Deck Shell Repair

[PaulC 342]

I offered to repair a 48" deck for a co-worker only because its a   and it turned out so good I impressed myself, so I thought id share it here with the horse crowd. He has a 1990 520 so we obviously talk   a lot but he isn't nearly as into it as I am, we do gang up on another co-worker who just bought a brand new cub though  .

 

Anyway he just wanted it patched to the point it didn't throw grass at him anymore but I generally don't work like that and honestly the spots were so far gone im not even sure I could have done that. It had 3 rot through spots in the common areas, back right, back left, and front middle. I didn't intend on taking it as far as I did and have it come out this good so unfortunately I don't have any before or during pics( I really gotta get better at that) but I think the after pics I took will tell the story good enough. I hope the photos come through well and do it justice.

 

These 2 photos show the rotten pieces I cutout and remade laying on top of the repair.

 

These 3 show the underside which will give an idea on what I cut out. Ive learned after doing a few decks now to weld both sides and leave some weld build up on the inside for strength. I just knock a little off the top of all the welds and make sure nothings sticking up.

 

These last ones are the finished product. I have about 6 hours total into this and did it through my hour lunch breaks only. The piece that I made to replace the entire left corner took me a full lunch break alone. I did it by hand with just a cutoff wheel dead blow hammer, and ball peen hammer. Really had fun making that piece.

 

A tip I have is ive started to use JB weld kind of like bondo to fill in any low areas and mismatches so I don't have to grind the material so thin works pretty good.

 

Sorry I make such long posts but I don't know how to share what I want to share in just a few sentences. Thanks for looking Paul

[danjmah 71]

Beautiful work! thanks for the pics and writeup.

[PaulC 342]

Thanks Dan I really get some serious satisfaction out of saving and fixing up this old wheel horse stuff and I still haven't figured out why   I find it funny too that all the  ive worked on so far is right about the same age as I am, I was born in 85.

[kiotiken 105]

Nice work looks like it will lasts a long time.

[danjmah 71]

Just curious what is the gauge of the metal you used ?

[PaulC 342]

16 gauge which I think is a little thinner then original but it should hold up for a long time especially if properly maintained. Even jumping up to 14ga I wouldn't be able to get it to form to all the bends and curves. I did put an 1/8 inch reinforcement plate behind where the height adjuster mounts to beef it up it can be seen in the picture

[312Hydro 474]

You sir,do excellent work! If it was all repainted,I don't think anyone could find your repairs as they are that good.

[music100 10]

Very good. How did you get the bends that you needed? Wish I could do as well. John

[PaulC 342]

Very good. How did you get the bends that you needed? Wish I could do as well. John

For the tough piece I put a long bend in the sheet metal by clamping it to a square box tube and bending it over by hand and got it to match the radius of the deck pretty well. I then laid the rotted out piece I cut out inside of it and visualized where the next bends needed to go. Thought about it for a while and made my cut. Then from there I bent the rest with pliers and by hand and made a few more relief cuts. I kept laying the rotted piece inside until I got it to match really close. Once I was satisfied I tacked it where needed and lined up to the deck marked it and very carefully cut it and put it in.

[RedRanger 1,468]

Nice work!  Bet your repairs outlast the rest of the deck.

 

Glad to hear the JB weld works well on smoothing things out.  I've been thinking of using the same to smooth out pits on a deck.

[chex313 123]

Thats pretty much artwork Paul, thanks for sharing.

[PaulC 342]

the co worker I repaired this deck for finally got some paint on it and the finished product is pretty darn sweet!! in good light and at the certain angle if your looking you can pick out a few spots but after the first mow and a little dirt you will never know. here are some more photos

 

[312Hydro 474]

Just like I said.Mission accomplished! Now,go grab yourself a cold one and savor the sweet smell of success!

[boovuc 1,090]

Wow! that is great work!

[Tankman 3,520]

Nice repair on the poor deck! I remove my decks yearly, clean 'n paint, sharpen blades.

I usually drill plates, bolt in place, MIG stitch weld. Remove the hardware before paint, replace hardware with new and use plenty of Never-Seez.

Under side of the decks get whatever Rustoleum paint color I have. Rustoleum Regal Red for the eye. 
Tape decals before paint or remove them and get new from Terry.

Pic is before stitch welding.
 

Edited May 29, 2015 by Tankman

[WNYPCRepair 1,923]

Wow! that is great work!

I'll say. I was even more impressed to find out you bent the new pieces by hand. I assumed when I first saw them I assumed you cut them out of a good deck. 

[PaulC 342]

I'll say. I was even more impressed to find out you bent the new pieces by hand. I assumed when I first saw them I assumed you cut them out of a good deck. 

Thanks I impressed myself a little on this one. And I would never chop up a good deck because then that one would have a giant hole that would need to be fixed

[WNYPCRepair 1,923]

LOL, bad choice of words. A good piece of a bad deck.  

[DennisThornton 4,769]

I owned an autobody shop for 15 years and fixed a few decks and panels since then and I think your's turned out far better than most others I've seen!

Keep it up!

Dennis Thornton
1964    654
1972     Raider 8
1977    C-160 
1978    C-81
1981    C-85 
1984     GT-1100
1987     310-8
1993    416H
1998    520lxi
1990    Husqvarna GT160
1978    Sear Suburban GT/16
1995    Simplicity Broadmoor 16 Twin
Not all are complete and working...

[KyBlue 655]

Great job! 

Seems a lot of us are doing rust repair