use combine as a swather

Try to locate someone, in your area, who has a MC Rotary Scythe.  (Mathews Company, Crystal Lake, Ill.)
A MC Rotary Scythe is a flail mower.  The flails create a suction which will lift tangled wet crops. 

The  1966 E that I have was used to winrow hay until the sickle driver rod broke.  I think it should work , you might even take the back concave door off.

not sure what you mean by feederhouse?  seems to me it goes from the feeder to the concave then the beater and on the raddle boards .  by opening the door on the concave the oat straw should come out of the feeder and dump out the straw before going through the concave or most of it anyway.  these seem to be simple machines i just don't want to try something that could do harm by not understanding the whole picture.  I have no experience with combines. 

I was wondering how you were doing.  A couple thoughts, if a disk mower won't cut the oats, I question if a cycle bar mower will cut it.  Also, if it does cut it, will the auger be able to move it to the center and then will the feederhouse chain be able to move the crop to the opening.  It does seem like it would make more sense to see if someone in the neighborhood has a diskbine  to windrow it.  Your next problem is getting it dry enough to bale, looks like early winter has arrived in your part of the world.  I just can't imagine there being enough sun to dry straw.  None the less, I wish you luck.  Maybe next year you could get the oats planted earlier or find a windrower and a pick up head for the combine.  A lot easier for us in the lower 48 to find the needed machines nearby then it is for you.

Edited by JohnCO - 23 Oct 2011 at 1:15am

Use a haybine or sickle, or flail mower. Opening up the concave will only cause the crop to wrap around intself in the threshing are and it will plug worse. In fact it might get through the machine better if you close the concave completly.

I can't get it cut becasue it's laying down so low and thick I can't get under it. If I could the volume would be so much I couldn't handle it.    And your right it will never dry now but I need to get it off the field some how if I want to come back.  being a share cropper stuck with a combine I can't use and nothing to share.  I have cut it several times raked and baled it several times and In some areas I can see the ground.  we are having a strange fall and the ground is not frozen yet.  even with the little I cut my tractor will not pull the baler slow enough.  I leave the pick up up so it doesn't get on the ground but the long straws still pull up the wet and wrap around  or pull up the roots dirt and all.  It been a learning experience for sure.  thats why sitting in the seat slipping the clutch on my combine I thought of just opening her up and just let it pass through.  From the little I did get combined I took 20 tons of oats  off  (Most oats I have ever harvested.) and so far have saved them with air but they haven't frozen yet, still about 38 degrees. normally  By now I have them frozen and our dry winter will take care of the rest. I need to find a way to stop the lodging.  the fella that planted my seed his only got 4 ft tall he said.  So its either the water or the fertilizer. The farmer I rent from wants me to fertilize as part of the deal other wise I'm farming his soil.  I'm going to try different varieties if i can find them and the Boss will let me back.  After the mess I made this year but it's not over until its over. 

can you wait til the ground freezes, then take an old dump rake over it?

Take a stab at removing the concave door to spit it out the bottom and swath it like you wondered.You don't have much choice beyond writing it off and discing it up and time is not your friend.

Did you find any crop lifters? If you are going to combine in those conditions I think you need them. In the mean time I would try to leave the concave door open, go full speed on the cylinder, close the sieves, open the air up, leave the elevators open, tie the curtain back, take half a cut or less so that the machine will handle it. Sounds very frustrating, Hope it turns out o.k. If you are interested in lifters, pm me, we will arrange something, start with pictures. The ones i am refering to will pay for themselves in about 20 feet...Trev.

Go get your self an old scickle bar mower, knock it down, then a rake, and rake it into windrows