sidekick
Guest
No expert here,but the 2 Gleaners I have owned have hold down clips and back plates on every other guard.I set plates back against lip and clip back against sickle with just enough room to wiggle it forandaft.Too tight cause excess wear,too loose lets sickle bang around.Hold down clips should keep sections down flat on guards.Too tight there isn't good either.Rounded edges on guard cause poor cutting and increased load on sickle and drive.Asking for trouble.Might get by in dry beans but won't cut through grass worth a hoot.Sometimes you can use an angle grinder to "sharpen' those rounded edges a little if they are not too far gone.Best done with sickle removed.Haven't read the book so this advice is worth what you paid for it but it makes sense to me.