Cutting the Hay Field for the First Time. But I got hurt afterwards.

I've found it works better to go just a bit faster, to let the grass fall backwards quicker and not fall on the mower bar. Coarse you shouldn't go too fast.

I always mow the back swath last.

Tires are wet. Hay does not cut good wet.

Evan, Just a thought, love to watch those grass/alfalfa fall in neat rows. Nothing like the "cut" an old sickle-bar mower gives! Your candor and humility (learning the job...) are refreshing! You may explore a "haybine" someday as they have an intake rake and a crimper behind which speeds curing. Enjoy your videos. Sorry 'bout yer back! (I know the feeling...)

I wish you a quick recovery, I like your videos. Greetings from belgium (the French speaking part of the kingdom)!!

You definitely need a Teeter inversion table. Use it EVERYDAY, and no, I am not a salesman. I have a bad lower back and wish I had one years ago when I was still healthy.

grass appears to be too wet to cut according to how wet the tractor tire is

i am retired but still raise 20a of alfalfa/grass hay for a few cattle, and i now have my hay custom cut and baled in round bales. However, when i was a lot younger, i cut my hay with a 7 foot sickle NH mower, and later on used a 9 foot NH sickle mower. I baled square bales back then, with my late wife as the tractor/baler operator, with me stacking bales on the hay wagon following the baler. Anyway, always be sure to have sharp sickle blades, and if possible, remove the sickle blade bar after cutting, and keep the blade bar oiled and under cover until you need it for the next cutting. Also try to keep the mower bar clean and paint any exposed metal. I always enjoyed cutting, raking and baling hay with small square bales when i was young, but now all i can do is watch someone else cut my hay with a self propelled rotary mower conditioner, which cuts the field so very fast, compared to my old sickle mowers, and bale my hay into large round bales. Thank God i am still able to feed my cattle with the round bales. When i was in high school, late 60's early 70's, i worked for my farmer neighbors during the summer helping them to bale their hay, all square back then, no big round that i knew of yet. Watching your videos of you cutting your hay with a sickle mower, and raking and then baling your hay into small square bales, brought back many fond memories of my cutting and baling days, so thank you

Doesn't matter what task is at hand take it slow. No matter what even just driving never had a problem untill i got in a hurry slow and steady actually is usually faster less breakage, problems, stress,

Icey Hot is very good for ypur back muscles. Menthol is wonderful you may need to also try sleeping on the floor of your house i fell about 30 years ago on ice on the steps of the back of the house, could not get comfortable on the couch or bed. FLOOR WAS THE ONLY PLACE I COULD REST AND SLEEP.....

I like my farmall 450 over Allis chalmers

Evan I think you are pushing the blade through instead of allowing it to cut. Sort of like a chain saw. Allow the tool to work through what it’s cutting. I have good luck with a sickle. I live in a dryer climate and don’t need to cut wet grass so maybe when you get a haybine it will work better but I would slow down. Good luck getting the hay in. Best wishes

Evan ,Pete over at just a few acres farm has a few videos of the sickle bar that you have...he has messed with them and makes adjustments to them..you might want to check him out...or maybe get a different type of mower .. sorry about your back ...I know it's been awhile but back pain never goes as planned...have a great day...

The Hay looks Lush. Beautiful.

Very hard work with a great patience

Grit your teeth and keep going. I did been there dune that to it duse hurt like .like i said be careful more Accurate happen on farm and ranch.

Your a real farmer. Not many of them left. They all farm for the government and still bitch they are broke yet paying 10,000 plus a acre for land. Keep up the good work.

Frustrating for you but beautiful for those of us who envy the farming life.

3rd gear low range is what I cut on moderate to light hay.

You sure are a fast learner! Keep trying.

Spends to much time talking

Never mow the outside 1st if there's trash rocks 3 limbs that could cause you a lot of problems and you won't get your high mode mow your high field inside 1st save that last mowing swap along the woods last

Round up is the gift that keeps on giving. I saw another u tuber use horse manure that had been sitting for two or more years only to kill everything because the horses had eaten hay that had been contaminated and that nasty stuff survived digestion and sitting and killed his garden.

Sorry to hear about your fall.

Every time you mow with sickle bar mower go home and wash pour used motor oil on the bar and park it in the shed till next and cutting your progress across the field got better as you got the bar polished up and you need to try and keep that way. !!!

That’s awesome stand of hay

I hope God blesses you with healing

Awesome video. Good learning experience. Like the birds eye view really gives a great perspective on the pattern and how hay is being cut.
Also you got a great stand of hay.
Hope you healed from your back 👍👍

The clogging issue is maybe due to the endplate pointing inwards to much because the sicklebar is not mounted at a 90 degree angle to the tractor but draging a little at the outer tip. Possibly a little too much play in the hinges of the 3-point conversion.

78yr old countyboy. Great looking crop. I'm working on a small vergin has well. In, white Bird idaho. Hopeit will do aswell.

We're getting quite a kick out of watching you use the type of equipment we used 60yrs ago. Never imagined in my wildest dreams I see drone footage of old time haying.
Cheers =^··^=

The fascination for finger bar mowers in America is strange there must be some cheap drum or disc mowers available, that would speed things up.

First pass. Put tractor against out side against trees easier to find tree limbs and judge distance you need more RPM I had a NH 451 7 ft I mowed 4 low 1500 rpms good luck

Angle your rock guards tips up a little your hay is thick and damp more RPMs

Did you sharpen oil and balance your your blades ?

You are so good at faberating that I don't understand why you haven't come up with either the brush hog or Sickle Mower to be used to cut back on your trees and Blackberry plant around your hay field. Also copying your post hole digger on the tractor to make a log swing. Looking at the posthole digger you could extend the hump where the drill hooks ups and put a hook with either a strap or chain and lift the logs you want to haul out of the woods. I would be willing to come down there on a weekend to help give you ideas. Good farming.

Welcome to the hazards of farm life ! I think when you get the mower "Fine Tuned" you will be able to mow lots faster. We used Farmall tractors to mow and always mowed in Foutth gear which depending on which tractor, was between 5 and 7 MPH. Best combination was A Farmall 400 in fourth gear at 7 MPH . You have a great looking hay crop. I just hope you can get help to get it bailed and stored. Good luck on thet back recuperation. Hope you don't have any permenant damage .

If your tires are that wet, your hay is way to wet to cut.

I start in the middle of the field and leave the edges last after I cleanup the branch’s with a rake often I leave the edges alone in cut

Need to get some cylinder locks for your hay cutter to adjust the up and down then you won't need the hose clamp

Great video, I do love watching old time machinery working again

You haven’t got the shedder end of you bar, far enough forward, that should be almost level with your back wheel

If you look at the footage you will see you’re sort of dragging the grass before you are cutting it, that’s causing your blockage, bring the end of you bar up level with your wheel it will cut better, it’s called the lead, it’s got to be cutting first

My tip is go the other way on first round then do your inside row and outside last because the outside is when something is gonna break might as well break when nearly done than at the start

As my grandfather explained it the bar needs to be just forward enough so that when cutting the end is straight out from the shoe on the mower. Also if you have enough speed the cutting will readily fall backward and you can see the knives cutting.

We have always had a orange marker stick on the the end of the mower it allows you to know we’re the edge of the blade is . Avoid getting off were you wanna cut.

Went it comes to cutting hay or Grass slow ground speed and high rim on equipment speed

That sickle bar will do a great job cutting the brush around your pond.

If you can afford to buy a haybine