[Jay]

Phil, what a find! I’m rebuilding a JD big 4 just like that right now. As was said above, a new knife is always a good idea. Also check the ledger plates – do they have good serrations on the side of them and does the knife sit right down on each one so that you could just get a feeler gage in between them? It is a good idea to check the soundness of the pitman stick- if it even looks like MIGHT fail then replace it now – it’s not worth getting out there and having it go when you really need to keep cutting. BW Macnair sells new wood sticks with holes drilled exactly right for about $10+shipping- you can’t beat that with a stick in my book. The length of the stick is absolutly critical as it sets the register. Good luck and let us know how it goes. Jay B

[Jay]

Ditto to both of the above comments. Jay

[Jay]

Thinking of you. At least she is more comfortable now. It always seems to hit like a ton of bricks….. Be well. Jay

[Jay]

My sleds seem to have the bunk about 3/5 of the way back – just past half. Jay

[Jay]

I generally use 1 section per horse, but I’m usually not working soft ground all day long. I also find there can be quite a difference between old sections and new, tight ones. I got a new pioneer 2 section spike harrow recently and boy, it does twice the job of the old ones that I thought were still pretty good. The new one pulls harder too. Jay

[Jay]

Those thorns are lethal in tires too as they break off inside and re-punture the tube…- Great tough wood for single trees and eveners as I understand though. Jay

[Jay]

Very Neat!!! Jay

[Jay]

I did an experiment one spring as we were cleaning out the manure shed. I put one load of fresh manure straight out of the barn in between many loads from the shed. Later you could see very clearly where the load of fresh manure had gone – it wasn’t a green strip like all the other loads, it looked as though nothing had been put there at all. Since that time I try to never spread any fresh manure. I want it all to compost so I get more of the nutrients on the field and stable (not volatile). Fresh manure doesn’t seem to have the fertilizing affect or staying power of manure that has set for a while. Jay

[Jay]

Back to the question of moc or 1/2 moc runners – In my experience, a straight sided runner (non moc) cuts in to the snow much more where as the moccasin runner floats thruough the snow like a boat in the water. 1/2 moc runners would I assume have 1 side straight (vertical) and therefore float but also dig in – useful on a side hill. My cross chain 2 bob moc sled is terrible on a side hill, diving down hill once it starts to slip at all where my straight sided runner sled cut through more but does fine on a side hill. Jay

[Jay]

We used to load all our manure by hand – I enjoy the work- but it ends up taking 3 weeks to spread it all. The most 2 of us could load in a day was 8 loads and that was pushing it and we weren’t good for as much the next day. We made a conscious choice when we got the horses to not have a tractor as well. We would rent, trade for or borrow one for specific tasks and that is what we do now for loading manure. I can on a good day load and spread 20 loads by myself. Load spreader before chores, hitch up and spread first load, park team, load, spread, load, spread, etc. etc. We now have 2 spreaders and teams so if we have the drivers we can have 2 spreaders going and 1 person just loading. I have come to the feeling that a loader is sometimes appropriate use of petroleum- but I don’t want the weight of that tractor on my fields. We’ve been 30 years without tractors on the fields at all and I think it has made a significant difference in the productivity for the better. Not having the tractor here all the time means I really have to think and plan what I want to do with it when it is here and not do frivolous things but stick to the most important/best uses of the tool within the limitations we have set on our use of it. Jay

[Jay]

I have a smooth peavey as described and a “regular” one. I hadn’t focused on the difference or what it might be for before. Thanks for bringing in info to us. Jay

[Jay]

My experience is that often they do have a little up sweep to them – I assume to counteract gravity. So far I haven’t tried to change the sweep on a bar. I would be inclined to try using that one. When it’s in position on the mower how does it look? Jay

[Jay]

Thinking of you. It’s never easy. Sounds like you did rightly. Jay

[Jay]

George, I agree with Donn. When setting my wear plates, I loosen the hold downs enough for the knife to run very easily, gently push the wear plates forward to touch the knife where it sits. I then spin the flywheel to run the knife at moderate speed then tighten the hold downs and spin it again to make sure it’s not binding. It often takes several tries to get it just right. Good luck. Jay

[Jay]

We have used beet pulp to help weight gain as you are doing – we always make sure there is plenty of water. You don’t want the pulp to be trying to take on any more water from the horse – that can lead to “choke” the feed plugging up the throat and that’s no fun for anyone. As long as we add enough water, we’ve had no trouble and are happy with it. Jay

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