Larry Jaques wrote:
On Sun, 17 May 2015 15:20:53 -0500, "Terry Coombs"
wrote:

Steve W. wrote:
Terry Coombs wrote:
Larry Jaques wrote:
On Sun, 17 May 2015 06:54:50 -0500, "Terry Coombs"
wrote:

Lloyd E. Sponenburgh wrote:
Larry Jaques fired this volley
in :

By design, or after one or more blades hit rocks during the first
mowing?

By LACK of design, is more like it. The decks are stamped, and
seldom rigid enough to maintain alignment in any circumstances,
even just shipping from factory-to-customer.

Lloyd
This deck is nearly an eighth of an inch thick , made back when
quality was a consideration . I'm not sure exactly when it was made
, probably in the 80's . I'm still looking for alignment
information , found a couple of references but no actual
specs/information on what and how . I did find a mention that the
front should be 1/4" lower than the back , but no information on
how to accomplish that .
Spindle or deck itself? That difference right there would be enough
to cause a pattern to show in the mown lawn.

Shoulda done this in one reply ... oh well , what's a few
electrons . I've read in at least 3 places now that the front is supposed
to
be 1/4" lower than the rear . Dunno why . After reading Jim W's post
, I'll look into the adjustments . I wondered why there's a height
adjustment knob down in front of the seat , well now that I know the
wheels aren't supposed to actually support the deck while mowing I
can see how it's supposed to work . Need to get that sheet of
plywood out - as soon as it quits raining and dries out some .
What model tractor? Which style deck?

JD like many other companies made different decks to fit the same
tractors. On my Cub Cadet for instance there is a nice height adjuster
on it, but with a commercial terrain following deck you don't use it.
You set the height of the deck with the wheels.
The deck rides the wheels while it cuts.

The 1/4" lower in front is to cut down on any drag,

_Drag_, at 4mph? giggle

Drag on the blade as it goes through the grass. The tip of the blade
cuts the grass and the rest of the blade is there to support that
cutting edge. With the front of the deck tilted down 1/4" the 1/2 of the
blade that isn't cutting grass doesn't get drug through the grass
slowing the blade down.




the front tip should be the only part of the blade that cuts the grass.

Is Steve talking about canting the spindle in the deck?

The deck itself should tip down 1/4" in the front. This is actually a
common adjustment on better mowing gear.



It's a JD model 317 of 1982 vintage - one of the last ones before they
changed to the pressure lubed motor . The deck is a 46" three blade with
hydraulic lift . This unit has a height control on the floor in front of the
seat , and now I'm confused again . Which do I use to set cut height ? Does
it matter what kind of terrain I'm cutting ? Set it with the knob , and let
the wheels raise the deck as necessary to prevent scalping ?

As I was saying about my Murray, the slots are 3.5" long and I can set
the range that the lever height adjustment works (1-6). With your
hydraulic lift (expensive toy), any adjustment will be for the set
height and the hydraulics will work for adjusting the range up and
down from that base height.

--
When we are planning for posterity, we ought
to remember that virtue is not hereditary.
-- Thomas Paine

(comparing Paine to the current CONgress deep sigh)


--
Steve W.