|
Dad bought a used 530 in about '72 or '73. It was in good shape and we tried our best to wear it out. He used it regularly until he quit hobby farming in about '80. It was a pretty good machine. The only repairs I can remember were the nylon bushings on the feed arms, and once it got out of time somehow and broke the needles, which we brazed back and they worked fine. It was somewhat finickey. It usually worked better on heavier hay, and it usually worked better making heavier bales. We double or triple raked the hay to make large windrows, as that seemed to work best. Sometimes it would go days at a time without missing a bale. Other days, it would miss a lot of bales until we got the chamber pressure set just right. The moisture content of the hay had a lot to do with it. Most of the misses would be in the early morning. Once the hay was good and dry, it hardly ever missed. We used a MF 135 to pull it. My uncle had a Ford 2000, but the MF was a little heavier and it seemed to handle it better. Both tractors had 2 stage clutches, which I consider to be vital to baling. It was the only baler I was ever around, so I can't make a comparision. However, we were always pleased with it's performance.
| 
