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  • From: Roy Morgan <k1lky AT earthlink.net>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Things one could long for in the country
  • Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2008 22:48:06 -0400


On Oct 27, 2008, at 3:40 PM, Don Bowen wrote:

Who needs a bushhog or sickle bar cutter for the '51 McCormick.

A brush hog is for mowing a field of heavy weeds, brush, and small trees.

I can explain further: The weeds we have are goldenrod and milk weed. The stems are on the order of one quarter inch thick, sometimes a bit more. There really is almost no brush: that is hardwood plants that aren't trees yet (such as wild birch). There are a very few aspen trees, but except for the oldest ones we will likely leave in place, I could lop them all with the hand brush cutter in an hour or so. There are a very few (maybe 5 or 6) bushes that have little red berries. These, we are told, are poisonous to horses or sheep maybe. These things are up to an inch at the base and again, I can get them down with a small saw or hand brush cutter with no problem.

There are some areas outside the fence line that the road crew seems not to cut down. - between the road culvert bottom and the fence. Maybe 1500 feet of this. It's all goldenrod and milk weed.

Certainly a brush hog would be best for cleaning up the un-mowed areas we still have. I wonder if I'd need it after that, though, since we expect most every yard of the fields will be in good hay once cleaned up.

A sickle bar mower is for cutting hay. The cut is at the bottom and the
long stalks are preserved and available for raking up and baling.

Right. The folks had an old haybine - a sickle bar cutter with scooper function that left a row of mowed stuff. They mowed all that they did with that. It ran into a chuck hole rock one day and that popped the part that moves the bar back and forth - the replacement cost $300.

On your International you have hydraulic quick disconnect fittings.

I was not clear on this. The hydraulics on it are jury rigged from some other machine. The IHC-supplied kit for running towed implements is not what I have (My manual shows that setup). I certainly would put quick disconnects on the thing if I was to get any towed implement that used the hydraulics. It's not clear to me if the hydraulic pump was an add-on when the tractor was new, and I have not yet examined the thing closely enough to figure if it's an IHC part or not. I suspect it is, but the rest of the hydraulic system is definitely not from the manufacturer. in fact, the plow on the thing is painted white over the original (light yellow?) paint and you can just see the name under there - not McCormick or Harvester. The hydraulic valve block is bolted to a piece of washboard type steel decking which is welded to the fender.

For pictures, go to:
http://web.me.com/hopefieldfarm1/Hopefield/Home.html
(or hopefieldfarm.com )
click "Current Picts" and then "The New House"
Down at the bottom you'll see 4 pictures of the tractor. The covered- in-dust-and-grime condition is just how I got it. I'll be washing the thing so I can see it better ( and pinpoint where the hydraulic cylinders are leaking)

That will be used power the ram to lower and raise the brush hog or sickle bar
mower bar.

This I think I'd need.

One advantage of the brush hog is that the material is cut into smaller
pieces that decompose quicker. If someone else is going to be doing the
haying, get a brush hog. There are many uses around the farm.

I think there are a lot of weeds that need to be cut into compost-able stuff. And I hope to keep clear at least part of the perimeter of the pond. There is a long (2000 foot) swale or ditch that leads into the pond and away from it (no brook). It may not be practical to hay that, even though it is quite broad. The bush hog would keep that cleaned up.

After looking at the few pictures that follow the tractor ones, taken in June or so, I'm thinking that the weeds are this year's crop only, and that the fields may have been hayed last year.

The folks who hayed our place said they'd bought a two-point hitch brush hog not too far away for $250. Unless I get a two- or three- point hitch (new ones are $800) for my tractor, I'd be looking for a draw bar pulled implement.

Roy

Roy Morgan
k1lky AT earthlink.net
529 Cobb St.
Groton NY, 13073









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