1025r sickle mower

Several years ago I was into the JD350 mowers. Had 4 of them and also fixed up a #9 and a #8 but preferred the 350. Well a friend wanted one for light mowing so I shortened from 7' to a 6' bar and was that thing ever so sweet. Problem with these mowers is the cradle has weight but with the offset of 7' it takes a sizeable tractor to stabilize. Cutting down to 6' or maybe 5' really makes a nice machine. It's no big deal to cut down just cut bar and cutter to match. I had to grind holes for the shoe. Getting through that steel was somewhat of a challenge. Without mowing hay you can get by without a swath board if you grass is not terribly high. Really like the mowers but maintenance expense would we completely out of sight at todays level and you have to do all your own work. Just growing up on a farm with one of these without loosing finger was a skill in itself, very, very dangerous to the newbies. I would let any novice even come around them and you definitely had to keep the pets out of the way. Now adays would be a liability nightmare. The absolute best setup I ever saw was on the International Cub.