Sickle Sections (over vs under serrated)

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   I have a few questions about sickle sections for my AC 904 haybine.  The back story is out of frugality I rebuilt the cutter bars in both my machines with aftermarket I-H guards because they were almost an exact match and cost 1/4 of AGCO guards.  I just started a project in which I am grafting an Allis sickle head to a sickle for a JD 1209/1219 haybine I had laying around.  This sickle is left over from a machine we had recently in which the sickle only had one years use but I trashed the head trying to pull the sickle one day so it got set aside for spare parts.  The project is actually going quite well, but while doing so I noticed that my existing AC cutter bars have over serrated sections while the JD cutter bar (actually aftermarket from Fleet Farm) has under serrated sections.  So far my machine has worked fine with the IH guards and AGCO over serrated sections.  Unfortunately Fleet Farm only carries a riveted JD cutter bar with under serrated sections.  The book lists an over serrated option but Fleet does not carry it. I also dug back in the family archives (corner of the sheds) since we had both 1209 and 1219 haybines and noticed over the years we have used both under and over serrated sickles in the JDs.  It seems the newer JD sickles in the shed had under serrated sections though.  Because of this I have the following questions.

1.)  What are the general differences and opinions of over versus under serrated sections?

2.)  Is there any specific difference in the design of the guards to accommodate over versus under serrated sections?

3.)  Assuming not, is there any issue with mixing and matching types of sections on a cutter bar?  All I have as far as replacement sections right now are AGCO over serrated.  As sections wear on the modified JD cutter bar I might replace them with AGCO sections thus the mix and match.

I suppose if worse come to worse I could just go to the JD dealer and see how much they want for an over serrated sickle.  Thank you as always fr the help.  Mike

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Michael (WI) Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Orange Level Joined: 12 Sep 2009 Location: Larrabee, WI Points: 815	Post Options Post Reply Quote Michael (WI) Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Sickle Sections (over vs under serrated) Posted: 11 Feb 2011 at 8:42pm
	I have a few questions about sickle sections for my AC 904 haybine. The back story is out of frugality I rebuilt the cutter bars in both my machines with aftermarket I-H guards because they were almost an exact match and cost 1/4 of AGCO guards. I just started a project in which I am grafting an Allis sickle head to a sickle for a JD 1209/1219 haybine I had laying around. This sickle is left over from a machine we had recently in which the sickle only had one years use but I trashed the head trying to pull the sickle one day so it got set aside for spare parts. The project is actually going quite well, but while doing so I noticed that my existing AC cutter bars have over serrated sections while the JD cutter bar (actually aftermarket from Fleet Farm) has under serrated sections. So far my machine has worked fine with the IH guards and AGCO over serrated sections. Unfortunately Fleet Farm only carries a riveted JD cutter bar with under serrated sections. The book lists an over serrated option but Fleet does not carry it. I also dug back in the family archives (corner of the sheds) since we had both 1209 and 1219 haybines and noticed over the years we have used both under and over serrated sickles in the JDs. It seems the newer JD sickles in the shed had under serrated sections though. Because of this I have the following questions. 1.) What are the general differences and opinions of over versus under serrated sections? 2.) Is there any specific difference in the design of the guards to accommodate over versus under serrated sections? 3.) Assuming not, is there any issue with mixing and matching types of sections on a cutter bar? All I have as far as replacement sections right now are AGCO over serrated. As sections wear on the modified JD cutter bar I might replace them with AGCO sections thus the mix and match. I suppose if worse come to worse I could just go to the JD dealer and see how much they want for an over serrated sickle. Thank you as always fr the help. Mike

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Josh(NE) Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Orange Level Joined: 12 Sep 2009 Location: Nebraska Points: 510	Post Options Post Reply Quote Josh(NE) Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 11 Feb 2011 at 8:52pm
	It has always been my understanding over serrated was used for coarser crops (straw, beans) and under serrated for finer crops (alfalfa, grass hay). Under serrated are easier to sharpen and stay sharp longer. No difference in guards, no problems on mixing the two. Edited by Josh(NE) - 11 Feb 2011 at 8:54pm
	Allis Express '65 190XT, 37 B, '72 170, '83 8030, and the IH 560 was a mistake

Gerald J. Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Orange Level Joined: 12 Sep 2009 Location: Hamilton Co, IA Points: 5636	Post Options Post Reply Quote Gerald J. Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 11 Feb 2011 at 11:49pm
	I think underserrated tends to wear dull and so responds to grinding, while overserrated tends to wear sharp and is destroyed by grinding. I used overserated on a mower/condtioner for years without few problems once I made sure all the guards were aligned properly to get all the sections against the ledger plates, no air gaps. Gerald J.