How pitman wrenches work

[Stoney]

This is a pitman arm.  It connects the eccentric drive with the sickle blade on a ground or pto drive hay mower.  It drives the sickle blade back and forth between the guards.  The two ends are rotated 90 degrees apart.  The shaft is hickory with the ends bolted on.


This is the drive end.


This is the sickle bar end.


This is a close up showing the inside shape that fits around the ball on the sickle bar.


This is the ball on the sickle blade that the sickle end of the pitman clamps around.


The pitman connected to the sickle bar.




Pitman wrench spreading the clamp so it can be removed from the ball.
With the open end of the wrench you loosen the clamp, the turn the wrench around place the wedge between the sides of the clamp and twist.  Without the pitman wrench to spread apart the clamp, you would have to remove all the bolts that hold the end to the shaft, in order  to remove the sickle bar to sharpen or replace the knifes.
In other words as my dad would say 'that's what the little doomer on the end is for.'

[Papaw]

Great explanation and photo show there, Stoney!
Same principle as on a pitman arm on cars and trucks, though they aren't easily spread like they used to be.

[gibsontool]

Well done Stoney, a real nice job

[Neals]

Great job Stoney. I tried in the other thread to explain it before I read this. I certainly didnt do as good a job as you. Thanks.

[Stoney]

Thanks Neal.  I cut my teeth on horse/mule drawn equipment.  Dad started me on a gee whiz scratcher by myself at 7.  We had mules up until I was 16, but my grand dad only worked horses.   My brother and me have an Oliver mower that we plan to rebuild.  The pitman arm will go on the mower when we're finished  We also have a horse powered Chattagnooga push baler and several dump rakes yet to restore.

[jimwrench]

 Hey Stoney did this design by IHC eliminate the need for a pitman wrench. Looks like the pivoting link spreads the pitman without a wrench. I think manufacturers today would rather force everyone to buy a wrench rather than pay for the complicated end that had to be quite a bit more  expensive. Anyway found this in my garage and thought I would share it. Please don't ask why I possess this as I have no possible use for it and never did. Tis the wifes job to ask why.

[jimwrench]

 Heres a pic to show overall view

[Carl Wagner]

Great thread. Thanks

[rustcollector]

Great thread. Thanks

+1

[john k]

Jim, that pitman arm looks like the one on my JD mower.   When I would hit gopher mounds, and plug the sickle with mud, the pitman arm came out, and things were cleaned.   Every couple of days the pitman arm came off so the sickle could be sharpened.  When you hit a rock and break a section, the sickle came out, the easier they came out the better.  You could always hang that in the shop and use it as a What's it?

[Nolatoolguy]

Thanks for making the thread. Very intresting to get a exact idea on how they work.

[Paul]

The pit man rod and ends in these pictures looks like the one I need for my old Case E 7 mower that is a 1956 model does anyone know where i can get one. The part number in my parts book for a complete pitman assembly is AXMT 2022 W.

[turnnut]

thanks for the explanation, I have sold a few of those wrenches and still have a few somewhere around here.