Claas Senator Cutterbar

[Elpresidente]

I'm looking for advice on sorting out the way the cutterbar performs on my Senator 70
First question do knife sections have to be riveted or can they be bolted. Riveting isn't a problem was just wondering?
Second question do I need to replace all of the fingers or can the small knife sections on each finger be replaced individually?
And final question would replacing the knife guides be advisable?
As always thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[gbreakwell]

Using bolts to secure the knife sections is perfectly fine and makes the job much quicker and easier & to replace if they get broken or wear out in the field. Most use 2 short M6 bolts and nyloc nuts. I would recommend getting the correct bolts to go with the knife sections though as they are much stronger and easier to use than any old standard M6 bolt. If you've got more than just a couple of sections to replace and especially if they are riveted it will be much easier to unbolt the knife from the drive and slide the whole lot out to work on. You don't need to replace the fingers and knife sections together unless they are very worn. If the gap in the fingers that the knife sides about in is twice the width of the blade then it's probably time to replace them!

 

[bumkin]

by small knife sections are you talking about ledger plates that is a small piece thats riveted to the fingers ?
it all depends on wear the knife and section should be a scisor action the knife should be held against the finger by the clips these can be adjusted with a whack from a hammer some combines have replaceable plates under the clips you need to check the back of the knife for wear

 

[balerman]

It wouldn't be that expensive to replace the knife and all the fingers on say a 12ft cutterbar.I did this to our NH and it absolutely transformed the crop feed,much less forward and back and much more pleasurable to drive!

 

[bobk]

I'm looking for advice on sorting out the way the cutterbar performs on my Senator 70
First question do knife sections have to be riveted or can they be bolted. Riveting isn't a problem was just wondering?
Second question do I need to replace all of the fingers or can the small knife sections on each finger be replaced individually?
And final question would replacing the knife guides be advisable?
As always thanks in advance for any advice.

I scrapped 3 headers last year , got loads of spares if you want .

The serated plate that fits on the finger is vital , you can still acquire them .

 

[Elpresidente]

I scrapped 3 headers last year , got loads of spares if you want .

The serated plate that fits on the finger is vital , you can still acquire them .

Are the serated plates easy to replace? It looks like one rivet to drill out. I suppose theyd only be available from main dealer.

 

[bumkin]

Are the serated plates easy to replace? It looks like one rivet to drill out. I suppose theyd only be available from main dealer.

try aph or spaldings

 

[bobk]

Are the serated plates easy to replace? It looks like one rivet to drill out. I suppose theyd only be available from main dealer.

That's right , I center punch the head and drill out the top then drive it out .

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

You can get serrated and plain ledger plates,
Serrated are good for good clean standing corn,
And plain ledger plates are for grass,
Same goes for knife sections,
See your from Wales, don't take this the wrong way, but do you have a lot of grain under sown with grass, or grassy greenery growing in the corn ?
If so my opinion is leave the ledger plates on that you have, and put a string line across end to end where knife runs, belt the fingers up or down accordingly to get them in line, and a good tack weld the fingers in pairs,
Resection the knife rivet not bolt new sections on, use new type dominator over serrated sections not old type senator under serrated sections,
The over serrated are far better at cutting, and stay sharper,
Fit new knife to header, slacken the keeper bolts and move the heal plates up forward to keep the toe of the knife to the front, these heel plates are slotted, if worn down, turn them around, if been turned before then replace,,
Once you have the done all that and a lined the knife, the keepers need to hold the knife down tight against the ledger plates, give them a belt down with a hammer till knife is snug,
Now go to knife drive, make sure everything is tight and no play, as if play or slack then the knife will loose it's travel and shorten the stroke,
If everything is good on the knife drive it will cut well
Now last job, central the knife in its land, turn the header drive till its at full stroke one way, when knife is at full stroke, take note of how far knife section passes through finger, then turn header drive to full stroke the other way, take note again,
The section should pass to next door finger to same amount as the other,
the sections should just pass halfway through each finger as it goes back and forth for good cutting, if it travels more one way than other, it will not cut that good,
to adjust the stroke , the bolts on top of the pitman are on a serrated stepped plate, slacking bolts and move either way that is needed 1 step at a time to central the knife Stoke and travel,
All of the above will make for a better cutting,
Also check the skids under the header are good and smooth, as this will reduce build up and pushing soil in front of knife, and check header suspension springs for load, I used to screw the back saddle rest as far forward as I could to take weight off the skids and let it float across the land,
After it all sorted it will be a dream to cut corn,

 

[bumkin]

You can get serrated and plain ledger plates,
Serrated are good for good clean standing corn,
And plain ledger plates are for grass,
Same goes for knife sections,
See your from Wales, don't take this the wrong way, but do you have a lot of grain under sown with grass, or grassy greenery growing in the corn ?
If so my opinion is leave the ledger plates on that you have, and put a string line across end to end where knife runs, belt the fingers up or down accordingly to get them in line, and a good tack weld the fingers in pairs,
Resection the knife rivet not bolt new sections on, use new type dominator over serrated sections not old type senator under serrated sections,
The over serrated are far better at cutting, and stay sharper,
Fit new knife to header, slacken the keeper bolts and move the heal plates up forward to keep the toe of the knife to the front, these heel plates are slotted, if worn down, turn them around, if been turned before then replace,,
Once you have the done all that and a lined the knife, the keepers need to hold the knife down tight against the ledger plates, give them a belt down with a hammer till knife is snug,
Now go to knife drive, make sure everything is tight and no play, as if play or slack then the knife will loose it's travel and shorten the stroke,
If everything is good on the knife drive it will cut well
Now last job, central the knife in its land, turn the header drive till its at full stroke one way, when knife is at full stroke, take note of how far knife section passes through finger, then turn header drive to full stroke the other way, take note again,
The section should pass to next door finger to same amount as the other,
the sections should just pass halfway through each finger as it goes back and forth for good cutting, if it travels more one way than other, it will not cut that good,
to adjust the stroke , the bolts on top of the pitman are on a serrated stepped plate, slacking bolts and move either way that is needed 1 step at a time to central the knife Stoke and travel,
All of the above will make for a better cutting,
Also check the skids under the header are good and smooth, as this will reduce build up and pushing soil in front of knife, and check header suspension springs for load, I used to screw the back saddle rest as far forward as I could to take weight off the skids and let it float across the land,
After it all sorted it will be a dream to cut corn,

first rate you could come and do mine

 

[oakleaf]

You can get serrated and plain ledger plates,
Serrated are good for good clean standing corn,
And plain ledger plates are for grass,
Same goes for knife sections,
See your from Wales, don't take this the wrong way, but do you have a lot of grain under sown with grass, or grassy greenery growing in the corn ?
If so my opinion is leave the ledger plates on that you have, and put a string line across end to end where knife runs, belt the fingers up or down accordingly to get them in line, and a good tack weld the fingers in pairs,
Resection the knife rivet not bolt new sections on, use new type dominator over serrated sections not old type senator under serrated sections,
The over serrated are far better at cutting, and stay sharper,
Fit new knife to header, slacken the keeper bolts and move the heal plates up forward to keep the toe of the knife to the front, these heel plates are slotted, if worn down, turn them around, if been turned before then replace,,
Once you have the done all that and a lined the knife, the keepers need to hold the knife down tight against the ledger plates, give them a belt down with a hammer till knife is snug,
Now go to knife drive, make sure everything is tight and no play, as if play or slack then the knife will loose it's travel and shorten the stroke,
If everything is good on the knife drive it will cut well
Now last job, central the knife in its land, turn the header drive till its at full stroke one way, when knife is at full stroke, take note of how far knife section passes through finger, then turn header drive to full stroke the other way, take note again,
The section should pass to next door finger to same amount as the other,
the sections should just pass halfway through each finger as it goes back and forth for good cutting, if it travels more one way than other, it will not cut that good,
to adjust the stroke , the bolts on top of the pitman are on a serrated stepped plate, slacking bolts and move either way that is needed 1 step at a time to central the knife Stoke and travel,
All of the above will make for a better cutting,
Also check the skids under the header are good and smooth, as this will reduce build up and pushing soil in front of knife, and check header suspension springs for load, I used to screw the back saddle rest as far forward as I could to take weight off the skids and let it float across the land,
After it all sorted it will be a dream to cut corn,

Fab reply. You couldnt give more info than that.

 

[Elpresidente]

Thanks for all the replies excellent advice I should have the old senator cutting like a dream this year

 

[grainboy]

Afternoon, I have a front elevator chain and flight for a Senator available, if interested

 

[jamesy]

Resectioned our Senny header last year and made a hell of a difference to crop flow