46 Baler Works, Sort of

Anonymous-0 · Jul 7, 2010

After fighting with it for several years I finally got my McCormick 46 baler to tie some bales. On a few acres of ruined hay it baled at almost an 80% tie rate. Part of the problem may have been the hay had been on the ground 3 weeks and had 14 inches of rain dumped on it in that time. I took a lot of steps to get it that far from 0 to 80% and I'm confident it can be improved.

Things I've learned so far... When I got one side to tie decent I measured the stack of washers and made a pair of spacers out of pipe. (I'm tempted to make more and sell them on ebay.) It is easier to control the thickness by grinding pipe instead of jockying 10 washers. I also found that a consistant windrow with no wads or gaps improved the tying immensely. I found the best speed was 1/3 throttle in second gear (it was light hay) worked well for me.

There is hope for the old McCormick balers afterall,

Mark J in IA

pete 23 · Jul 7, 2010

Which washers are you talking about, just a guess , the ones between knife and knotter frame. If that is the case, the reason you need so many washers is that your disks are timed late due to wear. It is a heck of a job to get them back where they belong unless you go the later style disk drive shaft which has a tapered shaft with lock nuts and you can set the distance between knotch and knotter frame any place you want. That was one real big improvement on later knotters. Many more changes also, another big one is the twine end retainer spring. Helps a lot. 80 percent is not very good which I know you are aware of.

Stumpy · Jul 7, 2010

Great, I just came in from toiling away on a model 45 that was given to me. I have the Wisconsin running and all the parts are turning. I need to fab up a good gas tank and buy some twine to give it a test run. I would be thrilled with 80% on this baler. LOL!

Stumpy

JimB2 · Jul 7, 2010

Hi Mark, Pete is correct about twine disk timing and the twine end holder spring. Some other things to check is shims in the twine disk to match twine thickness, the bill hook tension arm can become worn and not hold the bill hook closed and twine will pull out without pulling the loops tight in the knot.

JimB

ryanwheelock · Jul 8, 2010

I've got a IH 46 baler and just baled 426 bales this weekend and only had 3 bales that were bad, the first ones being there was no pressure in the camber. Also I bale with a Farmall H and can run in 2nd or 3rd depending on the windrow. It seems to bale the best when feeding it on the outside edge of the pick-up so the auger feeds it in better. I've heard alot of bad things about these balers but mine is the best baler I've ever had. I think it has to do with how they were taken care of.
If you ever have questions let me know and I'll help you if I can
Ryan

JimB2 · Jul 8, 2010

Hi the 46 was a great baler if you knew how to keep the knotters working. They had a better pickup than NH or JD of the same years. We bought our 46 new in 1962 and baled about 10K to 12K bales a year. Ours, one knotter never missed a bale, the other required TLC. Keep twine knives SHARP and good quality twine. Knotters did not like thick and thin twine.
You are correct the 46 makes the best bale when the hay is fed in to the right side of the pickup.

Good Luck with your 46 balers.
JimB

46 Baler Works, Sort of

Anonymous-0

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pete 23

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Stumpy

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JimB2

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ryanwheelock

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JimB2

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