Rural Heritage June/July 2025

continuation of the pitman stick. Without proper lead, a mower will plug or break parts. I use this jig to measure how much bend is present and plan to return it to the original configuration in a press with a 30-ton jack. While this was being done, Dave and Julia both set up their cutter bars with all new cutting parts. Maggie’s were not old or worn, the just needed a little cleaning up. Dave and Julia got double rock guards made for New Holland haybines, model 218DH. These guards have been in regular use on horse drawn mowers for many years and work quite well. They also got new wear plates, and adjustable L600 hold downs. All new bar bolts, plates and caps completed the cutter bar assembly ready to be put back in the mower.

While 218 guards save us the trouble of messing with ledger plates on all our guards, we still needed to put new ledger plates on the inner and outer shoes. These parts get very neglected on some mowers and can be the cause of a lot of plugging at either end of the bar. The bend of the coupling or push bar is adjusted in a press using a 30-ton jack. Maggie Smith Photo

The guards on the bottomof the photo from right to left: Double guards designed for the modern haybine which may be labeled as “218” or “DH218”; various styles of original guards from vintage mowers, and new stub guards (Model A102R), also called by some Amish as turtle guards. On top: A new knife with new hold downs and wear plates. The L600 is an adjustable hold down and a big improvement from the old style that was hammered up or down." Maggie Smith Photo

June/July 2025

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