Remote-Controlled Winch Lifts Sickle Bar

Remote-Controlled Winch Lifts Sickle Bar When Jerry Carra’s slightly older friend repeatedly complained about getting on and off his tractor to lift his sickle bar, Carra came up with a solution. He picked up a 12-volt remote-control winch from Harbor Freight and installed it on the mower. “I mounted the winch on the 3-pt. frame of the mower and made a bracket for a pulley sheave to mount on the sickle bar,” says Carra. “The bracket was a piece of 2-in. angle iron, reinforced with some channel iron. I welded it to the outboard side of the sickle bar hinge.” Carra ran the 1/4-in. cable from the winch around the sheave and back to the mower frame beneath the winch. The double line proved just right for raising and lowering the sickle bar. Connecting the winch to the tractor battery was simple, and the remote control eliminated the need to climb on and off the tractor to raise the bar. “It raises the sickle bar about 80 degrees, which lets him use it for trimming light brush along the field edge,” says Carra. “He was 86 when I made the lift assist, and he still uses it at 90. It keeps him going, even on our steep hills.” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jerry Carra, 104 Dogwood Dr., Grayson, Ky. 41143 (ph 606-474-4919).

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