I ran into trouble with my mower deck, so I rebuilt it; what do you think?

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I have been rebuilding a John Deere garden tractor, and had trouble with an overheated deck belt. I decided to replace it, so when I got it off, it looked like this:

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I found a socket wedged on one pulley, that had caused the stoppage; but when I saw this mess, it had to be repaired!

I stripped off the loose paint and rust, and used some rust converting primer to deal with any rust that didn't come off. Then it looked like this:

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One spindle was rough, so I replaced it with new, filling this empty hole:
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I found a tensioner pulley, and an idler pulley with poor bearings too, so they went also. I added a new belt with Kevlar cording internally.

Then, after several coats of paint; it just needed a little assembly. Then it looks like this:

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Tomorrow, I will remount the deck; and it should be mowing time! So, what do you think of my little rebuild? Think it will work? I'll let you know how it works out.



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26 comments
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Pretty legit transformation! How long did this take?

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About a week, had to wait on rain....

It is Smooth acting, and I bet it will be a lot quieter too!

♡♡♡♡

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It looks like you did a good job, although I'd expect that from a fellow with your skills. 😉

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It's not the skills, its the hard headedness, ROFLOL! That I have in good supply....

Remounting the deck will be a pain, but it is close to fully rebuilt now (not much left that isn't repaired). Looking forward to using it, it has a 1.4 meter wide cut!

My BFF stopped by the homestead to cut down a 75 cm diameter oak tree that died, and it is so hard; that his Echo saw couldn't do the job. I bought a Korean made copy of a Steil saw, so now I get to see how tough it really is!

At least life isn't boring!

:)>

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BTW, do you have a favorite 6.5 Grendel load? I need to fill some brass....

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I only have 6.5 Creedmoor, not 6.5 Grendel so can't help with a load for the latter. Have you got Nick Harvey's reloading manual? If not I can look up the tolerances for you. Let me know.

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Let me check the brass first, looks like my Swedish Mauser brass...might be Creedmore. I wonder if my Swedish dies will fit? Need to look at that, LOL! I have been thinking about making a set of dies from 01 tool steel. When it makes a good round, I can harden and polish it....

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Apologies, it says creedmore on the brass. Looks a lot like my 6.5 Swedish brass....

Ain't life fun?

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Naturally loads depend on many things but here's one that I relied upon:

  • 142gr Sierra HPBT
  • 43.4gr AR2209 (ADI)

In load development (single feeding) I found a nice OAL but it didn't fit the magazine (PMAG) so I ended up running with 2.190" which shot well at 100m and fitted the magazine so I ran with it. It was pushing an MV of 2844 with a ballistic coefficient of 0.301 with the G7 drag model

Please keep in mind it is unlikely you will be able to get ADI powder so these load above will probably not mean much.

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Thanks! I'll try to cross the powder, and I know this load is tuned to your firearm not his. It is a fun place to begin. I'm not even sure if it's a bolt gun yet.

Thanks!

:)>

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It's always nice to have a starting point. If you haven't got Harvey's reloading book let me know. I can look up the tolerances for you. Snapshot the page.

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Thanks, I have reloading references; I just trust you more, LOL! I am 'intolerant' anyway....

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🤣

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I'll try to get close, maybe start at 10% lower powder and work my way up; watching the groupings. What is a good cronograph speed? I may learn something today....

:)>

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Labradar is the only way to go in my opinion.

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Nice toy! I already have a chronogeaph, but maybe someday, LOL.

;)>

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Yeah, the Labradar is a beast. Best I've ever used. I had the Magnetospeed before which was cool but the Labradar craps all over it. Costly though.

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My chrono is repeatible, which implies accuracy; but I have no way to calibrate it. The only problem I have had, is the 300 'breath' pushes it over; unless I space it down range ten feet.

They want $600 for one here, so that will need to wait, LOL!

:'(

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It's not cheap here either. Crikey mate! Lol.

Lucky I have mine already as I'd not spend the money these days.

image.png

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Yup, too many cash priorities right now here too!

But it would be fun. Prepping is taking all my uncommitted funds today. But that did include several pounds of reloading powder, at double normal cost. I found some ballistic points, with good weights and BC numbers. Primers are difficult here, but I put back a few already. Factory ammo is opening up some now locally.

:)>

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I was wondering how the shortages were going. Normalising a little bit by the sounds of it.

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Seems like there never is enough ammo, LOL! But I have saved brass for years, buying more when it is easy; reloading for load development and practice.

Now, reloading is stepping up as the primary source for 'shooting practice' rounds!

:)>

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Looks much better.

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Spins better too! Feels good on the bearings.

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It's looking pretty damn good, brother! Absolutely well done!

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It's getting there for sure! Soon she'll be cutting grass, LOL. It has been an epic battle, but I'm winning!

:)>

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