42” WH Mower Deck

[Horse Newbie 7,070]

I don’t think pressure washing would hurt it, if you stay away from the spindle housings as much as you can.

But if you re-grease it and do the oil treatment, I think cleaning it will do way more good than harm… Just my thoughts…

[peter lena 8,631]

@KVustrud  , would rather have a lubricant soak into the metal , than water , rarely have any build up , but when I do , it just pops off . that hot sun soak is what you want, that pulls in the lube , heats up metal , breaks the  GRUNGE CYCLE , also  leave it in oil soak over winter , imagine  months of oil stopping rust , deck upside down , stained black with oil . pete 

[KVustrud 92]

Just thinking outside the box, has anyone ever tried this?  What if you just cut out a section in the top and then cut a single plate from 1/8" or 1/4" steel and welded that in place?  That would greatly strengthen the weak points around the spindles as well as the rigidity of the deck.  Thoughts?

 

Again, my deck seems great now...but I like tinkering and making improvements and could find another deck to play with!

[Horse Newbie 7,070]

I think the deck you have is in better than average condition based on decks I’ve seen.

I would maintain it, don’t abuse, and enjoy…

find a deck in worse shape to experiment with.

I love to tinker and my wife says I “ look” for things to do, but I also believe “ if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it “.

[KVustrud 92]

2 minutes ago, Horse Newbie said:

I think the deck you have is in better than average condition based on decks I’ve seen.

I would maintain it, don’t abuse, and enjoy…

find a deck in worse shape to experiment with.

I love to tinker and my wife says I “ look” for things to do, but I also believe “ if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it “.

 

I agree and that's what I meant.  Experiment with a different deck!  

[Horse Newbie 7,070]

Sounds like a plan… I do dig the enthusiasm you have for the Wheel Horses…

I can tell if you get into something, you try to do it right !

Kudos !

[KVustrud 92]

12 minutes ago, Horse Newbie said:

Sounds like a plan… I do dig the enthusiasm you have for the Wheel Horses…

I can tell if you get into something, you try to do it right !

Kudos !

 

I go all in, that's for sure lol! 

Edited October 25, 2023 by KVustrud

[Lee1977 6,662]

1 hour ago, KVustrud said:

Just thinking outside the box, has anyone ever tried this?  What if you just cut out a section in the top and then cut a single plate from 1/8" or 1/4" steel and welded that in place?  That would greatly strengthen the weak points around the spindles as well as the rigidity of the deck.  Thoughts?

 

Again, my deck seems great now...but I like tinkering and making improvements and could find another deck to play with!

If you want to reinforce the 42" deck add the plate to the top of the deck the way WH did on the 48" deck. The 42" deck is bad to crack and rust out right under the height adjustment lever. It was bad design moving the heigh adjustment to the open end as the closed end is a lot stronger. I would add an 1/8" plate on the inside under the height adjustment. I added reinforce plates also under the wheel brackets.  your deck already has the reinforcement under the lift brackets. 

[kpinnc 12,065]

2 hours ago, KVustrud said:

1/8" or 1/4" steel and welded that in place?  That would greatly strengthen the weak points around the spindles as well

 

As the area around the spindles has stamped stress points already, it will make very little difference. To prevent creating a rust pocket, you'd have to cut out and replace the area you specified. 

 

You would also have great difficulty welding it in without warping one part or the other. 

Edited October 25, 2023 by kpinnc

[Lee1977 6,662]

2 hours ago, kpinnc said:

 

As the area around the spindles has stamped stress points already, it will make very little difference. To prevent creating a rust pocket, you'd have to cut out and replace the area you specified. 

 

You would also have great difficulty welding it in without warping one part or the other. 

His doesn't look to have the stamped area around the spindle mounts. I know my 1989 42" deck doesn't have them. I have seen that formed area on rear discharge deck

[KVustrud 92]

Do the 42" rear discharge decks cut nice?  Are they more durable than the 42" SD?

[Lee1977 6,662]

I've never used a WH rear discharge deck.  I've used my 48" side discharge for 46 years, 

[Rick3478 428]

The weakest point of the 42SD decks IMO is the right side, especially the front wheel.  The cross section at that point is a "C" shape of sheet metal with no bracing.  The rest of the deck has roundness and 3 dimensions going for it, but the right side is open.  Stand on it sometime (carefully) and see how much it flexes.  For the most part it's okay, unless you snag it on a stump or tree root, then you'll need some crowbar and hammer work.

[KVustrud 92]

So it does cut very clean and nice and operates very quietly. But I think I have a problem. The right side (chute side) definitely cuts a little lower than the other two blades. 
 

If I place a straight edge across the blades, I can see the middle and left side blade sit even and have even space between blade tips and level. The right side blade however does not, it’s pretty far off. Is this a “sprung” deck??? 
 

Ugh this is frustrating. 
 

I bought a WH because the deck rides on the ground and I need a clean cut!!!! (Bermuda cut at 2”) 

[KVustrud 92]

You can see the nut is not even flush on the straight edge and the difference in distance between blade and straight edge on each side. 
 

(Last 2 pics in this post are the good ones. The other prior pics are the uneven right side where something is off) it’s like that spindle assembly is bent inward towards middle of deck. This forcing outside of blade at chute end of deck lower to the ground. 

 

This explains the uneven cut. 

Edited October 26, 2023 by KVustrud

[KVustrud 92]

Need to figure this out. I love the engineering, the build quality, the simplicity of the tractor. But I NEED it to cut nice! Help me lol! Really disappointed in the deck right now, not the tractor!
 

Is my solution a 48” deck? Im not against a rear discharge either. 
 

Or am I overthinking this and just need to put a pipe on that blade and bend it back?

Edited October 26, 2023 by KVustrud

[oliver2-44 9,756]

2 hours ago, KVustrud said:

Need to figure this out
 

Or am I overthinking this and just need to put a pipe on that blade and bend it back?

That probable will bend the blade and make it worse.   
 

Most likely the top of deck area that the spindle bolts to is bent.  
 

I restored a 42 “ deck which had a sprung shell from a visible front impact and the left blade was bent from an impact. I stripped the deck and used a rosebud to heat and straighten the shell. Like you, I also had to straighten the mounting area for the left spindle.   It has cut great for 5 years now. 
 

The previous owner game me the tractor and deck because it started cutting poorly…..probably never looked at the deck to see the obvious bent areas

[lynnmor 7,307]

11 hours ago, KVustrud said:

Do the 42" rear discharge decks cut nice?  Are they more durable than the 42" SD?

 

NO!

Yes.

[Tuneup 1,433]

Hi KV - I like your over thinking and finding a scrap deck to weld on is a great idea but if you're a bit of a Bermuda grass fanatic like that yard suggests you are, any 3 blade deck will do a rotten job on those fine grass blades and the vacuum will be inadequate - less so the larger the deck - so a clean cut - no. The lines those guide wheels leave in the lawn are unforgivable.

 

Your 42SD is glorious, by the way. Mow the lawn dry and it will last almost forever.

 

I've got the 42RD, 42SD and 48SD up here in Jasper. I use them (the 48 restored right now) on the backyard fescue and crab grass. I've used it on the Bermuda - no dice, and my up and down yard isn't a help. The front and side yards get a pushed 21' cut. Nothing better. Currently running the Toro mulcher after pushing a manual Hi-Vac Snapper for the last 30 years and didn't know what I was missing. All that said, you do you. Us Bermuda freaks have to stick together.

[KVustrud 92]

52 minutes ago, Tuneup said:

Hi KV - I like your over thinking and finding a scrap deck to weld on is a great idea but if you're a bit of a Bermuda grass fanatic like that yard suggests you are, any 3 blade deck will do a rotten job on those fine grass blades and the vacuum will be inadequate - less so the larger the deck - so a clean cut - no. The lines those guide wheels leave in the lawn are unforgivable.

 

Your 42SD is glorious, by the way. Mow the lawn dry and it will last almost forever.

 

I've got the 42RD, 42SD and 48SD up here in Jasper. I use them (the 48 restored right now) on the backyard fescue and crab grass. I've used it on the Bermuda - no dice, and my up and down yard isn't a help. The front and side yards get a pushed 21' cut. Nothing better. Currently running the Toro mulcher after pushing a manual Hi-Vac Snapper for the last 30 years and didn't know what I was missing. All that said, you do you. Us Bermuda freaks have to stick together.

I greatly overthink these things lol! And I appreciate the advice but have to politely disagree somewhat. I cut my front at 3/8” with a reel mower every other day. Now, I obviously could never expect even 1-1.5” out of any sort of rider, deck is simply too wide to go that low. However, 2” every 3 days with well tuned deck that rides on the ground (Simplicity and WH mainly only options here) vs. hanging from the tractor is completely reasonable. 3 blade decks have plenty of blade speed and suction, you can tell the way they fling grass and sucks leaves up under them! I can see the cut quality, and it’s great! But the right side is low and lacks due to the spindle being off with this particular deck. 
 

 

[KVustrud 92]

Here’s another view 😡

[Tuneup 1,433]

39 minutes ago, KVustrud said:

I greatly overthink these things lol! And I appreciate the advice but have to politely disagree somewhat. I cut my front at 3/8” with a reel mower every other day. Now, I obviously could never expect even 1-1.5” out of any sort of rider, deck is simply too wide to go that low. However, 2” every 3 days with well tuned deck that rides on the ground (Simplicity and WH mainly only options here) vs. hanging from the tractor is completely reasonable. 3 blade decks have plenty of blade speed and suction, you can tell the way they fling grass and sucks leaves up under them! I can see the cut quality, and it’s great! But the right side is low and lacks due to the spindle being off with this particular deck. 
 

 

Excellent. I can't even attempt to level my lawn so if you use a reel mower - you're a purist. Hats off!  Yeah, grew-up with a Simplicity 707 and that wonderful 32" groomer on Kentucky bluegrass in NJ. Miss that machine. You'd hate me - keeping the lawn very high and bushy while my neighbor can't seem to get it low enough. We still keep the beer flowing while talking about it. All good.

[KVustrud 92]

13 hours ago, KVustrud said:

So it does cut very clean and nice and operates very quietly. But I think I have a problem. The right side (chute side) definitely cuts a little lower than the other two blades. 
 

If I place a straight edge across the blades, I can see the middle and left side blade sit even and have even space between blade tips and level. The right side blade however does not, it’s pretty far off. Is this a “sprung” deck??? 
 

Ugh this is frustrating. 
 

I bought a WH because the deck rides on the ground and I need a clean cut!!!! (Bermuda cut at 2”) 

 

Opinions please?  Am I being too much of a perfectionist here?  Or does this really look like a problem?  To me, it does....but maybe my expectations were too high in terms of deck tolerances? 

[Handy Don 12,232]

I aimed to be within about ¼” (~7 cm) edge-to-edge to the ground when I set up my refurbished ’68 gear drive two-blade mowing deck. The deck itself was true but I wanted to be sure the gauge wheels and the forward part of lift frame were all good as well.

During the refurbishing, I did discover that one of the spindle bearings was missing entirely (not just the needles--ALL of it) so I’m sure that was the cause of the blade tips on that side gouging the shell and the excess wear on one set of gears. I ended up rebuilding the rusted out/worn supports for all three of the anti-scalp wheel mounts, as well.

As for “perfectionism”--I say "to each their own." I prefer to cut my very mixed vegetation “lawn” at ~3.5” (~85 cm) and at that height so a slight difference in cutting height isn’t noticeable.

[Horse Newbie 7,070]

I have adjusted my CC deck until I am blue in the face…

My neighbor blames the uneven cut on the brand of mower- he favors green and yellow…

I blame it on the hills, dips, and holes in the yard and live with it…

I really need to take a look at the blades and spindles… I have bent a spindle shaft before…

Edited October 26, 2023 by Horse Newbie