The Jiffy Balling mower operates of the front PTO of the Cub Cadet. There’s a drive belt that runs from the PTO pulley to the large pulley on the sickle bar mower. That’s the pulley that didn’t line up when I purchased the mower. The mower is engaged and disengaged by the Cub Cadet PTO lever. The manual suggests that the motor be operated at a low rpm when using the mower. It cuts well at an engine speed slightly above idle.
The Jiffy Balling mower has a neat “pitman” setup. The drive just consists of an eccentric that rotates in a channel section.
As the eccentric rotates in the channel section, it moves the sickle bar back and forth. It amounts to a very simple mechanism.
The other thing that’s neat about the mower is the mount that allows it to raise and lower with only one universal joint and no slip joint.
It’s not obvious in the picture, but the pivot for the lift arm and the centerline of the universal joint are not in line with each other. That should require some sort of slip joint as the mower is raised and lowered. But Jiffy Balling got around that by install a short section between the lift arm and main mower tube that can pivot eliminating the need for a slip connection.
All in all a very simple, effective method for simplifying the PTO drive.
As always if you have any questions or comments, you can reach me through this website.
