Chain Sickle New Way To Cut Hay, Soybeans

Chain Sickle New Way to Cut Hay, Soybeans COMBINES Modifications 9-4-16 "In soybeans, it'll save one to three bu. an acre and enable you to go faster so you can cover more acres in a day," reports Minnesota farmer Willard Pearson, of Dawson, designer of the "Chain Sickle," a first-of-its-kind sickle section on a chain system for cutting hay, soybeans and small grains. "A sickle bar's forth and back action has a stop at each end of the stroke. This causes vibration and metal fatigue. By reducing this action, you have less wear and less bean loss," says Pearson. He cites "faster ground speed" as the chain sickle's primary advantage when cutting hay and small grains. Pearson has installed his working prototype chain sickle on a 7-ft. hay mower. He plans on adapting it to fit combines, swathers and mower-conditioners of all sizes ù even flex heads. Operating much like a chainsaw, the sickle chain uses conventional sickle sections on a specially-designed linkage system that turns around two sprockets, one of which is adjustable for setting chain tension. A hydraulic orbital motor allows the operator to vary sickle chain speed, and also to reverse the chain's direction. Another advantage of the chain, says Pearson, is that all the sections wear evenly ù not just the few in the soybean row. And, by reversing the hydraulic flow and the direction the chain turns, you can cut with the other side of the sections. He notes that even a missing section doesn't create problems ù sickle speed compensates for it. Pearson has also equipped the system with a slip clutch in case he hits a tree branch or other obstacle. He's hoping to have his new Chain Sickle available for fall harvest. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Willard Pearson, Rt. 1, Box 98, Dawson, Minn. 56232 (ph 612 769-4515).

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