Sickle mower rock guard adjustment

M

marrstree

Member
While my mower cuts pretty well, I can see that some rock guards are too low - leaving a 1/16 inch gap whereas neighbors are touching ledger. My question is - how to safely adjust them? I a fearful a big hammer will break these (apparently) cast parts.
What's the best / safe way to adjust them?
 
They are malleable iron, so they will take a beating. That said, I have never been very successful at adjusting them. I think my issue is holding them firmly in position. While mounted on the bar, there is enough movement to absorb the impact. I have seen pictures of people using a long pipe to slip over the end of the guard and bend them that way. I have not tried this method, however. --Lee
 
I would heat the guard with a torch to bend it, as it will be less likely to break if the metal is in a plastic state.

Don't bother with hammer blows. Instead use a pipe like mentioned or a big pipe wrench. The bending is more controlled that way.
 
Rock guards have been on sickle mowers for over a hundred years, long before most people knew what a torch was. If they get bent, smack them with a hammer HARD, fine tune the "adjustment" with the piece of pipe. If they are bent far enough to break when you bend them back they needed replacing anyways, you'll spend more time monkeying with it and torch gas than the cost of a new one.
 
Heavy hammer applied carefully (but forcefully) worked fine to get them all into alignment. Cut a 2-acre field of pretty short, fine, dry grass and never plugged once. Best it has ever cut.
 
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