This is an album of little projects and fixes for problems that arise. Always try to come up with something that will last and will make things easier to do.
Album by Kevin Foust. 1 - 20 of 20 Total. 1981 Visits.
1 This to me is a pretty cheesy thing done by John Deere. Their mower blade attachment bolt has a thinner than normal head and they even "preround" the corners for you. I thought mine had worn till I went to get new ones and they were the same. I asked the guy at the parts counter why and he sheepishly shrugged his shoulders. Of course it's their own special thread so you are stuck. I busted my knuckles and that was it. Time to end this nonsense. You can see here how it is thinner and rounded than a standard bolt head.
2 You have to use a 6 point socket on it and COMPLETELY clean the edges of all the grass or it will slip off. I just wonder how many people have gotten hurt over this. I'm sorry but this is just stupid Deere.
3 They basically look like this when new.
4 Another close up between a standard and Deere's better idea. I guess they figure they can resell more bolts.
5 The shoulder is part of the bolt.
6 Now to fix it. First up I clean them up on BearTex wheel. Blast cabinet or wire wheel will work great too. Need it clean for welding.
7 Next I get a standard nut (3/8") and align the flats. I pinched it in a bench vise to hold it in place.
8 I double check with a wrench on all 3 sets of flats to make sure it is aligned. Notice I cleaned the threads too so I can put the ground clamp on there.
9 I TIG weld the first flat and roll it over 180 degrees. MIG will work as well but you may want to relieve them some as you want good penetration and strength. The TIG will leave it basically flush and that is why I used it.
10 Once all the flats were done I switched to the MIG welder to weld the top hole where the threads are. I secured one side of the ground clamp in the bench vise and then clamp the threads with the hole up. Makes for easy welding.
11 Try to push the heat down in the middle then swirl up the sides. I've done this style of plug/hole filling enough to get pretty good results.
12 Plenty of flat left and you could build up the sides to have sharp corners but this is good enough for me. Plenty of bite now and even a standard socket will do it with ease.
13 It adds less than a 1/2" hanging down so if you dig into the ground, you have other issues. I don't think it will cause your deck to clog either!
