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Help!!!! I keep breaking my pitman arm (sickle mower)

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Mark

08-06-2001 20:53:09




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Guys,

I was testing my sickle mower, when it shattered the pitman arm. Ok, it was bad wood. So, we made a new one from spruce, started mowing (slow revs) then revved the motor up. The new pitman just split into two! The fingerbar on the mower is a bit bent, would this have aggravated the situation? Also the sicklebar (one with the triangles) has some front to back slop. Is this normal? Would this have affected the pitman? What can I do to fix it. BTW, the mower is a case, semi mounted.

Mark

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Tom from Ontario

08-07-2001 20:16:57




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 Re: Help!!!! I keep breaking my pitman arm (sickle mower) in reply to Mark, 08-06-2001 20:53:09  
If you have a bent cutterbar, and fore and aft slop in the sicklebar, you also probably have up and down slop from the sicklebar in the guards. In a word, you need to overhaul the mower. New guards, new sections, careful shimming and a straight bar. Then the knife will slip back and forth in the guards and there will be no other movement, either up and down or back and forth. A small tractor like an A Farmall should be able to take a 7 foot mower through fine grass at a fast walk without any problems. What you have is like trying to cut fine paper with scissors that have a bent blade and loose hinges. Won't work. A broken pitman and a bad cutting job is what you'll get. Good Luck.

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TomH

08-06-2001 21:57:05




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 Re: Help!!!! I keep breaking my pitman arm (sickle mower) in reply to Mark, 08-06-2001 20:53:09  
I'd start by making the next one out of hardwood like ash, oak, or hickory. You should be able to work the knife by hand without too much effort, if it's hard to move you need to figure out why and fix it.



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Mark

08-06-2001 22:01:33




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 Re: Re: Help!!!! I keep breaking my pitman arm (sickle mower) in reply to TomH, 08-06-2001 21:57:05  
Tom,

The pulley is really hard to turn, would this be a problem? The bar goes to and fro pretty easily.

Mark



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TomH

08-07-2001 17:51:49




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 Re: Re: Re: Help!!!! I keep breaking my pitman arm (sickle mower) in reply to Mark, 08-06-2001 22:01:33  
It sounds like there is a bad bearing or bushing somewhere along the driveline. The pully and PTO shaft should turn with almost no resistance at all.



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Larry

08-07-2001 04:16:42




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 Re: Re: Re: Help!!!! I keep breaking my pitman arm (sickle mower) in reply to Mark, 08-06-2001 22:01:33  

Try using hickory. It has a strong stringy grain. I made one from oak, but it only lasted one season before it split from fatigue. Deere still supplies these for around $10. Other makes are available from CT Farm and Family.



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John

08-07-2001 06:57:10




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 Re: Re: Re: Re: Help!!!! I keep breaking my pitman arm (sickle mower) in reply to Larry, 08-07-2001 04:16:42  
I like to use broken hockey sticks for pitman arms. It is amazing how many you can find in winter time.

As for the pulley that is hard to turn, drain, flush and refill the transmission. There might be sawdust, dirt, etc in there and it is making things hard to turn.



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Kelvin

08-07-2001 18:20:35




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 Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Help!!!! I keep breaking my pitman arm (sickle mower) in reply to John, 08-07-2001 06:57:10  
Dad experienced that problem last year. After he broke the second one he had me to look at it. It seems that over the years using the broken pitman for a pattern for a new one, they kept getting longer and longer. I saw where the sickle was hitting one of the guards. He made another pitman and purposely made it 1/4" shorter and finished the season with no problems.



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Brent

08-07-2001 04:13:01




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 Re: Re: Re: Help!!!! I keep breaking my pitman arm (sickle mower) in reply to Mark, 08-06-2001 22:01:33  
I wold try making one from a hardwood. You can buy them premade at a farm store such as CT or TSC for under $15 usually. If the length of the pitman stick is off a little you may be jamming it when it overextends causing the breakage.



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Art Lowell

08-06-2001 21:56:32




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 Re: Help!!!! I keep breaking my pitman arm (sickle mower) in reply to Mark, 08-06-2001 20:53:09  
Mark - I'm having my own problems with a sickle mower. When I bought it, the pitman arm waws bent. and I replaced it with some square metal stock, which seems to be pretty durable. If there is anything to catch on the cutter bar, or if it is operated on ground that pitches the bar at too great an angle, this would stress the pitman arm. In short, make sure that the cutter is able to slide easily whenever the mower is in operation. This is the best I can come up with.

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Jerry D in NC

08-07-2001 08:32:59




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 Re: Re: Help!!!! I keep breaking my pitman arm (sickle mower) in reply to Art Lowell, 08-06-2001 21:56:32  
Did you ever put a penny behind a fuse. A neighbor of mine did. After the house burnt down he installed breakers. That pitman is a fuse put there to protect the rest of the mower. A piece of steel is not going to break when you need it to.



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paul

08-06-2001 22:49:52




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 Re: Re: Help!!!! I keep breaking my pitman arm (sickle mower) in reply to Art Lowell, 08-06-2001 21:56:32  
Whew, you're brave! The belt might slip if you run it loose enough, otherwise that pitman is made of wood for a reason.....

--->Paul



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