Shop-Built Jig Lets Him Replace Sickle Sections Without Removing Entire Sickle Bar

Shop-Built Jig Lets Him Replace Sickle Sections Without Removing Entire Sickle Bar FARM SHOP Tools 21-6-31 The tool consists of a 2-ft. high stand with a wide base that keeps it from sinking into the ground when it's used to brace the sickle. Michael Foster, Ipswich, Suffolk, U.K.: Foster's shop-built jig allows him to replace sickle sections without removing the entire sickle bar. "It's saved us a great deal of time and frustration, particularly in a difficult harvest when sickle sections are easily dam-aged," he says. A 9-in. long sq. bar welds to the top of the stand. It's fitted with two short lengths of square bar that serve as "anvils". They are positioned to match up with the rivet spacing on the sickle sections. At the top of each "anvil", a dimple is drilled for the rivet head to fit into. You first grind off old rivets, remove the broken blade and then replace the blade and re-rivet. Lower the header until the blade rests on the jig and flatten the rivets against the little anvils. Be careful not to lower the header too much or the weight will damage the blade, he notes.

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