field pea harvester

[Virginia Mike]

Somewhere I have seen an attachment for a sickle bar mower to windrow pea or bean vines. Has anyone seen or used one?
I would like to make something to speed harvest of black-eyed peas. I have a thrashing machine for them, but need to get the vines out of the field.

[Boss Hog]

Mike, i have not seen one but, sure would like too. Hope someone else has
David

[Hengy]

You know, I have been to a threashing up here for oats, and the fellow that hosts it (our parish priest at his "home farm") puts up his bundles of oats using an old McCormick binder...horsedrawn but modified to be pulled behind a tractor. The front end of it is a sickle bar mower and it actually ties up the bundles...operator riding on the back...

I am just wondering if something like that could be modified to do the beans...don't know if it would tie them or not, but it sure would put them in a row, I think...

Mike in La Crosse, WI

[Bill]

Our neighbor had one. I was very young at the time, but it looked like flat stock bars bolted to the mower arm starting from each end and leaving an opening in the middle.The bars got longer as they got to the opening. The tail end of the bars were rolled up to help move the peas to opening. After they were wind rowed they were loaded on trucks with hay loaders. Sometime German POWs helped with the harvest. I was not very old but my brother and I would watch. We had our dog with us, the POWs sure liked our dog.

Bill

[SONNY]

We had the flat bar unit years back, and it was chained to the the back of the bar with a few short links of chain! The ends were turned up to sort of roll cut material to the open center and it did work pretty well!---I think you can make one, since they were quite simple design, and just drag on the ground behind the bar. the short stubble is what helps work the cut materal off the bars and deposit it in the center for the row! thanks; sonny

[mark1757]

Somewhere I have seen an attachment for a sickle bar mower to windrow pea or bean vines. Has anyone seen or used one?
I would like to make something to speed harvest of black-eyed peas. I have a thrashing machine for them, but need to get the vines out of the field.

Mike,
I've never seen or used a sickle bar mower to harvest peas or beans before. However:

Find a copy of the IHC McCormick-Deering MR-1 Mowers Parts Catalog.
It shows the bean/pea windrowing device used on the #4, #6 and #7 horse drawn mowers.
The MR-2 has the #9 mower parts.
Maybe you can figure out something by way of the pictures and part names.

The windrow was later picked up with a Model R Green Crop Loader (Hay Loader).
Mark

[Virginia Mike]

Thanks to mark and all who replied.
Over the course of the last week, the deer found my pea patch. They have stripped the leaves and peas from the plants.
No pea theashing this year.
I may sell my antique sheller, although it would have made a great demo being belt powered by a Cub, I woud have to fence my pea field to get enough peas. That's too expensive on a fixed income.

[markwayne]

ammunition is cheap, call the game warden and show him the damage and he will issue you a permit to shoot them. a load of deer in the freezer is good on a fixed income too.

Another solution is get a dog and fence him/ her in, takes a shorter cheaper fence, maybe none at all depending on the dog. Let them have a good time running off the deer.

Mark

[Virginia Mike]

ammunition is cheap, call the game warden and show him the damage and he will issue you a permit to shoot them.

The "Conservation Police" as they call themselves these days were called several days ago. The dispatcher said deer damage was not a priorty and they would send a officer when one was free.
I realize there is no revenue in this for them, and it is not as much fun as chasing bikini girls on their jet skis on the lake. I guess they will get here eventually.

[Don McCombs]

Mike,

Tell them you're going to start shooting the deer if they don't show up soon. That may get them out. They're not likely to do anything effective, anyway.