grinding flighting 800 platform

For soybeans only ???

I ground the auger on my 1020 IH head years back, just made it square. It works great now! Your idea of relief should be good but I wouldn’t overdo it. Used to watch like a hawk for a big slug piling up, now it feeds so good I just glance at it once in awhile.

My reason for asking if it is a soybean only header is this: back in 1988-89's harvest, I was fighting an R-50 combine that was having terrible feeding problems. So, this was a new 3-16 flex header, not one with any wear on it. Part of the problem was the combine came equipped with too small of diameter rear steering tires, causing the tail to be lowered. Anyway, I talked to a Deutz-Allis (before AGCO/after A-C) company service rep from Indiana whom I had known from my days with A-C. He told me to make two adjustments to the header auger and report back to him. Raise the auger up to at least 3/4" off the floor AND move the auger forward as far as it will go. Now, you will likely have to add one or two half links to the drive chain to accomplish this, but it is worth it. As you move the auger forward to its max adjustment, you'll have to keep raising the auger to keep it away from the headers floor. I just use my hand as a measuring tool, seeing to it that I can get my four fingers/hand under the auger flighting. I questioned my old friends wisdom on this suggestion and he said this only works in soybeans, not oats/wheat. The results were absolutely amazing !! That header auger became like a vacuum cleaner, sucking in everything with zero hesitation!!   I have been preaching this method for more than 30 years and always get 2 thumbs up from anyone who has ever done it. I have never sharpened any auger flighting since.  EDIT:  On the 800 series with that 30 inch diameter auger, I used to remake the drive sprocket on the left side down to 17 ?? teeth from whatever it was originally (20 teeth??).  The peripheral speed of going from a 24 inch to 30 inch is (in my opinion) just too fast for feeding an R-42/52 throat.

Edited by DrAllis - 01 Sep 2026 at 10:38am

We always trim the auger flighting back on each end to prevent the eccentrics from hitting - then move the reel back past the stops so as the almost allow the teeth to hit the filghting. This keeps material from building up on cutter bar and not getting to the auger flighting. 

What size? model ??

I am ignorant to a 1020's header floor, so be careful. The Gleaner headers have stripper angle irons across the bottom rear to keep the crop from coming around the auger. So, be careful. You might do more harm than good.

If you want it to feed good put an AWS air bar on it.   We have them on both heads and a neighbor has one on a red head. If either has a problem with the bar the combine gets parked till it’s fixed the difference is that huge.

Uhh,I'm a hobby farmer with about 125 A of beans a year. Air bar kinda spendy for my situation. I'd take a 30ft Macdon but the $$$$$

Fungicide don't help....stems could build a bridge. Ill have a look when there's time. Still mostly green. 

Edited by SteveM C/IL - 03 Sep 2026 at 9:19pm

i dont know anything about beans  but what about some lock washers stuck over the edge of the fliting  i have seen that done and it seems to work

How far apart?

Update....the auger is fwd as far as the slots will let it go and 3/4 in off the floor. I thought I did that.