Method of making a forged sickle guard

Abstract

The invention is a process of making a forged sickle guard for use in mowing and cutting machines. The sickle guard has at least one longitudinally extending guard finger wherein the guard finger has a lower body portion and a separate upper body portion. Each body portion is separately processed through forging dies followed by a punch and trimming operation. The entire ledger surface of the lower body portion is then subjected to a coining operation experiencing a sufficiently high stress to induce plastic flow of the ledger surface material thereby creating a sharp cutting edge along the entire periphery thereof. Subsequent heat treat and welding steps unite the lower and upper body portions into a unitary sickle guard without utilizing any machining operations.

1 . A method of manufacturing at least one sickle guard element of an elongated tapered configuration, having a forged lower body portion with a ledger surface and separately forged upper body portion having a planar surface, said method comprising the steps of:
 providing a metal blank and forging said metal blank into a lower body portion of a sickle guard, said lower body portion having a ledger surface and a truncated elongated finger portion;   simultaneously providing a metal blank and forging said metal blank into an upper body portion of a sickle guard, said upper body portion having a substantially planar lower surface at one end thereof and a truncated portion at an opposite end thereof;   coining said ledger surface of said lower body portion to create a sharp cutting edge about the periphery of said ledger surface of said lower body portion of said sickle guard;   heat treating said lower body portion and upper body portion of said sickle guard to through harden said at least one sickle guard element;   fixturing said lower body portion with said truncated elongated finger portion secured in said fixture;   locating and clamping said truncated portion of said upper body portion in complimentary engagement with said truncated elongated finger portion of said lower body portion of said at least one sickle guard in said fixture; and   welding said complimentary truncated portions of said upper and lower body portions into a unitary sickle guard element.