Jim

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.

Dad never raked behind the 390 either. Neighbor, who always bragged about his own equipment (IH and New Holland), came over once to Dad and asked why it was that when they mowed the same day Dad was able to bale a day earlier. Dad just shrugged his shoulders. Didn't tell the guy that if he looked closely Dad was cutting an inch or two higher and that kept the windrow up off the ground. 

Also another neighbor who would visit a lot was always impressed with our 390 cause you could sure make a nice narrow windrow right out of the haybine so no need to rake for the square baler. Neighbor's own New Holland wouldn't do that no matter how he adjusted the rear deflectors. 

Dad also had a 460 New Holland. It was alright but would not make the nice narrow windrow. You could go just a tad bit faster though. From 2nd high on the 17 to 3rd high. Not much difference but when you milked cows and had hogs there wasn't a lot of time for field work so even a little faster was a plus and the Gehl 1500 round baler would still pick up the wider windrow anyhow. Always under the gun when it came to field work.

That Gehl baler is another subject. It would make nice bales but it was a bearing eater. I remember Dad cussing the engineer who designed that baler saying if they were right there at the time they'd leave his place with a claw hammer sticking out their head. Some bolts on the bearing flanges only a kids hand could get too. Guess who that kid was. Many times it was my job and it would be 95˚ and real muggy and I'd get covered in chaff. More than one flange that started with 4 bolts and finished with just three. Changing pickup teeth was another treat until Dad discovered that that pickup had an uncanny way of sucking up all the hay without hardly a tooth on it. 

That baler and his 190XT gasser easily paid for themselves with all the custom baling he did though me and my brothers got stuck with all the milking it seemed most of the summer as Dad would be off baling all around the countryside. I'd rather have been fishing. Probably Dad too as he had a 7000 cab on the 190 that he bought at a sale that had surplus new Allis cabs left over from when they switched to the Accousta II cabs in 77'. Although it was nice to have that cab when it was cold it made for a hot ride in July with that black interior and no AC.