# I busted my mower bar because??



## rajela (Feb 15, 2014)

I just curious as to how many has ever broken their DISC mower by hitting an object with the cutter bar??


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## ARD Farm (Jul 12, 2012)

Disc or sickle?


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## rajela (Feb 15, 2014)

Changed it...DISC


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## ARD Farm (Jul 12, 2012)

Break a turtle loose or the cutter bar housing? If it's a housing section you are in deep do-do expense wise...

I'm of the philosophy that when mowing unknown fields, a sickle bar mower, mower conditioner is much safer (and less expensive to replace a knife section), why I have both.


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## bluefarmer (Oct 10, 2010)

Unless it's a new holland!!!!


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## ARD Farm (Jul 12, 2012)

SCH double cut for me (with roller ledgers). I'm real cautious with the discbine. SCH has to be the easiest to replace, no hold downs, just knife sections and combs.


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## CRE10 (Sep 28, 2013)

You mean it's all supposed to be connected?


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## rajela (Feb 15, 2014)

ARD Farm said:


> Break a turtle loose or the cutter bar housing? If it's a housing section you are in deep do-do expense wise...
> 
> I'm of the philosophy that when mowing unknown fields, a sickle bar mower, mower conditioner is much safer (and less expensive to replace a knife section), why I have both.


Either and or both....I have never had a any issues with breaking a bar whether it was internal or just a turtle. I have knocked a knife off before and had the break away trip due to hitting things but never actually damaged the bar or turtle.


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

I had a turtle blow apart one time. That was a loud vibrating mess. Bolted a new one on and I was good to go.

Also have the 4 bolts that hold the tower on the end of the cutter bar come loose. Entire cutterbar pivoted out in front of the mower!! Scared the crap out of me. I pushed it back in place, jacked it up, and put 4 new bolts in. Good to go...


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## ARD Farm (Jul 12, 2012)

My discbine is a twine magnet. The one job I do, the last contractor must have missed a lot of bales 'cause I'm still getting poly up under the upper spindle mounts. Not too bad to get out but I have to keep an eye on it, don't want that stuff to ruin an oil seal.

Every year I get less...

Poly is great stuff but it's forever.


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## CRE10 (Sep 28, 2013)

That was actually a friend. He ripped a phone line down and hit a bridge trailering to a farm ????


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

I tore an end hat off once, just a little too close to a 4" elm sapling. I've seen broken bars in the scrapyards that look like rock collisions.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

Back in '06 my 70 yr old disk cutter operator hit a culvert abutment dead center with a Vermeer TM 800 causing cutter bar to resemble a "U". I sure was glad I had equip insurance.


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## rajela (Feb 15, 2014)

I have seen two bust disc mowers at the local equipment auction that was sold for parts due to a stripped gear in the bar. I am sure there has been other busted mowers that was sold but no one ever mentioned it was busted. I am sure some was busted by hitting obstructions and other was busted due to lack of maintenance.


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## Coondle (Aug 28, 2013)

Started a new contract (custom) cutting job, early morning, nice clean paddock (field) no rocks. On the first lap with an avenue of trees to the East and shadows bright sunlight flashing on the cab glass in the early morning.

Dew just gone off the oat crop, the NH 1411 Discbine humming away, the Case 1070 making sweet music.

Ah life is good.

BANG my world came to a sudden stop- the Case twisted to the left and stalled, the 1411 twisted to the right.

I'd hit a reinforced concrete pipe buried in the ground and sticking up about a foot out of the ground.

Hit the cutter bar plumb centre. How it did not break is a mystery to me .

One top hat (turtle) smashed. Two top modules with teeth missing and no other apparent damage.

But have had issues coming up since. And they keep on coming, a new problem seems to surface each year

Two bottom modules and three inter-module shafts, of course only one element failing at a time.

New Holland mechanic told me that the bottom modules could not be changed in the paddock without removing the bar from the header.

Wrong!, but he only told me that after I had done it.

But not my first choice of how to spend an afternoon in the sun lying on stubble and finding my unattractive and unrepeatable vocabulary.

Those retaining bolts are very tight, blew out two ring spanners before finding a 1950's spanner of brand "King Dick". Two blokes with 7 feet of pipe delivers a lot of torque. Some spanners were not designed for that torque!

Very very difficult to align the inter-module shafts when the cutter bar is still mounted to the header at both ends.

Now if I have to split the bar, I bring the machine into the workshop and place a non-mobile jack under the cutter bar module to the left of where the bar is to be split, then I put a wheeled gearbox trolley jack (used to remove/replace truck gearboxes) under the module to the right of where the bar is to be split.

Another trolley jack is placed at the right end of the bar and the bar disconnected from the header at the right end. The two trolley jacks allow the right portion of the bar to be wheeled to the right on the alignment of the cutter bar and then wheeled back once the replacement parts are fitted. The screw adjustable table on the gearbox trolley jack facilitates the fine alignment of the intermodule shafts.

Once in the workshop and the equipment assembled, it only takes about an hour for the brother and me to replace a bottom module or inter-module shaft.

The NH dealer had 8 modules of a cutter bar out of a little used 1431 but seemed as attached to it as I was to my money.

My 1411 is now very tired and I intend getting another mower conditioner for this hay season.

Rollers are very worn, several oil seals on bottom modules are shot, one inter-module shaft now seems to be handed, so upsetting the timing between two modules, and end-play on two top module bearings indicates failure is to be soon expected.

As another bit of advice, the top modules according to a NH mechanic is unable to be serviced.

Again not so.

But you need a selection of the spacer washers that adjust the pre-load on the tapered roller bearing. Get that right one and the top module can be serviced with a new bearing. So I have saved all damaged top modules even those that have broken gears to get a stock of differing spacer washers for use in those that have only bearing failure.


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## mike10 (May 29, 2011)

Coondle, you sure like working hard more than I do. I use two motor cycle jacks, I think they are called, one under each end. Swing the head out and remove the four attaching bolts, lower and roll the cutterbar out where you can work on it. You can then use your trolly jacks to separate the bar. Trying to split a bar in place, while you apparently do it, is not that easy especially when trying to get everything in time.

As they say, there is more than one way to skin a cat. If it works for you, that is all that matters.


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## ARD Farm (Jul 12, 2012)

slowzuki said:


> I tore an end hat off once, just a little too close to a 4" elm sapling. I've seen broken bars in the scrapyards that look like rock collisions.


That reminded me of my $650 mistake last year on second cut. I got too close to a telephone pole on a custom job I do and hooked the outer flip shield on my NH discbine. It was workable but fugly so I ordered a new one for 650 bucks. It actually came painted and decaled in a nice hand made wooden crate. Its on now, looking proud and I'll steer clear of that pole if I ever get in the field thiis year.....

NH prices are steep for replacement parts.

Looked at a net roll holder for my 450 when I was picking up my 650 dollar mistake. NH wants 1100 bucks for a sheetmetal container for the backside of the bailer to hold an extra roll of net. I wonder if it comes with a kiss????


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## Coondle (Aug 28, 2013)

ARD Farm said:


> That reminded me of my $650 mistake last year on second cut. I got too close to a telephone pole on a custom job I do and hooked the outer flip shield on my NH discbine. It was workable but fugly so I ordered a new one for 650 bucks. It actually came painted and decaled in a nice hand made wooden crate. Its on now, looking proud and I'll steer clear of that pole if I ever get in the field thiis year.....
> 
> NH prices are steep for replacement parts.
> 
> Looked at a net roll holder for my 450 when I was picking up my 650 dollar mistake. NH wants 1100 bucks for a sheetmetal container for the backside of the bailer to hold an extra roll of net. I wonder if it comes with a kiss????


At that price I know what they can kiss!


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## Coondle (Aug 28, 2013)

Alternate quote Mike 10:

"More ways to kill a cat other than choking it on butter".

The key for my method is the gearbox jack. Borrow it from my brother's workshop.

Having the gearbox jack with its screw adjustable table allows easy alignment and only one end of the cutter bar is removed from the header, and the problematic module is out from under the header for replacement/repair.

No gearbox jack I would guess that total removal would be the solution.


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

I was thinking the same thing about what they could kiss...

My nephew laughs about my kiddie swimming pool toppers/ shades on my 5610S's, but they work great and they're cheap.... Built a ton angle iron frame to bolt to the ROPS and then put a $10 dollar kiddie pool on top and bolted it down... Idea I saw in FARM SHOW magazine years ago... Works better than the aluminum topper kit from new Holland, and about $50 bucks versus about $750 ( and that was probly 20 years ago when I priced them last...) $10 pool lasts 2-3 years before it starts crumbling and about ten minutes to replace...

That's okay, I laugh at him burning up in the sun on his topperless 1070... Lol...

OL JR


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## CRE10 (Sep 28, 2013)

luke strawwalker said:


> I was thinking the same thing about what they could kiss...
> 
> My nephew laughs about my kiddie swimming pool toppers/ shades on my 5610S's, but they work great and they're cheap.... Built a ton angle iron frame to bolt to the ROPS and then put a $10 dollar kiddie pool on top and bolted it down... Idea I saw in FARM SHOW magazine years ago... Works better than the aluminum topper kit from new Holland, and about $50 bucks versus about $750 ( and that was probly 20 years ago when I priced them last...) $10 pool lasts 2-3 years before it starts crumbling and about ten minutes to replace...
> 
> ...


We gotta see pics!


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## CRE10 (Sep 28, 2013)

luke strawwalker said:


> I was thinking the same thing about what they could kiss...
> 
> My nephew laughs about my kiddie swimming pool toppers/ shades on my 5610S's, but they work great and they're cheap.... Built a ton angle iron frame to bolt to the ROPS and then put a $10 dollar kiddie pool on top and bolted it down... Idea I saw in FARM SHOW magazine years ago... Works better than the aluminum topper kit from new Holland, and about $50 bucks versus about $750 ( and that was probly 20 years ago when I priced them last...) $10 pool lasts 2-3 years before it starts crumbling and about ten minutes to replace...
> 
> ...


We gotta see pics!


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