One thing I hated

Back in the late 1960's when I was a teenager,my dad mowed hay with a D-14 and JD sickle mower. I got stuck driving Farmall H towing our AC hay conditioner.Here in central KY. fescue and orchard grass often grows 3' tall. The conditioner had rubber roll/steel roll combo. It would constantly wrap the steel roll with hay all the way across. I absolutely hated this thing and it made me hate the "H" as well. It had ratchet type slip clutch(like new idea corn pickers) and 1 day after cutting hay out of this thing for about the 30th time-I lost it!!! It wrapped up,the clutch started chattering and I opened the throttle wide open til something gave up. the slip clutch finally flew all to H!!! Then dad bought a "new" NH haybine with the spiral rolls and I thought I was truly in heaven. Just wondering if the AC mower/conditioners wrap like this? They had the same roller set-up I think. Don't get me wrong,I love AC but I truly hated this thing.    

My dad used a New Idea conditioner, but had the same problems.  We still have a pipe wrench in the shop with a curved handle from him using a cheater on it to turn the rolls backward.

I sold a new discbine to a farmer who loved to tell stories....he got on about a conditioner they used to own.  They sold it to the neighbor after buying a new haybine.  The neighbor stopped by a few weeks after his purchased and walked up to the farmer.  He shook his head and said "You know whats worse than running a skunk through that dang thing?  Only running him half way through!".  I guess he owned a mower-conditioner a few days later as well!

if you think the skunkwas bad try a deer what a mess that was

I can relate. My father had a CA and a D-15 and the AC conditioner (as you mention, steel and rubber) would wrap up. Had to cut the hay. Carried a long bar on the conditioner and would put it in the universal joints and use it to turn the conditioner rollers backwards to back out the wrapped up hay. Sometimes it worked, sometimes you had to just pull the hay out by hand.

We had the same conditioner and I know exactly what you mean. I learned to carry a sharp knife in my pocket at all times because of that thing.

I used to hate running the AC conditioner too but it was because of the howling 770 Oliver that I pulled it with. You could not hear the fender radio over the noise of the tractor and conditioner but my brother could hear it a mile away. The worst trouble I had with wrapping up was in the corners. If somebody didn't have a divider board on the mower it would wrap up more often. We had alfalfa and clover, never had to work it in much grass. You had to have an open space between swaths or the conditioner would grab the next swath and plug up. I didn't have a good hunting knife back then but did try to keep my pocket knife sharp when mowing season came around.

Daddy use'a run a Meyers conditioner, I was too young, but seems it liked to pick up rocks and throw'em back at you, not good around here.

390 haybine never wrapped but after 35 years of use and a couple missing sheet metal pieces behind the rollers it would plug in front of the rollers. It was a good old haybine for many years. Had to make sure it always had oil in the wobble box cause it would leak out easy and then you had trouble. Old deaf ma cat got wrapped around a roller once. It plugged so I started pulling the alfalfa out and out came a paw. I thought it was a rabbit. Nope, cat's head had stopped the rollers. Kinda messy but better than a skunk.

Had I ever plugged the PT-10 the ground speed PTO on the MF-135 would have been really handy. Shift from engine drive to ground speed and back up. Reverse the PTO and the rollers.

Gerald J.

Dad cut hay in 3rd gear with the old WC and a Massy Harris 33 semi mounted 7' sicle mower, Then we came along with the WD and the Vemeer crusher. That was steel on steel. Yes you had to have a sharp knife with you in case it wrapped. But it usually was from day freaming when it happened... Such as getting off the windrow just enough that the hay was coming in over the end. Sliced my thumb once cutting hay out of it. The thing was loud too.

SE Iowa-
My Dad had a JD sickle mower and put it on the 720 JD. I drove behind with a 530 Case with a (New Idea, I think it was) hay crimper(conditioner). It was two metal reels. We mowed hay that was alfalfa, red clover and orchard grass. It got wrapped up once in a while and I had to take the sharp knife or not so sharp knife and cut it and pull it out. It was a pain!. The thing I remember most was Dad would run into a bumble bee nest and I would not be far behind and the next thing I know we were getting stung and moving out as fast as we could!
Pastor Mike

JC(WI) wrote: Dad cut hay in 3rd gear with the old WC and a Massy Harris 33 semi mounted 7' sicle mower, Then we came along with the WD and the Vemeer crusher. That was steel on steel. Yes you had to have a sharp knife with you in case it wrapped. But it usually was from day freaming when it happened... Such as getting off the windrow just enough that the hay was coming in over the end. Sliced my thumb once cutting hay out of it. The thing was loud too. Then dad got a kosh side mount mower and hooked the crusher behind it. As long as you kept the mower cutting a full swath, that crusher stayed on the windrow and didn't cause hardly any problems.    Then we traded the crusher and rake in on a Gehl (660?) haybine was dang near bullet proof, heavier than a tank, Would cut and dried hay in just one to two days and no need to rake. Two problem with it, 1. had to drive in second gear , anything faster it didn't like it, 2.had to remove about 8 bolts and the drive pin to remove sickle. Bought a 990 IH and could you cut hay with it, 3rd gear and high ranger a lot of the time... but from the day we got it, we had to rake all the hay to dry.

Edited by Lonn - 23 Dec 2010 at 6:14am

kinda a long ways to go for a cocktail or two........