Ford 501 Sickle Mower Rebuild [[New Rock Guards, Knife bar, and Hold Downs]]

My old Ford 501 sickle bar bower is long past due for some TLC. I got it years ago after my Great Grandfather passed away. Since then I haven’t used it a ton. The learning curve on hooking it up and makings it work properly has been a long one. Now that I have figured out how to hook it up in less than 30 minutes. It is on to making it cut correctly.
A few years ago I did a good amount of work on it. I replaced a few rock guards and all of the broken or dull knives. It did good for a while, but kept braking knives. I was kind of over it. Therefore it only came out of the shed once or twice last year.
Now that I have decided to make hay. I am back to trying to figure out the old mower. I have spent hours and hours researching how to properly adjust it. Doing so I realized I needed a lot of new parts. The rock guards were about trash and from what I understand. The process of replacing ledger plates is a pain. So I dropped about $300 on all new rock guards, bolts, wear plates, and hold down clips. Hopefully it will cut like a dream. Maybe even patching up our love hate relationship.
I am no expert on sickle mowers by any stretch of the imagination. This has been a very big learning experience for me. Hopefully someone can find something helpful from my struggles. If nothing else get a good laugh in. Thank you to all who have watched and subscribed!


https://www.cuttingcomponents.com/cat...