Knotter Expert Rebuilds Small Balers
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Businesss is booming for Nelson Horning who works on small square balers, supplying needed parts and often totally rebuilding knotters or even entire machines. While he specializes in Deere baler parts and rebuilds (Vol. 36, No. 6), a shortage of qualified repair people is an all-brands problem.
“Every machinery dealer sold small square balers 30 to 40 years ago and would have a good baler mechanic,” says Horning. “As fewer small balers were sold and older mechanics retired, it didn’t pay for dealers to train new mechanics. Many areas now have very poor repair service. That’s part of the reason demand for rebuilt balers is growing.”
This year Horning has already rebuilt around 100 Deere small square balers. These include some he bought and rebuilt for resale, as well as others customers brought to his shop located between Buffalo and Rochester, N.Y. While most of his balers go to farmers in the Northeast, he has shipped them as far as Texas and California.
“We had one customer bring his baler from Wisconsin to have it rebuilt,” says Horning. “Time for a total rebuild depends on the work needed, but we usually have a 2-day turn around (plus shipping) on rebuilt knotters.”
The average total rebuild for a customer can run as much as $5,000. Knotter rebuilds alone can run $500 to $600 per side. Horning notes new Deere balers running from $20,000 to $35,000 or more.
“We have a 5-page checklist with more than 160 inspection points,” he says. “We also have our own test bench where we can operate knotters and identify problems. When we’re finished, we make sure each part is working right. If it’s a total rebuild, we run straw through the baler to see for ourselves that everything is working as it should.”
With nearly 30 years of experience repairing Deere balers, Horning has a pretty good idea how the parts should work and which parts of balers are most likely to wear out. As balers age, potential problems increase. This is especially true of knotters.
“When we started, there were parts we never paid attention to, but now we take every knotter apart, clean it and inspect it,” says Horning, noting that many of the balers he works on are 50 years old or older.
In addition to the knotter and full baler rebuilds, parts remain a big part of Horning’s business. He has shipped parts to more than 40 states and several Canadian provinces. Horning says there are very few parts he can’t get for models dating back to the 1970’s. Prior to that, there are some parts he doesn’t have, and he carries nothing for balers before the 1950’s.
“We can still get quite a few parts made or make them ourselves if they are not available or too expensive from Deere,” says Horning. “Whenever we see a weak link part, we try to build a better version that will last longer.”
One example is the tucker finger assembly. While Deere made an improvement on the 8 series being built today, Horning has improved tucker fingers made for baler models dating back to the mid 1960’s.
“The old design would wear, and the tucker fingers had a lot of slop,” says Horning. “With the newer design, it lasts longer and is more accurate.”
Baler owners too far away to tap into Horning’s expertise personally can order parts from his free parts catalog. He also has put his experience down in writing in “Finger Lakes Equipment Service Tips for John Deere Small Square Balers.” It covers every Deere baler from the 14T to the entire 300 Series. The $20 booklet includes 50 time and money-saving tips, from preventing broken knotters to twine holder and plungerhead adjustments to knotter rebuilding for those prepared to do it themselves.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Finger Lakes Equipment, 250 Lovejoy Rd., Penn Yan, N.Y. 14527 (585 526-6705).
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Knotter Expert Rebuilds Small Balers BALERS Businesss is booming for Nelson Horning who works on small square balers supplying needed parts and often totally rebuilding knotters or even entire machines While he specializes in Deere baler parts and rebuilds Vol 36 No 6 a shortage of qualified repair people is an all-brands problem “Every machinery dealer sold small square balers 30 to 40 years ago and would have a good baler mechanic ” says Horning “As fewer small balers were sold and older mechanics retired it didn’t pay for dealers to train new mechanics Many areas now have very poor repair service That’s part of the reason demand for rebuilt balers is growing ” This year Horning has already rebuilt around 100 Deere small square balers These include some he bought and rebuilt for resale as well as others customers brought to his shop located between Buffalo and Rochester N Y While most of his balers go to farmers in the Northeast he has shipped them as far as Texas and California “We had one customer bring his baler from Wisconsin to have it rebuilt ” says Horning “Time for a total rebuild depends on the work needed but we usually have a 2-day turn around plus shipping on rebuilt knotters ” The average total rebuild for a customer can run as much as $5 000 Knotter rebuilds alone can run $500 to $600 per side Horning notes new Deere balers running from $20 000 to $35 000 or more “We have a 5-page checklist with more than 160 inspection points ” he says “We also have our own test bench where we can operate knotters and identify problems When we’re finished we make sure each part is working right If it’s a total rebuild we run straw through the baler to see for ourselves that everything is working as it should ” With nearly 30 years of experience repairing Deere balers Horning has a pretty good idea how the parts should work and which parts of balers are most likely to wear out As balers age potential problems increase This is especially true of knotters “When we started there were parts we never paid attention to but now we take every knotter apart clean it and inspect it ” says Horning noting that many of the balers he works on are 50 years old or older In addition to the knotter and full baler rebuilds parts remain a big part of Horning’s business He has shipped parts to more than 40 states and several Canadian provinces Horning says there are very few parts he can’t get for models dating back to the 1970’s Prior to that there are some parts he doesn’t have and he carries nothing for balers before the 1950’s “We can still get quite a few parts made or make them ourselves if they are not available or too expensive from Deere ” says Horning “Whenever we see a weak link part we try to build a better version that will last longer ” One example is the tucker finger assembly While Deere made an improvement on the 8 series being built today Horning has improved tucker fingers made for baler models dating back to the mid 1960’s “The old design would wear and the tucker fingers had a lot of slop ” says Horning “With the newer design it lasts longer and is more accurate ” Baler owners too far away to tap into Horning’s expertise personally can order parts from his free parts catalog He also has put his experience down in writing in “Finger Lakes Equipment Service Tips for John Deere Small Square Balers ” It covers every Deere baler from the 14T to the entire 300 Series The $20 booklet includes 50 time and money-saving tips from preventing broken knotters to twine holder and plungerhead adjustments to knotter rebuilding for those prepared to do it themselves Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Finger Lakes Equipment 250 Lovejoy Rd Penn Yan N Y 14527 585 526-6705
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