[Jay]

Norm Macknair (BW Mackair, Lewistown Pa) has beveled or cone shaped nuts of the size you are looking for. Those bars all came with the nuts on the bottom so the nuts and threads wear off eventually. Most times people turn the bolts over now, the guards have the inset for the square, flathead bolt, the cone nuts help in my experience. Jay

[Jay]

On some I have been able to get them out and a couple I have not. On one, I had to cut through the axle and ratchet casing to get the whole thing out because the tapered bolt had been wrenched too much and was no longer straight. If the tapered bolt/pin is not wanting to come out, I would carefully cut or grind off the threads so you can put a good sized drift on the end of the pin to drive it out(you will have to get another from Macknair or a parts machine) I just try to make sure when I start that I assume nothing and take every precaution I can the FIRST time rather than wishing I had. All the steel in these wonderful mowers seems to be both massive and relatively soft, so considerable care is needed to not bend or misshape bolts or castings or whatever. The castings will often bend some ONCE. Careful heat is required to bring them back, if one is lucky. I continue to be amazed at the care and ingenuity that went into these old mowers that we are still the beneficiaries of. Jay

[Jay]

To protect the threads in the center hole, I hand screw in a headless bolt, and put a large nut over the end of it for the gear puller to be pushing on to save the threads and end of the axle. Make sure to be gentle with the amount of heat on the wheel. Jay

[Jay]

Thanks for the link to the story. I missed the original. Nicely done story. Good for you Rick. Nice pictures too. Jay

[Jay]

Great resource! Thanks for doing it. Jay

[Jay]

In my experience, the #7 has a gasket semi permenantly imbedded in the cover, while the #9 has/has a cork gasket. Norm Macknair sells them (among others). They seem expensive until you factor in the whole of the center inside the gasket is wasted i.e. can’t be used for another #9 gasket. I have tried inner tube (knowing the oil will eat it over time) and so far it seems to work. I put some gasket cement on it. On the #7s, I just try to take care of the material that is in the cover. Jay

[Jay]

For all around work of any kind and particularly being able to skid logs (and other things too) I am very partial to Mark’s Piggy back arch. I leave it on the cart all the time as it is so handy and versatile. I keep a chain or two on it. Just MHO. Jay

[Jay]

Mark, Janet says try a small batch. She thinks it should be about the same. No specific recommendations. If it doesn’t set, it will work well as a sauce on pancakes anyway… Jay

[Jay]

Thanks for these great word pictures, Donn. It feels good to be reminded of the communities we are a part of, both near and not so near. It helps to restore my sense of “we do have company and others do approach things in similar ways to (each of)us”. We can and do work together like at the field days and also when someone has a need as in the barn or other immediately pressing need. Here’s to friends and community. Jay

[Jay]

I will have some #9 pitman sticks there as well as a #7 one and several other things as well. Looking forward to seeing everyone. Jay

[Jay]

Ditto both comments above. They outline the problems and solutions I’ve found in 35 years of using them. Jay

[Jay]

Driving with horses that far apart needs to start with setting the lines up so they will drive that far apart when not hitched to anything, then adding neck yoke and evener that are that wide. I would use “spreaders” – a ring attached to the inside hame ring of each horse by strap or chain, allowing the cross check to be further inside each horse, allowing, guiding them further apart. The longer the distance of the 2nd ring from the regular inside hame ring, the further apart the horses will walk. The cross check buckle is often adjusted also, usually moving the buckle forward on the straight through line to put them further apart. Jay

[Jay]

Both the #7 and the #9 have “Regular Gear” or “High gear” stamped in to the lid of the tool box on the mower. Jay

[Jay]

My understanding is that the New Ideal mower was made by IHC and was the predecessor of the #6 which they started making around 1914. So parts for the cutter bar are standard McCormack Deering/IHC. I rebuilt the bar on one last year and it cut pretty nicely, though I could not replace the inner ledger plate as it is different than anything I could find. The bushings for the gears and the pitman shaft are no longer available commercially for the New Ideal and the #6 as I understand it.
I have 2 New Ideals that could probably be made into 1 good one. I am not getting to them- so they are available. Jay

[Jay]

Like Donn, I have only seen the I&J mower at HPD- it sure cuts nicely. Just looking at it my impression is: will work superbly for some time- I would want to hear from people who have used them long enough for them to start to really wear. How are they to repair/rebuild when worn? Second, the cutting parts seem really exposed – how do they react when the mower runs into the inevitable rock or tree or whatever and the knives get bent? These are the concerns that came to mind when watching the I&J being demonstrated, it sure is impressive.
The question of what is register: as the flywheel is turned by hand, the knife traveling back and forth is supposed to stop at each end of it’s stroke in the dead center of a guard. If the mower is cutting at all, then the register isn’t off too much, however if it’s off dead center at all, it’s costing you extra draft (harder work for the horses). One of the commonest ways to get the register off just slightly without realizing is to try to “save money” by making your own pitman stick. The measurement that is critical is the distance between the bolt holes at each end of the stick as they determine the effective length of the stick which sets the register. (I am NOT saying don’t try, just be very careful with your measurements). A new pitman stick for either a #7 or #9 (they are about 3″ different) costs only about $10 from Norm Macknair. Jay

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