Sickle Bar Sharpening
Printed From: Unofficial Allis
Category: Allis Chalmers
Forum Name: Farm Equipment
Forum Description: everything about Allis-Chalmers farm equipment
URL: https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=144666
Printed Date: 25 Dec 2024 at 3:34am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Sickle Bar Sharpening
Posted By: Randy MN
Subject: Sickle Bar Sharpening
Date Posted: 21 Nov 2017 at 12:02pm
I picked up an old time sickle bar sharpener from the swap meet at the Jordan, MN Threshing Show this summer. Cleaned it up and finally tried it last night in the garage. Got a couple 6' sickle bars off of a B hay mower from a friend. I was surprised how good it worked and the longer I used it I started making better time. There is a rail behind that slides back and forth and the sickle bar clamp also slides independently on that. So with one clamping you can sharpen 10 knife edges before you would have to re-clamp. The clamp tips into the the beveled stone and you can work your way through the whole edge of the knife doing 2 edges at a time. Pretty unique invention with all the gearing prior to electricity. I would still opt for a disc grinder like we used to use for speed factor.    ------------- 34 WC #477, 38 B #1935, 1-116 on steel, #8 7ft dbl action disc, #9 5ft dbl action disc, 295 Chainsaw |
Replies:
Posted By: Gary Burnett
Date Posted: 21 Nov 2017 at 12:07pm
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A sharpened section will never cut like it did when new,OK if you're just cutting weeds or pastures to really cut hay you need new sections in top condition. |
Posted By: Randy MN
Date Posted: 21 Nov 2017 at 12:07pm
------------- 34 WC #477, 38 B #1935, 1-116 on steel, #8 7ft dbl action disc, #9 5ft dbl action disc, 295 Chainsaw |
Posted By: Stan IL&TN
Date Posted: 21 Nov 2017 at 12:23pm
Handy dandy is what that is and darn cool too. ------------- 1957 WD45 dad's first AC 1968 one-seventy 1956 F40 Ferguson |
Posted By: Pete from IL
Date Posted: 21 Nov 2017 at 12:36pm
| Looks like it does a nice job. Never saw one of those. |
Posted By: FloydKS
Date Posted: 21 Nov 2017 at 12:54pm
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We had a grinding wheel like that on a shop grinder...I would hold the end of the long end of sickle bar when dad was grinding on the other end, in the middle he pretty much controled the whole thing. ------------- Holding a grudge is like taking poison and expecting the other person to die |
Posted By: Tbone95
Date Posted: 21 Nov 2017 at 1:09pm
 Been there done that many hours. And you'd get in trouble for swatting mosquitos or black flies, cuz you'd throw him off!
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FloydKS wrote:Posted By: shameless dude
Date Posted: 21 Nov 2017 at 2:02pm
| I have one that you put in an electric drill, and like Gary says, if you cut hay or grass, you'll need new sections, but sharpened is o-k for most weeds cutting. |
Posted By: wfmurray
Date Posted: 21 Nov 2017 at 2:28pm
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Some of the old ones were made to clamp on the tounge of the horse drawn mowers. |
Posted By: Ray54
Date Posted: 21 Nov 2017 at 2:36pm
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There was one here when I was a kid made to clamp on the steel wheel on the old McCormick horse mower. Thought it was good when some body let me cut with a sharpened knife,never heard of high binders that would ever buy all new sections on a knife. Well times have changed how we are cheap now. I have even put all new on once or twice myself by now.
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Posted By: Allis dave
Date Posted: 21 Nov 2017 at 2:56pm
| I have to agree, Times have changed, I think these sharpeners used to be common before throw away sections were so cheap. |
Posted By: Tim NH
Date Posted: 21 Nov 2017 at 4:36pm
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Years ago we had one like Shameless said. One end had a handle, the other end went in the drill. I remember it did a good job until you got towards the ball end. The steel got thicker and you had to use a hand file. ------------- 1950 WD 1959 D14 1955 WD45 1976 7000 B 207 |
Posted By: 45 turboa-
Date Posted: 21 Nov 2017 at 5:34pm
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My Grandpa was a blacksmith he would sharpen many plow lays a year put on new plow points but he also had a machine to sharpen sickles he would do hundreds a year. ------------- turbocharged |
Posted By: DiyDave
Date Posted: 21 Nov 2017 at 6:16pm
| Looks like your stone is loaded up with debris, you need to get a stone dresser, or stick, to clean it up. You will be amazed at how much quicker a clean stone works... |
Posted By: HudCo
Date Posted: 21 Nov 2017 at 6:32pm
| we cut many acres of grass for a lot of people and we cut it so it looked like you mowed your lawn with a 80r mower . grandpa always sharpened a knife when the spare spare tye wired to the side of the wd got dull . so icould change a knife in the feild and keep going instead of riviting on a new section or if it just got dull , you could cut alfalfa with about anything that would go back and forth ..the key to it is good ledger plates and clips |
Posted By: HD6GTOM
Date Posted: 21 Nov 2017 at 8:42pm
| Hudco has it right we cut hundreds of acres of alalafa, grass hay with sickles and sharpened sections with no problems. Using New Idea trail type, JD #5, JD belly mower, New Holland mower, AC trail type mowers, AC #7 mowers. As long as you have good guards and a sharp sickle you can cut hay all day long. |
Posted By: Eldon (WA)
Date Posted: 21 Nov 2017 at 9:06pm
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We had a stone like that on a simple grinding arbor my dad bought. He mounted it on an old cream separator stand and hooked it up to a salvaged washing machine motor...he thought he was in heaven as he was used to using a carborundum stone to sharpen them for years. I would just take a 4" angle grinder to them now :-) I remember he always saved a new sickle for cutting 'wild hay' (grass). ------------- ALLIS EXPRESS! This year: |
Posted By: Bill Long
Date Posted: 21 Nov 2017 at 9:54pm
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What a GREAT FIND!! You know I loved to wonder around my Grandfather's shop. He had some very unique tools. I still have some of his tools but am really sorry that I let those "unique" tools get away. Thanks for sharing. Good Luck! Bill Long
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Posted By: littlemarv
Date Posted: 21 Nov 2017 at 10:01pm
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Whether it works or not, whether a sharpened sickle works or not, that is one cool tool that I would love to have as well. Saw one on CL awhile back, let it go. Now that I see how they work, I will snag the next one! ------------- The mechanic always wins. B91131, WC23065, WD89101, CA29479, B1, Early B10, HB212, 416H |
Posted By: Gary
Date Posted: 22 Nov 2017 at 6:15am
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That's an interesting knife located at the end of the bar. Never seen that shape before. Gary |
Posted By: albatros_3
Date Posted: 22 Nov 2017 at 6:38am
| That is a cool piece. I think it would work great on my under serrated sections. |
Posted By: Gary Burnett
Date Posted: 22 Nov 2017 at 7:35am
A split section at the end will keep the grass from clogging the end,amazing how many mowers I've bought with a regular section on the end.No wonder so many people hate to use sickle bar mowers without one of those sections in short grass the end will constantly clog. |
Posted By: Gary Burnett
Date Posted: 22 Nov 2017 at 7:42am
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As far as using sharpened sections I've noticed the same folks that say sharpened sections work well are the same ones that will say how much better a haybind is than a sickle mower to cut hay.A lot more to a section cutting as it should than just being sharp. Angle,serration,how it matches up to the guard all gets changed when a section is sharpened. |
Posted By: Tbone95
Date Posted: 22 Nov 2017 at 7:45am
Yep. Maybe new is "more perfect", but we'd go for hundreds of acres / several years in some cases without new sections.
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Posted By: Tbone95
Date Posted: 22 Nov 2017 at 7:48am
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Gary, do you mean a disc mower? Cuz dad would sharpen the sections on the haybine too! I mean, it was still a "sickle bar".
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Posted By: Gary Burnett
Date Posted: 22 Nov 2017 at 8:02am
I mean sickle bar haybinds they won't do anything a sickle bar mower won't do except drag the hay off the bar which will cover up for a lousy cutting bar. Same goes for those, new sections will out cut sharpened ones, as cheap as new sections are I can't understand anyone sharpening a section.Plus half dull uneven sections puts a strain on all the drive line parts so you'll end up paying way more in the long run using a sub standard cutting knife. |
Posted By: Tbone95
Date Posted: 22 Nov 2017 at 9:09am
Got ya on dragging it off the bar...... And to be clear, we haven't sharpened a bar in years, more like decades. The ones now, the serrations are pretty much self sharpening the way they wear, it's pretty neat.
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Posted By: Gatz in NE
Date Posted: 22 Nov 2017 at 12:00pm
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Dad had a Craftsman portable grinder with a flexible shaft and hand-piece. The motor and stepped pulley parts were on a small frame with 3 casters. The double angle stone was mounted on the end and was used to sharpen a sickle. It could also be used with a plain flat stone for general purposes. What I remember most about it was that if it were damp out, you'd get a little shock sometimes because the machine didn't have a ground in the cord. Wouldn't have mattered much if it had, 'cuz the outlets in the shop didn't have the grounded receptacle anyway. We had an 80R with serrated sections on the D17. |
Posted By: LeonR2013
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2017 at 8:02am
| If you have a sickle that needs pretty well all of the sections it's usually a good idea to change all the plates at the same time. |