[ogeeez]

I have a twenty year debate with my brother about how often we should change guards and sickles. We don't have any rocks and cut mostly wheat, barley flax and now will be doing soybeans too. How often do you guys change out. We have a 635 D and 974 fd.

 

[cptusa]

If you are still arguing over the same sickle after 20 years it must be good!

Change guards and sickles when they are broke, wore, or do a ragged cutting job.

Guards are just as important as the knife itself, new sharp knife will cut like crap with a junk guard.

As far as your debate, I bet you get 20 different answers here too!

 

[Don Boles]

If you are still arguing over the same sickle after 20 years it must be good!

Actually, I don't think either one of those could be 20 years old.

 

[bjtjjl]

We cut about 4000ac per 40 ft head a year. Lentils, durum, chicpeas. Change sickles every year, I think it cost about $400 per head. Never keep headers long enough to wear out guards.

 

[quappelle]

It's good for everything else if it cuts flax.

 

[CRToney]

Good guards and sections saves wear on wobble boxes and the knife heads. They arent cheap. Our land is sandy so if we need to shave the ground components wear out quickly. Dull sections and a rounded edge on guards and they get changed. My dad hated spending any money on cutting parts, until we put a new knife and guards in the swather the one year. It could actually cut! Now it isn't such a fight.

 

[Duchek]

We had 10,000 acres on our D60 and we changed sickles this year. Those acres were all cutting canola. In cereals though we probably change every 5000 acres.