Gator Blades

[rickdiver2003 4]

Does anyone have a 42" rear discharge deck running Gator Blades?

I need the Gator part number so I can order. Having trouble finding the correct size!

[skrusins 128]

Posted 25 June 2014 - 09:25 PM

Posted 16 July 2013 - 06:05 PM

I bought and received today gator blades for my 42" RD deck the Oregon no. is 96-303.

The Oregon site states the blades are 14 1/2" long with 3/4 in center hole.That was wrong.

The center hole is .705", it was no problem to open the hole to 3/4". I use a drum grinder on

a Dremmel and work great. As of today 4/27/2014 they work great

As far as I know there are no gator blades listed for a 42 rd  this oregon no is a gader blade.

[GlenPettit 1,717]

You can use Gator Blades that are up to an inch shorter than the originals if you go with the "dual-blade" system;  adding three Gator Blades just above and at 90º to your original Wheel Horse blades.  The original blades cut the full 42" width, and the Gator Blades mainly keep the grass clippings airborne and recut them smaller.

 

Be sure to get the correct Center hole on your Gator Blades.   In the above photo, that's the original Wheel Horse Blade Removal Wrench, 18" long and 11/8" opening, the head is only about 1/4" thick so it fits under the blade and onto the spindle nut to hold & keep the spindle from moving, then a second wrench removes the the nut holding the blades on.  Also fits the Mule drive nut, was a free gift when we bought a C-series or 300,400-series.  Hard to find now.

Edited June 30, 2014 by GlenPettit

[sluggo 40]

thanks. I will try this on my 37 sd.

[km3h 543]

You can use Gator Blades that are up to an inch shorter than the originals if you go with the "dual-blade" system;  adding three Gator Blades just above and at 90º to your original Wheel Horse blades.  The original blades cut the full 42" width, and the Gator Blades mainly keep the grass clippings airborne and recut them smaller.

 

Be sure to get the correct Center hole on your Gator Blades.   In the above photo, that's the original Wheel Horse Blade Removal Wrench, 18" long and 11/8" opening, the head is only about 1/4" thick so it fits under the blade and onto the spindle nut to hold & keep the spindle from moving, then a second wrench removes the the nut holding the blades on.  Also fits the Mule drive nut, was a free gift when we bought a C-series or 300,400-series.  Hard to find now.

 

I am interested in learning how you mounted these blades so that they stayed in position. This looks like a good arraignment and a great way to cout grass. I have seen this on a few other makes of tractors but they came from the factory that way. Did you have to make any modifications to make this work? 

[skrusins 128]

I use a impact and stay without any problems unless you bottom out or hit something big. Then you'll resharpen the blades.

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,119]

I tried the double blades on a 30" single blade mower and could not keep them at 90 degrees but that is a long blade. I cut about a 4" disc out of 10 or 12 gauge metal with a center hole for the spindle. This goes between the blades positioned at right angles. Bend 2 sides sticking out down for the bottom blade and the other 2 sides sticking out up for the top blade. This is just explaining how it works. I actually made the bends in a break so it could get a good tight fit to the blade sides. It works well.

 

Garry

[shallowwatersailor 3,213]

Gravely had the option (and still has parts available) for the old brush hog mower to run two 30" blades. One of my brush hogs is setup that way. I'll take a picture tomorrow in the daylight.

[GlenPettit 1,717]

On a nice lawn mowed often, I find they tend to stay at 90º quite well just using the standard nut and tightness.  Another member said "Blue Thread-Lock"was used and he said it was better.  Tall thick grass will probably increase the chance of the blades moving, but I don't really think that hinders their performance.  The main objective of the Gator Blades is to keep the clippings airborne for double cutting and increase the throw, it's the high-rise on the back of the blades that do this.   Alone, the Gator Blades work great.  I'm guessing, the dual blade system is a little better.  It's the lower original blades that get dull and are doing most of the heavy cutting, the Gator Blades seem to be always sharp.

 

 

From an older post:

Posted 11 May 2013 - 10:00 AM

Consider doubling up on the blades, with both sets, regular 'new' blades below the three new Gator blades ( ='s 12 cutting edges ).

 

Adding a baffle on the back of the RD deck will greatly reduce 'blow-up' of the clippings into your tractor.
The black on the RD is Slip Plate (black graphite), when I restored the deck, the underside was etched, primed, and painted gloss white, then the 'Slip Plate ($12/qt = 3 coats or 3 years) was brushed on; this greatly reduced the wet grass from sticking to the underside, the exposed white tells me 'wear', where to re-coat for next season.  The SD deck had less use, but with no coating gave a lot more build-up.

Glen

 

Edited July 3, 2014 by GlenPettit

[Navig8r 132]

One thing to consider when running doubles is the HP draw to keep them spinning at the proper speed.... I have a bit of experience here, having operated my own landscape business in the past, I 'experimented' with many blade setups..... Factors that are key for nice cut are; deck leveling, blade tip speed, and airflow...... Airflow gets way mixed up with some combos, and keeping the speed up when the motor is pushing 12 'airfoils' instead of 6 can be an issue. On my exmark, I have a set of oem blades, with a flat set as the second blade.... No extra airfoils to hog HP, no change in airflow, but 6 more cutting edges to reduce clippings.

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

[shallowwatersailor 3,213]

Here is the Gravely setup on the 30" brush hog on my C-8. It is a fitting that holds the blades in place.