Hacksawhero123 351 #1 Posted May 12, 2019 I was pondering the other day. Have any of you industrious fellas built a fabricated mowing deck? I’m thinking of trying to reverse engineer a 42” side discharge. Happy Mother’s Day, Fellas. Call your Mom. Mark 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
daveoman1966 3,745 #2 Posted May 12, 2019 (edited) A much easier undertaking is to find a useable deck...good spindles, pulleys, etc then make a cardboard template of the under--side of it. Use that template to cut out a sheet of stainless steel to fit the flat part of the deck. For the front 'apron' cut another strip of SS about 4" wide and tack weld it to the flat sheet. After tack-weld, get someone to mig (or tig) weld all the way around the front 'apron' to the flat sheet. There will be a bit of hammering the SS into place around the edges and maybe some final trimming. I did this with my 48" deck that was kinda rusted out on the left and right corners (typical) and sure glad I did. That was sometime in the late 80s and I'm still using the same deck today...mowing weekly about 2 acres. NO MORE RUST OUT! A 2nd benefit is that nothing sticks to the SS, making it very easy to hose off the grass clippings. I forget what gauge SS I used but think it was type 304 stainless...slightly thnner than a dime so it is malleable and not too tough to drill holes. Edited May 12, 2019 by daveoman1966 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Tuul Crib 7,336 #3 Posted May 12, 2019 Give us some pictures maybe some drawrings! Not sure what you have in mind. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
daveoman1966 3,745 #4 Posted May 12, 2019 (edited) I'm not taking the deck off to get pics. Just strip any deck down to the shell. Flip it over and lay in a big sheet of cardboard...tracing the location and outline of the holes for the 3 spindles, 4 mount holes each, gage wheel axle holes, and so on. Usually the baffles are about rotted away and, if not, cut them out, or work around them somehow...(I cut them out with no significant loss of cutting performance.) Trim the outer edges to the 'arc' shape of the front edge of the deck. THAT is the template to use to cut out a stainless steel sheet. When you get that cut out, temporarily bolt to the shell in a couple or 3 places to hold it in position, then weld the 4" strip for the front 'apron' of the deck and weld it to the flat sheet. Edited May 12, 2019 by daveoman1966 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hacksawhero123 351 #5 Posted May 12, 2019 Problem is, I believe that my deck is sprung. Last year I looked it over pretty good and it looks good, but for the life of me, I can’t get it leveled out. It’s a bout 3/4 inch high on the left side. After I get finished with my motor rebuild, I’ll get serious about figuring out the deck issue. Thanks, Fellas. Mark Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wallfish 16,985 #6 Posted May 12, 2019 3 minutes ago, Hacksawhero123 said: Problem is, I believe that my deck is sprung. Last year I looked it over pretty good and it looks good, but for the life of me, I can’t get it leveled out. It’s a bout 3/4 inch high on the left side. After I get finished with my motor rebuild, I’ll get serious about figuring out the deck issue. Thanks, Fellas. Mark add air pressure to the right rear tire 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hacksawhero123 351 #7 Posted May 12, 2019 Hahahahaha. Thanks. I did that, but my OCD demands that I fix the real problem 😂. Mark Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wallfish 16,985 #8 Posted May 12, 2019 Just mentioning it because different tire pressure in each rear tire will certainly cause that exact issue and it can be the proper fix. Sometimes people don't notice if one is slow leaking or never check them. Or, if the tires are different manufacturers. They may read the same size but the actual measurements of them can be quite different. I wasn't try'n to be smart a$$. (at least this time) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hacksawhero123 351 #9 Posted May 12, 2019 I had that exact thing happen on an old Snapper. Different brand tires of same size nomenclature that were almost an inch different in height. Don’t worry, Wallfish. I have a fine appreciation of smarta$$. Mark Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oliver2-44 9,695 #11 Posted May 13, 2019 (edited) I fought with my 42" deck for awhile and decided it was sprung. I disassembled it,took it to a friends shop that had a heavy plate steel table, 2 rose buds and a paint job and it cuts great. It turned out the complete deck wasn't really sprung, but the flat areas where the spindles mount were not level and true to each other any more. Of course the new red paint was what really made the difference! Edited May 13, 2019 by oliver2-44 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hacksawhero123 351 #12 Posted May 13, 2019 That might be an option, Oliver Mark Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
posifour11 723 #13 Posted May 13, 2019 Forget his name, but a guy had one built out of heavy stainless. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tunahead72 2,411 #14 Posted May 13, 2019 Brian maybe, @buckrancher ? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
posifour11 723 #15 Posted May 13, 2019 4 minutes ago, tunahead72 said: Brian maybe, @buckrancher ? That's who I was thinking of. Now that I think about it, there was a leatherneck that had one done back in the 70's, too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
