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Starting with the platform, the parts that experience high wear are the cutting components -- knives, guards, wear plates, and hold-down clips. The knife is a series of shears. To cut effectively, the knife must run smoothly in the cutterbar, and every knife section must rest on the guard, in position to make a shear cut. The knife guard, wear plates, and hold-down clips must be in good condition and set correctly.
Litening Bolt™ Sectionalized Knife
End knife-transport problems. The Litening Bolt™ sectionalized knife can be transported in the back of a pickup truck. The sections can be quickly and easily bolted together in 13- to 30-foot lengths (10 possible knife lengths). A lap joint provides a strong hold and lightning-fast assembly. There's no need for drilling. These knives are designed for all 900 Series Platforms and 200 Series Platforms that have been converted for bolt-on section knives. The sectionalized knives are also available with both Dura-Lite™ and Dura-Cut™ coarse-tooth knife sections.
Dura-Cut™ Knife Section
The John Deere Dura-Cut™ knife section is a product of the latest in state-of-the art manufacturing. This section provides the highest level of quality and cutting performance. Dura-Cut™ serrated sections have deep serrations, so they stay sharper and wear longer. The serrations are 40 percent deeper on the Dura-Cut™ section than on the section they replace, and from 23 to 60 percent deeper than the competitors’ sections.
Dura-Cut™ sections are made from high-carbon steel for toughness and longer life. Tests show several competitive sections fail to meet John Deere specifications. Sections with too-high carbon content (brittle sections) or too-low carbon content (soft sections) can reduce section life. Dura-Cut™ quality means tough construction, uniform thickness, and long life.
Dura-Cut™sections are heat-treated twice and checked automatically to ensure specifications are met. This rigorous testing ensures Dura-Cut™ quality.
An automated hard-chroming process gives the section a more consistent and controllable chrome application, which results in stronger teeth and longer section life. This process eliminates the cracking or peeling common with competitive sections, which have been soft-chromed.
Dura-Lite™ Knife Section
The Dura-Lite™ knife section has the same strength and cutting performance as the popular Dura-Cut™ knife section. The reduced weight of the Dura-Lite™ section lowers the mass of the cutterbar, reducing power requirements and lowering vibration for a smoother-running knife, and less stress on the knifehead and drive system.
Coarse-Tooth Sections
If you want a more aggressive sickle section for coarser, dryer crops, coarse-tooth Dura-Cut™ or Dura-Lite™ sections are available. The coarse-tooth section has seven serrations per inch. It grabs the stalk and brings it to the ledger surface while maintaining a well-defined, self-sharpening pattern.
Double-Cut Knife Section
The double-cut knife system, used on the 900D Series Draper Platforms, provides customers with faster, cleaner, and smoother cutting action for small-grain harvesting. The system uses the unique Dura-Twin™ knife section, with a full four inches of knife travel. This knife section provides a cleaner cut versus the tearing effect of shorter-stroke cutting systems. The Dura-Twin™ sections are manufactured to the same quality specifications as the Dura-Lite™ and Dura-Cut™ knife sections to ensure long wear life and high performance.
End Sections
End sections reduce troublesome cutterbar clogging in thick and badly tangled crops.
Knife Guards
Knife guards are designed to provide long life and top productivity. The guards are forged from low-carbon steel to ensure durability. The forging process gives the guard a smooth surface for snag-free crop flow to the knife. A special heat-treating process provides extra hardness so the guard retains its shock-resistant characteristics.
The upper lip of the guard is wider than the cutting surface. This lip keeps the cutting edge sharp longer by protecting it from damage by foreign material. The lower portion of the guard is designed in a "V" shape and flares out into the wide cutting surface of the guard, positioning the crop stem at a slight angle. The result is a clean, scissors-like cut.
Dura-Guard™ Knife Guard
The Dura-Guard™ Knife Guard is standard equipment on all newer 900 Series Platforms and is also available for all older 200 and 900 Series Platforms.
The guard has a high tensile strength because of the higher carbon and chrome content in the steel, plus the increased core hardness. A secondary hardening process toughens the ledger surface, giving a hard, wear-resistant cutting surface. The result is a guard that stands up to hard, rocky, cutting conditions.
Double-Cut Knife Guards
The double-cut knife system is standard equipment on all 900D Series Draper Platforms and features a four-inch knife stroke for smooth cutting action. The double-cut system uses a unique set of knife guards that work with the Dura-Twin knife sections. The guards are available in "long-short-long" or "short-long-short" versions for the different cutterbar lengths.
The double-cut guards have the same durability and reliability characteristics as the other John Deere guards.
Wear Plates
Wear plates keep the knife aligned with the ledger surface to ensure a clean shearing action. Worn plates cause the knife to chew and tear the crop.
John Deere wear plates are heat-treated for long wear life. Sharp, forged ends assure even sickle bar contact, and rectangular attaching holes provide positive alignment. Uniform and consistent manufacturing processes ensure a tight, perfect fit.
Hold-Down Clips
Hold-down clips must be durable to prevent the clip from breaking under stress. The hold-down clip keeps the knife section in the shearing position. The ideal cutting position is when the bottom surface of the knife section is kept in contact with the lower self-sharpening edge of the rock guard groove, creating a scissors-like action. The hold-down clip flexes under field stress conditions, but is strong enough to hold the knife section in place.
Auger Fingers
As the material moves to the center of the platform, auger fingers, finger bearings, and finger guides deliver material to the feeder house. The fingers and bearings should be checked periodically and replaced if there is excessive play.
The John Deere auger fingers are made of boron steel. The surface is heat-treated for long wear. A narrow, breakaway groove in the finger protects it and allows the finger to break, rather than bend, at a precise point if it hits a rock or other obstruction. This prevents severe damage to the auger.
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