Crop conveying drums for a disc cutterbar

In a crop harvesting machine having a frame, a disc cutterbar supported on said frame to sever standing crop material, said disc cutterbar including a plurality of interior disc cutters, a plurality of outlying disc cutters, and at least one drive disc cutter;

• a central opening defined by said frame rearwardly of said disc cutterbar to receive severed crop material from said cutterbar;
• a drive mechanism including a drive shaft mechanism connected directly to said at least one drive disc cutter to direct rotational power to said disc cutterbar for operation of all of said disc cutters, the improvement comprising:
• a crop conveying drum mounted on said drive shaft mechanism above said drive disc cutter to convey severed crop material inwardly and rearwardly of said crop conveying drum, said drive shaft mechanism including a pair of universal joints and a central shaft interconnecting said universal joints, said crop conveying drum including first and second segments terminating in opposing connecting flanges, each of said segments including a pair of generally vertical, spaced-apart support bars and a mounting bracket centrally positioned and affixed to said support bars and being located between said connecting flanges, said mounting bracket including an arched portion for a mating engagement with said central shaft, said arched portion including an opening therein for alignment with corresponding holes in said central shaft.