How would you slice thru a welding bead?

[Davefr]

I lost one of my JD mower deck attachment hooks. The good news is that a seller on Ebay sells replacement bracket assemblies. (apparently the original JD design was pretty weak) .

I need to slice off all the remaining hook so the face is flush for the new bracket.

I could try a Portaband, Hacksall or Sawsall but I'm afraid the blades might not be up to the task of slicing thru weld.

I'm leaning towards using a 4-1/2" angle grinder and then grind the remaining weld remnants flush.

How would you slice this off as neatly as possible?

 

[PCustoms]

Grinder with cutoff disk.

 

[PugetDude]

Grinder with cutoff disk.

^^+1^^

 

[The Cobbler]

yes, angle grinder with a thin cut off wheel . clean it up with a flap disc and you're set to weld the new one on

 

[toplessHO]

faceshield,goggles leather apron and gloves
its no joke when one of those grinding discs comes apart

 

[Git]

faceshield,goggles leather apron and gloves
its no joke when one of those Harbor Freight grinding discs comes apart

Fixed it for you

One place not to go cheap is on cut off discs. I always buy name brand - usually Makita

But ya, grinder with a cut-off disc

 

[beater74]

8000 posts and you cant figure this out?

 

[gnpenning]

Grinder as mentioned and ppe as noted. Castration is possible. Be careful how you staddle it. Had a cutting wheel come apart and ventilate my arm.

 

[PugetDude]

Fixed it for you

One place not to go cheap is on cut off discs. I always buy name brand - usually Makita

But ya, grinder with a cut-off disc

I've never had a Pferd disc come apart.

 

[dadsEH]

What's wrong with welding the old bit back on.?

 

[dutchgray]

I've never had a Pferd disc come apart.

I have never had any disc come apart, don't use cheap discs. Still want to use the PPE though and keep the guard on the grinder.
Saw a 12" disc come apart once, makes you learn to keep out of the firing line when others are cutting stuff.

 

[matt_i]

I think the ship has sailed but if you put back on the original piece and placed a piece of flat bar (just throwing out 1" x 1/4") that would basically be parallel to the plane of the grass, weld to the deck and weld to the hangers on both ends, you'd have it fixed. Looks like they have a cantilever long enough that the base material can't handle at the root.

Imo two steps would probably be necessary. Cut off the bracket as close as possible then metal-finish the stub and fillet welds back to smooth with a flap wheel. All with the angle grinder. I use a Metabo and its "metal slicer" wheels. Its a fearsome tool. Once I found a tin chip of hot metal that had melted into one of the lenses of my glasses...face shield is best.

 

[Davefr]

Thanks for all the replies. And yes, I'm going to take PPE very seriously.

What's wrong with welding the old bit back on.?

1. I don't weld
2. It's a poor design and prone to metal fatigue/stress/vibration.
3. I'd have to straighten out/clean up that old hook.
4. The back of that area has rust.

 

[BD1]

Thanks for all the replies. And yes, I'm going to take PPE very seriously.



1. I don't weld
2. It's a poor design and prone to metal fatigue/stress/vibration.
3. I'd have to straighten out/clean up that old hook.
4. The back of that area has rust.

If you are gonna do the bolt on, I would make up a full size backing plate. As long as there is clearance for the blades. Make a matching plate for backside and sandwich mower front in between. That will definitely help with any rusty spots. You could even make it larger as room permits.


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[Davefr]

If you are gonna do the bolt on, I would make up a full size backing plate. As long as there is clearance for the blades. Make a matching plate for backside and sandwich mower front in between. That will definitely help with any rusty spots. You could even make it larger as room permits.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks,

"Great minds think alike". I was planning to do just that!

 

[PugetDude]

Thanks for all the replies. And yes, I'm going to take PPE very seriously.



1. I don't weld
2. It's a poor design and prone to metal fatigue/stress/vibration.
3. I'd have to straighten out/clean up that old hook.
4. The back of that area has rust.

Dave, if I was closer, we'd have an enjoyable hour in the shop straightening the bracket, welding it up and adding a brace or two...

Probably a dozen GJ'ers around you that would be happy to help!

 

[Davefr]

Dave, if I was closer, we'd have an enjoyable hour in the shop straightening the bracket, welding it up and adding a brace or two...

Probably a dozen GJ'ers around you that would be happy to help!

Thanks. I'm up and running again. That Ebay bracket repair kit was a godsend and appears to be very well fabricated. Slicing off the remaining hook was pretty easy but grinding the remaining weld bead flush with the surface took some time.

I did form a 3" X 36" steel bar as a backing plate to the inner front of the deck.

After 30 years the underside of the deck still looked OK except for where the hook broke off. It turns out this deck had a anti blowout kit from the factory. As near as I can tell it's only purpose was a shelf to hold in moist grass clumpage to promote rust. I removed it.

I also did the 3 part POR 15 treatment process to the underside of the deck. We'll see how it holds up over time.

John Deere still sells the 54" mower deck's bare shell for a mere $2500!! At that price they should be stainless steel.

Hope to buy some time with this deck.

 

[PugetDude]

Looks good.
Happy mowing!