle mower don't care how tall the grass is and the entire tractor only weighs 450 lbs so I can skim right along over soft ground. It sure turns heads when people drive by seeing that little tractor cruising along just laying down the grass so nice. Theres something so satisfying about watching a properly tuned sickle run.
Tim, I have an IH 1300 sickle mower that I used in the past to mow a ditch. Haven't used it in years, but works excellent, and you are correct...I think I paid about $1200.00. I haven't sold it because as soon as I do sell a piece of equipment, I realize a situation I could use it for. Thanks for the info, and the Maschio flail mower looks like a great mower. Bob
Boy does that bring back memories. The City of Gloucester DPW used a sickle cutter for years along roadways and ditches. When I was a kid we spent a lot of time playing ball and a special treat was when "Sickle Sam" would show up in the tractor and sickle along foul territory and outfield. Us kids would then rush to where he just worked and look for lost baseballs! I think the city now uses a side mounted Grass Hog now. Best Regard, Jay
I bought a used 7 ft New Holland sickle bar mower about 15 years ago when I thought I wanted to cut hay on my 12 acres. Decided it was too much work. Sold everything except the mower. Use it about 4 times a year to cut pond dam and ditches. Best $800 I ever spent.
Man this brings back memories...Dad and I did about 4 acres of hay for a number of years with an old 3 pt Ford sicklebar mower, JD rake, and ancient New Holland square baler.
Those mowers absolutely hate fire ant beds...and we have em everywhere. Got real good knocking rivets out and even sharpening teeth.
Interesting to see a shiny, fancy new one. I think for a lot of folks with some spending change, it'd be a fun "tool".
I'm going to be sad when that project is completed. I love seeing all the tools you're using to clear that land. Another great video.
Even though this is not something I'd need, you give it a good enough overall view for me to know this is not something I need. It's not a bad thing. It's an informed thing. Good video.
Thanks. I get it...and that was the goal!
Many of the attachments we show are sort of geared toward niche markets. However, it seems that our viewers enjoy seeing them operated and described anyway.
Appreciate your comments.
I have a 7 ft Farmking (Enorossi) double acting 3 pt mower that I love to use. Never plugs. Has hydraulic lift (the only way to go). I use it to cut 25 acres of hay, to mow my pastures, etc. I highly recommend these double acting sicklebar mowers. Mine was about $4500.00 two years ago purchased from a Case IH dealer delivered to the farm and attached to my 33 hp Mahindra tractor.
All I know is 60 year ago as a kid this is what was used by very talented operators to cut the roadside and ditches in our town. A perfect place to live but progress came an destroyed it.
It will always be my favorite attachment for a tractor.
Tim I’m not gonna be really critical. But I learned to mow hay with a sickle mower. And honestly I seen a few mistakes you made but I think those mistake were made because you are not used to mowing with this style of mower. There are some tricks to using this mowers that I’ve learned over the 25 years of running a hay farm. God Bless and thanks for the great video.
perfect for getting around guy wires! I'm a ham radio operator and own a 40ft tower. It makes life easy!
Nice! Like the quieter tools. As they are easily used at midnight without disturbing the neighbors. Ah, who am I kidding I'm to busy sleeping. Great vid🤠
We used our sickle bar mower to trim fence line after the field was mowed. Great video! Thanks for sharing❗❗❗ 🙂🙂🙂 👍👍👍
Tim, maybe do a 1025r hay bailing series? I see this tractor being perfect for someone who maybe doesn’t have cattle but has horses or goats. Something that doesn’t require a lot of hay. My neighbor has a 1025R and he thinks I’m a wizard because I know so much about it. All thanks to my secret source, Tractor Time with Tim. 😁🤫
Not sure if they make a baler that would work on a sub-compact tractor? A sickle mower, and rake would easily work behind a sub-compact, but I don't think a baler would, unless you find an old baler that has its own engine.
Ya never know! …. FULL Size Hay Baler, Subcompact Tractor, John Deere 1025R!
th-cam.com/video/sPDhzcik4_0/w-d-xo.html
@@TractorTimewithTim Nice thanks I'll check it out after while.
Great video Tim! My dad used to cut our lawn with one. Thanks for sharing! Have a great and awesome day!
Tim I would really like to see you find some hay ground and get Tractor Tools Direct to send out a Hay Package with net wrap baler, disc mower, and belt rake. I know it is a niche market, but honestly for gardeners it has potential too.
This right here !!!!! I have a 2019 2032r and I need some sort of hobby farm haying solution !!!! This sickle bar mower is perfect other than being frontier green ;) as he said. But we need options for bailing and wrapping equipment !!!!!!!!!
@@kelstr 0 pipe
I LIkE having the attachments be different color than the tractor! Guess I’m kinda strange that way??
The little hay mower fer small tractors would be a drum mower not a disk mower. I have one fer doing hay and its awesome. Granted I use it on a full size tractor but the smaller mower can be run down to somewhere in the 20 pto hp.
I really enjoy your videos. I love watching how old equipment gets re-imagined into new.
Sickle mowing was a way of life in the fifties. Brush hogging today on a steep hillside can be dangerous. If it wasn't for the cost it certainly would be a consideration. Thanks for trip down memory lane! Best wishes.
Tim;
When I was a kid and we used sickle bar mowers the board on the end was called either a mold board or swath board.
Enjoy your TH-cam channel.
Bob Merrill
I had a walk behind sickle bar for my BCS. Wonderful machine! It even cut a few trees I didn't intend to. A lot of times the best option is to just clear everything!
Growing up we had a Cub tractor with a sickle mower. Later I spent many an hour cutting hay to rake and bale at a friends place. They are tough pieces of equipment that always did the job for us.
They are great for pond banks. I used a midmount sickle when I was a kid to cut hay on a Farmall. Boy that was a long time ago.....
Until I recently sold my farm, had a six foot Befco sickle bar mower that l mowed horse pasture with. Loved all the advantages mentioned here, particularly mowing faster at a lower RPM. I just disconnected the curl hoses on the FEL and connected the mower’s single hydraulic hose for mowing, avoiding a costly hydraulic kit.
I have nothing but good things to say about my Maschio Gaspardo sickle mower. All sickle bars require routine maintenance and adjustments to operate properly. I have used mine hard for 3 years
I sold my 100 acre NH 451 with a 9' bar last summer. I'm in NE Texas and the man drove from Alabama to get it.90's model and was stored in a metal shop building since early 90's.Got out of the hay business right after I bought it new.Man wanted it specifically to mow around his 10 acre lake. Got video up of it running etc.Back when I bought it I seem to remember it was $4200.00 new. Lot of money back then.Had another NH 451 with same 9' bar before it. Bought it new too but it had a factory defect and would eat wobble head bearings. Fought it for several years and finally convinced the dealer to swap it out.Mowed in 4th gear on a Ford 2810. Each season and with 3 cuttings I was baling about 200 seasonal acres:by myself.
You had mentioned that it would cut in a vertical position as well. Would like to see you try that maybe on some of the trees on the tower project before to mow them down with the brush crusher. I thinking it would be great to keep fence lines in check or hedge rows.
I was thinking the same thing. I have shrub brush that grows like crazy and am trying to find something to keep it cut back.
Tim,the proper name is swathboard. Some people say grassboard. Early mowers such as horse drawn mowers it was made of wood with a stick that looked like a cut off hoe handle up at an angle. Keep the great videos.
Thanks Tim, This would be handy to mow around a pond, I think. Also if it can cut upright might be handy to keep trails in the woods clear. Bravo
Tim I remember those cycle bar mowers when they were pulled by horses . many a cat lost their legs to a cycle bar mower because they were so quiet. and the cats were in the tall hay hunting.
My coworker tells me about removing the legs of pheasants frequently.
I mowed the legs off of skunks next few passes not so fun if you know what I mean.
Marc Davis 🤦♂️
I just love that sickle mower, it reminds me somewhat of the mower the horses used to pull.
I would love to see a demonstration with the little yanmar round baler
Or all of their new compact hay equipment
Wade board
A one way cylinder will let it Float over Rough ground
Also be great for mowing around the pond, with out getting to close!!!!
Tha what I use my sickle bar mower and my yanmar 1500 for I can stay well away from the bank
I pulled a 7ft New Holland 450 with a TC 33 NH mower and it handled it easy in difficult going.
This is an amazing video, their are very few videos that have the good quality of a John Deere involved in it.
Another excellent video. Like probably many of your subscribers we have a grown up daughter with a few horses and about five acres of fields. Probably of no surprise that she is often suggesting that her Mother and I buy her exactly this sort of equipment! 😆
I was farm raised and spent many hours and days using a sickle bar mower. I will be honest in a days time this little machine would lay down alot of hay. With a side mower on a single 3,000 Ford tractor a side delivery rake and a compact 65 New Holland Square bailer. We would average 20.000 bales during a summer. With that 6 foot cutter a rake and one of those little round bailers you could easily put up enough hay to support a homestead cow farm of at least 50 head or even a 75 head farm.
Tim, use caution when you run over the cut swath with the low clearance on the 1025R. My dad twisted his front drive shaft completely off on his 1026R with cut hay getting wrapped up on it using his sickle in heavy hay. I liked your comment on the IH 1300 that is what I use on my 2520 SUT. Made a new three point mount and had to counter weight the left side to help with the twist when lifting. Regards from Wisconsin.
I saw some bales of hay - wrapped in plastic and 2x2x3 and it was used for spreading by hand over seed to protect it. Easy for young FFA to haul. Small as well.
I remember sickle bar mowers well my grandfather was still using A horse drawn one into the early 90’s & my dad would take his summer holidays to cut on our neighbors farm with A IH tractor & A sickle bar mower. I was lucky they had upgraded to A rotary drum mower by the time I was old enough to drive the tractor 😂
I just attached an old ford 7 foot sickle bar to the back of a yanmar ym 2000B. It mows 600 feet of road ditch, and the perimeter of two different ponds in nothing flat. I would say it saves me days of weed whacking, but the reality is that it was so difficult I quit cutting it. I should have used the sickle bar years ago.
Hey Tim good rule of thumb I use when cutting fence lines of around trees is figure out how wide ur tractor is for me I have to be a foot away from the fence with my tire so I drive right upto the fence or whatever and that’s ur gauge
Hi, I’ve got a new Holland 448 sicklebar mower that I put on my Kubota B2530. Works well in hay that’s not laid or too thick in the bottom. Also got the star hay turner & mini round baler, both work well but balling is a little slow with it only having a 70cm pickup. Splitting the windrows is advisable.
Before I got my tractor and flail mower I had a neighbor mow the fields with his 6' sickle bar mower. The primary design of the sickle bar as a hay cutter was a problem for me because my fields have a lot of thick hard stalked weeds that grow to 6' (you would appreciate the mower end marker stick in that). They would fall and make huge mats that would not decompose before killing everything underneath.
Seems like you need to trim close by having the "obstacle" on the RIGHT side of the tractor so the cutters get close but you and the tractor stay clear.
You need to get Christy a rake and a baler for cleanup :D
I use a 7 ft Enorossi (FarmKIng) for both haying and pasture clipping. Love it. Very clean cut.
I'll tell you what, I had a heck of a time finding all of the fittings for my BX! Nobody makes a kit specifically for the old ones anymore!
That said, everything I found said not to use teflon tape on hydraulic systems. Eventually little pieces can get into the fluid and then into the valves and cause them to leak or clog. I used Permatex 80632. I don't think it worked too great, the NPT fittings were still a bit of a pain to get sealed.
After mowing my creek bank, I went back with the grapple angled down with the lower teeth just skimming the ground. It did a good job picking up all that long cut grass. Only problem, I have is my sickle bar is attached to the third function also, so I had to disconnect it to use the Grapple. I was also happy to see how you routed the aux hydraulic lines. That's the same thing I did with mine, except on the Kubota, the third function valves are on the left. I don't really care for it like that, but it's the best option for an attachment that's not going to be getting regular use.
Hi Tim Dad had a sickle bar mower, it was a Grey Ferguson mower on a Ferguson 35 and later on a MF135 I used it quite a bit, it did a great job. The only hay mower Dad ever had and I loved using it. I will have to start looking for one for my 1025R.
Just one thing, I think your mower needs a bit of adjustment the cutterbare should be angled slightly forward in relation to the tractor, the one you are using looks to be angled back, it will give a cleaner cut.
Regards John
Yep. The top link vibrates loose while I was using it. Good eye!!
Always wanted one, but the price got to me.. Ended up with a JD M37 pull-type.. Whole thing cost me $800 incl. new sickle bar.. Very handy items, these types of mowers.. I mow the weeds along our road when they get high.. I ride motorcycles - and high weeds at the road shoulders are dangerous to us.. The county does it but so late that it's worthless.. Our neighbors all appreciate it when I mow these shoulders down.. Nice machine there, Tim..
That hose kit is a great idea, but please don't use thread tape on hydraulic systems. It causes so many problems when it blocks valves and orifices. Liquid thread sealant only.
Very cool Tim. Sickle bars bring back a lot of memories as a kid. Great audio and video quality. Well done!
Bible verse is wonderful. Love the subcompact tractor. Keep up the good work. God bless you.
I j
That thing looks awesome, especially the width for the power you are using.
We had one on our John Deere M early 50's vintage. Loved that tractor, it was compact tractor in its day
For many decades a lot of rural communities road crews used sickle bar mowers for mowing banks and ditches along the road. Now days they use huge articulating brush hog mowers.
Good video on good old sickle bars. Still have one we just use for ditch banks and anything where an offset mower is needed. Don’t use for hay anymore but can remember when it was used. Thanks for a great video 👍✊Jdmich
I have a John Deere sickle bar mower 350 and love it thanks for your videos Tim
Hey can anybody show how to put new sections and shims in a sickle bar mower
Ventrac Boom Mower - Did Tractor Time with Tim Damage the Sickle Bar Sections?
th-cam.com/video/Bcg1thqM73E/w-d-xo.html
The sickle mower would be great in a few places I need to mow, but wow they're expensive.
Yes, the sickle mowers typically like faster ground speeds. A friend of mine uses their sickle mower for cutting hay. They cut 6-7 fields with their sickle mower 3-4 times a year depending on how the weather goes. It does a great job and they can go faster with it so it takes far less time.
I like your hydraulic setup, I would never have thought about using the loader hydraulics to run the hydraulics on the sickle mower without having to have rear remotes added at a much higher cost than a few hoses and couplers.
Check out our ‘11 options’ video showing 11 different hydraulic options for subcompact tractors.
@@TractorTimewithTim I'll check it out thank you.
Wow. It looks like if they're set up right and you don't have a bunching problem, sickle mowers do pretty good, even if the grass is laying down a little. My dad had an old Oliver sickle mower run on a 9N tractor. He had a lot of trouble with grass jamming up and seemed to want to lay over a lot. He later bought a drum type mower. It ran pretty good. There were only 2 drums on it and 2 blades on the drums. When one side wore down on the blades, you flipped them around and cut with the other end of the blades. Then when that side wore down you replaced the blades. They seemed to have good wear life.
Really enjoyed this episode. I recently bought an old IH 1300 you referenced for use on our 5-series for cutting ditches and banks. After watching the video I'm tempted to try it on our 1025r as well just to see. Thanks again!
Would need some adjustment, but I think it could work. Would be fun to try
Your explenations for what does what is top notch man... Great video... Really loved it... Greetings from Croatia... :)
Good video Tim - I spent many a day growing up using a larger version of the sickle-mower. They do a fantastic job
Thanks, Tim the sickle bar mower demonstration was extremely informative and it answered many of my doubts acting as a refresher course to what it can do. I would like to jump through my computer screen and assist in getting the tower greens completed, especially at the cable points. A serious trimmer would do it. Also, it was refreshing to see a mow without rocks, stumps or anything else ruining the blades. Excellent camera work by the way for the entire episode.
No farm, No tractor, BUT STILL enjoy your clips, learn many little things that may spring board me in other projects & ideas !
Love to watch a sickle mower. Great video 👍
Sickles take a bit of experience to run well, that and they require much more maintenance than a rotary mower or flail. That's the main reason they are not used much these days. I run a 5 foot unit on my cub cadet tractor to do banks, ditches and ponds.
This seems perfect for mowing tall cover crops and then raking them onto beds as mulch.
In Texas, East Texas, the problem with sickle mowers is fire ant mounds. That's why hay mowing is done with the round disc cutter now. Fire ant mounds basically destroys the sickle section of it.
Good morning Tim thanks for the video. Read some other comments and it looks like if you did a haymaking video with the small haymaking equipment it would be great. I thought it was just me that would want to see it but it looks like others want see to. This is a good video and I remember the horse drawn sickles with iron wheels when I was a boy watching my grandad. Thanks again brother and God bless
Worked on farms and for the county using a sickle when a teenager. Have thought about getting on but not quite ready .
Excellent vid! I learn many things from you explanations, especially the short segments on the hydrodro connections! Thanks agin Tim! Ken from western NC.
Thanks for all of yalls videos. I found them helpful in deciding on what I might need for my property. Fri I get my new little Johnny. Now I just need a few more attachments. Wish yall were in north Ga. and Id let you come over with all your attachments lol Iv got stumps ,brush, ground leveling, driveway needs fixing, ect ect.
Looks good. Sickle mowers are a must have!
Now all you need is a rake and a baler for the 1025r
There are smaller round balers that make 50-80lbs bales that could be run by these small tractors. They are mainly used in East Asia. It seems like there would be a market for them here, but few seem to sell them.
Court - the issue is, what would you do with the small, round bales?
Horse owners are too picky for all but the finest feed, and economics make the small bales worthless to large dairy farms.
About the only sustainable busienss model I could imagine working is to sell the small, round bales to urban homeowners for fall / Halloween front porch decorations. Find a hobby farmer offering pick-your-own pumpkins, gords, honey, maple syrup, apples, and see if you can make a arrangement to offer your small, round bales at their road-side stand.
We have a small hobby farm and raise just a few goats. Little round bales that could be handled with our 1025r on uneven ground would keep us from packing small square bales all winter.
@@DougAlesUSA Agreed. As a horse owner/breeder, and someone who owns a 1025r, I would never consider buying hay equipment for this tractor. It is a good all-around compact tractor, but does nothing really well on a farm. The cost of equipment and the capacity of the system just isn't anywhere near practical - at least in the US. Of course I have neighbors who own 61 in Scag mowers to cut their acre property, so there is money out there.
Don Enderlein thank you. On Facebook, I’m a member of a popular lawn care business group. Your idea about the 1023e/1025R being capable for many things but good at nothing is verified by what I read at that group. If the business is focused on mowing, they use a commercial grade zero turn mower, gas weed wacker, and gas, pack pack style blower. If they do much trenching, they get a dedicated excavator. If they do much stump removal, they get a dedicated stump grinder. Anyone that tries anything else soon comes back to these dedicated equipment items.
I love the 1025R for its intended purpose, a person / family taking care of their own property where can can not justify owning a machine shed full of different dedicated pieces of equipment. Maybe occasionally helping out nearby family and friends.
For that person with 1 - 10 acres with varied projects, productivity is not relevant, however flexibility is important. In my opinion, thats where these sub-compact tractors win.
Another toy for the 1025r. I love it 😀
these Blade type mowers have been recreated in a bigger form by an Austrian company, BB Umwelttechnik (BB Environment Technics). The big positives to these types of mowers compared to drum type mowers is that they are lighter, require less power, are more eco friendly and they dont get as much dirt and dust mixed into the grass. The negatives are that they for the longest time used to be to small for bigger farms and that sharpening the blades take forever unless you use an expensive sharpening machine.
I noticed again that you put a bible verse at the end... I appreciate that! God bless you real well for it!
We do that in every video, Bob!
Thanks for the encouraging words!
So Tim, out at the end of the cutterbar is the tackleboard.
Also called a swath board.
@@FrankFH ty
That end piece is called the swathboard or grass board. Great video as always.
With the disc mower, it shreds the hay more than a mower conditioner and you end up getting less hay over the whole field because the baler can’t always pick up the smaller stalks of hay.
This mechanism is very efficient, light weight, and has low power requirements. There were horse drawn versions, after all, which were unpowered. That's one reason they're so quiet. It should use a lot less fuel to mow the same ground than other types of mowers. Especially the longer the grass gets.
That’s quite a unit. Interesting and informative video. Christy must have to jog to keep up with you.😉 I remember mowing hay with sickle mowers. I recall some of the old ones had a “break-away” feature if you caught the swath board on fence or obstacle it would allow the bar to “trip” without causing major damage. FYI, I do have an clear area around my woods in hay type grass that I think would work nicely for testing it out, but I just mowed down with a rotary cutter. I’m not far from you. Maybe later this summer?? Enjoyed the video and blessings to you folks!
Yes, it has a break away feature
My family here in Canada have that exact mower we actually normally use it more as a hedge trimmer trim our kiwi vines back.
Great minds think alike, I just got one for my BX23S last week. If you had an Orange tractor it would match the sickle bar better than that green thing. ;)
I actually was look at old sicklebar mowers. Thought of fixing one up for hay use and getting an old wheel driven hay rake with a $1500 4x5 round baler. Its crude, but as long as it cuts and bales thats all that matters to me. I just believe the 75hp will be too much for the old equipment
I have an old International 1300 I use in the fall to clip goatweed. I can raise it up to 6 inches to leave grass and top the goatweed. Works better than spraying to eliminate next years growth.