Re: (ET) Sickle mower question

["Nick Skinner" <kc2dzb nycap rr com>]

   Optimum is a tough question to answer, I would say.  The sickle that I 
have for my 40's era Farmall is direct drive from the PTO, so it makes 
nominally 540 strokes per minute at full throttle.  I usually run the 
machine around 3/4 throttle, which would be about 400 strokes per minute. 
That has always been sufficient for the tractor's groundspeed (which is 
equivalent to an Elec-Trak's).  Keep in mind that the faster the sickle 
reciprocates the faster the knives, rock guards, and wear plates will wear. 
These may not be the easiest (or cheapest) parts to come by anymore.
   Here's some more food for thought....  If your mower doesn't have a 
flywheel on it, you might want to consider adding one to help ride through 
variations in grass thickness, woody stems, etc.  I would also add a slip 
clutch assembly to the mower if it doesn't have one already.  If the mower 
jams on a stick or something else hidden by the grass, a slip clutch may 
save you a lot of broken parts.

Nick

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rich Rock" <wealthy_stone hotmail com>
To: <elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu>
Sent: Friday, August 31, 2007 2:32 PM
Subject: (ET) Sickle mower question


> Looking for some help from someone with a sickle mower.  I just purchased 
> a
> little (30" wide) David Bradley model and intend to power with an electric
> motor.  How many cycles per minute is the optimum to run a sickle?
>
> Many thanks.
>
> Rich Rock
>
>
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