And it mows quite well . The belts need to be replaced , but they work
well enough to see that my weedeater is going to get a lot less usage from
now on .

--
Snag

"Terry Coombs" fired this volley in
:

And it mows quite well . The belts need to be replaced , but they
work
well enough to see that my weedeater is going to get a lot less usage
from now on .


Yeah, but do all three blades cut in the same plane? I've seen new mowers
that couldn't do that! (distinct, individual blade paths visible in the
cut-width)

Lloyd

Lloyd E. Sponenburgh wrote:
"Terry Coombs" fired this volley in
:

And it mows quite well . The belts need to be replaced , but they
work
well enough to see that my weedeater is going to get a lot less usage
from now on .


Yeah, but do all three blades cut in the same plane? I've seen new
mowers that couldn't do that! (distinct, individual blade paths
visible in the cut-width)

Lloyd

Yup , they seem to be all in the same plane as far as I can tell . Not as
smooth as a putting green , but then the area I tested it on was the power
line easement , grass and weeds/wildflowers were between knee and waist high
.. I need to sharpen and balance the blades , there's a little vibration .
I'm on totally new ground here , my previous mower experience is a 22" cut
single blade u-push-it unit . A guy could easily get spoiled by a machine
like this ...
BTW , for those that were discussing leveling the deck - This deck rides
on wheels , with rollers at center front and rear to (I think) help stop
scalping . There is no way to level the deck other than to adjust the lift
links for side/side leveling . I'll be looking at an online manual for
information on how it's supposed to be set up .
--
Snag

On Sat, 16 May 2015 17:30:50 -0500, "Lloyd E. Sponenburgh"
lloydspinsidemindspring.com wrote:

"Terry Coombs" fired this volley in
:

And it mows quite well . The belts need to be replaced , but they
work
well enough to see that my weedeater is going to get a lot less usage
from now on .


Yeah, but do all three blades cut in the same plane? I've seen new mowers
that couldn't do that! (distinct, individual blade paths visible in the
cut-width)

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

--
Vidi, Vici, Veni

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

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 .
Why is it that wives don't understand the drive to finish a project while
you're focused on it ?
--
Snag

"Terry Coombs" wrote in message
...
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 .
Why is it that wives don't understand the drive to finish a project
while you're focused on it ?
--
Snag

The front/rear tilt adjustment on mine is the opposing nuts on the
threaded horizontal rods leading to the forward attachment point.

The deck suspension is a four bar linkage whose geometry may not be
easy to understand.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-bar_linkage

-jsw

On Sat, 16 May 2015 22:25:11 -0500
"Terry Coombs" wrote:

snip
BTW , for those that were discussing leveling the deck - This deck rides
on wheels , with rollers at center front and rear to (I think) help stop
scalping . There is no way to level the deck other than to adjust the lift
links for side/side leveling . I'll be looking at an online manual for
information on how it's supposed to be set up .

The wheels are like safety bumpers. During normal use they shouldn't be
touching the ground.

The lift links are indeed how you level from side to side. Usually
there are some sort of threaded rod/couplers used in the front hook up
that are adjusted for the front to back height.

John Deere's manuals are hard to come by for free. They want you to PAY
for everything you get from them...

I put this together for a neighbor's machine, newer than yours:

http://www.iserv.net/~lfisk/Manual-Owners.pdf

Download and save it. Maybe it is enough like yours to get you on the
right track. I'll be removing it as soon as you say you have it...

--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email

On Sun, 17 May 2015 06:33:48 -0500, "Lloyd E. Sponenburgh"
lloydspinsidemindspring.com 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.

Perzactly. One has to buy the thicker "pro" blades to keep them from
bending on the first gopher mound or tree root the deck hits. The
resultant non-vibrating deck is a wonder to behold. shakes head


The decks are stamped, and seldom
rigid enough to maintain alignment in any circumstances, even just shipping
from factory-to-customer.

Heathen! You forget that the lighter weight decks are cheaper and
easier to ship and pull around, saving five to ten molecules of CO2
over their short lifetimes. Greenies everywhere love them. sigh

--
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)

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.


Why is it that wives don't understand the drive to finish a project while
you're focused on it ?

Maybe because they have literally dozens of other projects lined up
waiting for you?

--
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)

On 05/17/2015 7:32 AM, Leon Fisk wrote:
....

John Deere's manuals are hard to come by for free. They want you to PAY
for everything you get from them...
....

I've _never_ had the Deere dealer refuse information or copies of
pertinent sections of shop manuals or whatever gratis. A whole new user
manual for a used machine bought privately and no relationship
whatsoever with a dealership would be something else, though...

--

On Sun, 17 May 2015 08:01:37 -0500
dpb wrote:

On 05/17/2015 7:32 AM, Leon Fisk wrote:
...

John Deere's manuals are hard to come by for free. They want you to PAY
for everything you get from them...
...

I've _never_ had the Deere dealer refuse information or copies of
pertinent sections of shop manuals or whatever gratis. A whole new user
manual for a used machine bought privately and no relationship
whatsoever with a dealership would be something else, though...

How many big green farm machines you got there? ;-)

Scag, ExMark, Poulan, Husqvarna, MTD... Owners, service, parts...
manuals are all easy to find online in pdf form and can be had for the
price of downloading.

My neighbor has an old John Deere A and now an old John Deere Lawn
Tractor. I've looked for manuals/info online. You won't find diddly
squat for them other than parts and those aren't easy to read. He
looked himself and couldn't find anything of use to him. The newer stuff
you can get as individual pages if you look hard enough. Nothing
suitable for keeping locally or printing out though unless you work at
it. Just saying...

--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email

On Sun, 17 May 2015 09:19:45 -0400, Leon Fisk
wrote:

On Sun, 17 May 2015 08:01:37 -0500
dpb wrote:

On 05/17/2015 7:32 AM, Leon Fisk wrote:
...

John Deere's manuals are hard to come by for free. They want you to PAY
for everything you get from them...
...

I've _never_ had the Deere dealer refuse information or copies of
pertinent sections of shop manuals or whatever gratis. A whole new user
manual for a used machine bought privately and no relationship
whatsoever with a dealership would be something else, though...

How many big green farm machines you got there? ;-)

Scag, ExMark, Poulan, Husqvarna, MTD... Owners, service, parts...
manuals are all easy to find online in pdf form and can be had for the
price of downloading.

My neighbor has an old John Deere A and now an old John Deere Lawn
Tractor. I've looked for manuals/info online. You won't find diddly
squat for them other than parts and those aren't easy to read. He
looked himself and couldn't find anything of use to him. The newer stuff
you can get as individual pages if you look hard enough. Nothing
suitable for keeping locally or printing out though unless you work at
it. Just saying...

They get two arms and a leg for their manuals, but if $25 - $30 sounds
better, Select Manuals has a lot of JD's:

http://www.selectmanuals.com/agricul...e-c-75_76.html

And, believe it or not. Target stores (or Target online, anyway) and
Wal-Mart have some John Deere manuals.

--
Ed Huntress

Leon Fisk wrote:
On Sat, 16 May 2015 22:25:11 -0500
"Terry Coombs" wrote:

snip
BTW , for those that were discussing leveling the deck - This deck
rides on wheels , with rollers at center front and rear to (I think)
help stop scalping . There is no way to level the deck other than to
adjust the lift links for side/side leveling . I'll be looking at an
online manual for information on how it's supposed to be set up .

The wheels are like safety bumpers. During normal use they shouldn't
be touching the ground.

The lift links are indeed how you level from side to side. Usually
there are some sort of threaded rod/couplers used in the front hook up
that are adjusted for the front to back height.

John Deere's manuals are hard to come by for free. They want you to
PAY for everything you get from them...

I put this together for a neighbor's machine, newer than yours:

http://www.iserv.net/~lfisk/Manual-Owners.pdf

Download and save it. Maybe it is enough like yours to get you on the
right track. I'll be removing it as soon as you say you have it...

Downloaded and saved . I'm not sure if it will help , but I'll look thru it
.. THANKS !

--
Snag

On 05/17/2015 8:19 AM, Leon Fisk wrote:
On Sun, 17 May 2015 08:01:37 -0500
wrote:

On 05/17/2015 7:32 AM, Leon Fisk wrote:
...

John Deere's manuals are hard to come by for free. They want you to PAY
for everything you get from them...
...

I've _never_ had the Deere dealer refuse information or copies of
pertinent sections of shop manuals or whatever gratis. A whole new user
manual for a used machine bought privately and no relationship
whatsoever with a dealership would be something else, though...

How many big green farm machines you got there? ;-)

A few...

Scag, ExMark, Poulan, Husqvarna, MTD... Owners, service, parts...
manuals are all easy to find online in pdf form and can be had for the
price of downloading.

My neighbor has an old John Deere A and now an old John Deere Lawn
Tractor. I've looked for manuals/info online. You won't find diddly
squat for them other than parts and those aren't easy to read. He
looked himself and couldn't find anything of use to him. The newer stuff
you can get as individual pages if you look hard enough. Nothing
suitable for keeping locally or printing out though unless you work at
it. Just saying...

Have you tried just going into the shop? Here they're all there (may
have to dig around a little to drag out the really old stuff, but
Jerry's never failed on anything I've ever asked about including the ole
112 lawn tractor that's somewhere in the early '60s vintage...of course,
I do have the original owner's manuals on everything here (plus some for
stuff that's been gone for 50 year or more...I stumbled on the book for
the old McCormick 10-20 and the bill of sale for it a few months ago in
a drawer...it had been traded in on the first Farmall 'M' before or
shortly after I was born so I never saw it...

That's not quite as convenient as if all had been scanned and put up as
..pdf doc's if one wants to just sit at the keyboard, granted. I don't
do collector stuff, but I'd've thunk w/ all the collectors there are
that there would be just scads of places for vintage Deere doc's.

But, if you want something that's hard to get and pricey if you do, try
JLG on their manlifts, etc., ... They hold stuff to authorized
dealers only and won't discuss repair/maintenance issues at all with end
users (I suppose for liability reasons). Cost me $150 for a base
maintenance manual that turns out doesn't include hydraulic systems as
well as other subsystems--they're that much more apiece. Deere looks
pretty good in comparison to their shade of orange.

--

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.


Why is it that wives don't understand the drive to finish a project
while you're focused on it ?

Maybe because they have literally dozens of other projects lined up
waiting for you?

No , actually it was her day off and she wanted to "do something" .
Probably wanted me to think up "something to do" too ...

--
Snag

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 .
--
Snag

On Sun, 17 May 2015 10:16:26 -0500, "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.


Why is it that wives don't understand the drive to finish a project
while you're focused on it ?

Maybe because they have literally dozens of other projects lined up
waiting for you?

No , actually it was her day off and she wanted to "do something" .
Probably wanted me to think up "something to do" too ...

So why didn't we hear that you said "OK, hon. Go jump into your Levis
and an old tee and we'll finish this together.", hmm?

--
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)

Larry Jaques wrote:

So why didn't we hear that you said "OK, hon. Go jump into your Levis
and an old tee and we'll finish this together.", hmm?


Maybe because he could finish it faster, without any help?

Michael A. Terrell wrote:
Larry Jaques wrote:

So why didn't we hear that you said "OK, hon. Go jump into your Levis
and an old tee and we'll finish this together.", hmm?


Maybe because he could finish it faster, without any help?

You've met my wife ?

--
Snag

Larry Jaques wrote:
On Sun, 17 May 2015 10:16:26 -0500, "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.


Why is it that wives don't understand the drive to finish a
project while you're focused on it ?

Maybe because they have literally dozens of other projects lined up
waiting for you?

No , actually it was her day off and she wanted to "do something" .
Probably wanted me to think up "something to do" too ...

So why didn't we hear that you said "OK, hon. Go jump into your Levis
and an old tee and we'll finish this together.", hmm?

You don't get it . She expects me to KNOW that she wants something . It
wouldn't be fair if she actually said something ... like "Hey , ya wanna go
to town and get a burger and then hit some of the tourist trap shops on
main?"
"We've enjoyed 25 years of wedded bilss . "
--
Snag
been married 41 ...

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

--
Steve W.

On Sun, 17 May 2015 10:13:17 -0500, dpb wrote:

On 05/17/2015 8:19 AM, Leon Fisk wrote:
On Sun, 17 May 2015 08:01:37 -0500
wrote:

On 05/17/2015 7:32 AM, Leon Fisk wrote:
...

John Deere's manuals are hard to come by for free. They want you to PAY
for everything you get from them...
...

I've _never_ had the Deere dealer refuse information or copies of
pertinent sections of shop manuals or whatever gratis. A whole new user
manual for a used machine bought privately and no relationship
whatsoever with a dealership would be something else, though...

How many big green farm machines you got there? ;-)

A few...

Scag, ExMark, Poulan, Husqvarna, MTD... Owners, service, parts...
manuals are all easy to find online in pdf form and can be had for the
price of downloading.

My neighbor has an old John Deere A and now an old John Deere Lawn
Tractor. I've looked for manuals/info online. You won't find diddly
squat for them other than parts and those aren't easy to read. He
looked himself and couldn't find anything of use to him. The newer stuff
you can get as individual pages if you look hard enough. Nothing
suitable for keeping locally or printing out though unless you work at
it. Just saying...

Have you tried just going into the shop? Here they're all there (may
have to dig around a little to drag out the really old stuff, but
Jerry's never failed on anything I've ever asked about including the ole
112 lawn tractor that's somewhere in the early '60s vintage...of course,
I do have the original owner's manuals on everything here (plus some for
stuff that's been gone for 50 year or more...I stumbled on the book for
the old McCormick 10-20 and the bill of sale for it a few months ago in
a drawer...it had been traded in on the first Farmall 'M' before or
shortly after I was born so I never saw it...

That's not quite as convenient as if all had been scanned and put up as
.pdf doc's if one wants to just sit at the keyboard, granted. I don't
do collector stuff, but I'd've thunk w/ all the collectors there are
that there would be just scads of places for vintage Deere doc's.

But, if you want something that's hard to get and pricey if you do, try
JLG on their manlifts, etc., ... They hold stuff to authorized
dealers only and won't discuss repair/maintenance issues at all with end
users (I suppose for liability reasons). Cost me $150 for a base
maintenance manual that turns out doesn't include hydraulic systems as
well as other subsystems--they're that much more apiece. Deere looks
pretty good in comparison to their shade of orange.


Linde does the same damned thing. Cant find a manual for my forklift
ANYWHERE.

Gunner

On Sun, 17 May 2015 13:29:54 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:


Larry Jaques wrote:

So why didn't we hear that you said "OK, hon. Go jump into your Levis
and an old tee and we'll finish this together.", hmm?


Maybe because he could finish it faster, without any help?

I used to do that..bring out a radio..some sodas, then she would get
bored and leave. Which worked fine for me but it gave her the idea I
cared about her and we "worked together" so she could brag to her
friends

Gunner

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

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 ?

--
Snag

On Sat, 16 May 2015 22:25:11 -0500, "Terry Coombs"
wrote:

Lloyd E. Sponenburgh wrote:
"Terry Coombs" fired this volley in
:

And it mows quite well . The belts need to be replaced , but they
work
well enough to see that my weedeater is going to get a lot less usage
from now on .


Yeah, but do all three blades cut in the same plane? I've seen new
mowers that couldn't do that! (distinct, individual blade paths
visible in the cut-width)

Lloyd

Yup , they seem to be all in the same plane as far as I can tell . Not as
smooth as a putting green , but then the area I tested it on was the power
line easement , grass and weeds/wildflowers were between knee and waist high
. I need to sharpen and balance the blades , there's a little vibration .
I'm on totally new ground here , my previous mower experience is a 22" cut
single blade u-push-it unit . A guy could easily get spoiled by a machine
like this ...
BTW , for those that were discussing leveling the deck - This deck rides
on wheels , with rollers at center front and rear to (I think) help stop
scalping . There is no way to level the deck other than to adjust the lift
links for side/side leveling . I'll be looking at an online manual for
information on how it's supposed to be set up .
Adjust the wheels??

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 .
Why is it that wives don't understand the drive to finish a project while
you're focused on it ?
Because it gets in the way of THEIR agenda!!!

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

snip
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 ?

I'm not familiar with that model Deere. But on my Poulan Pro the knob
sets the cutting height. It works like a stop setting. I can pull the
lift lever back and raise the deck all the way up, but when you release
the lift lever and lower the deck it stops at where the knob is set.
Maybe your 317 works like that too. I also have a little numbered marker
on the opposite side of the lift lever on the pivot. That is suppose to
help with setting it to so many inches. It isn't very accurate. I just
measured the blade height with a ruler and tried for around 3.5 inches.
I'm sure it is set lower right now, probably more like 2.5 to 3 inches
as I've tweaked it off and on.

The wheels on my unit are simply there to keep from scalping stuff when
negotiating uneven terrain. Which my yard has quite a bit of...

--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email

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

It's a JD model 317 of 1982 vintage...
snip

Check this out:

http://public.fotki.com/blazbk/john-...17operato.html

http://public.fotki.com/blazbk/john-...1and48rot.html

http://public.fotki.com/blazbk/john-deere-tractor/

Will take me a day or two but I can try putting the Operator and Mower
deck images all into one pdf file for you if it would help.

--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email

Terry Coombs wrote:

Michael A. Terrell wrote:
Larry Jaques wrote:

So why didn't we hear that you said "OK, hon. Go jump into your Levis
and an old tee and we'll finish this together.", hmm?


Maybe because he could finish it faster, without any help?

You've met my wife ?


I doubt it, but I've met plenty who are like that.

On Sun, 17 May 2015 16:26:49 -0400, wrote:

On Sat, 16 May 2015 22:25:11 -0500, "Terry Coombs"
wrote:

Lloyd E. Sponenburgh wrote:
"Terry Coombs" fired this volley in
:

And it mows quite well . The belts need to be replaced , but they
work
well enough to see that my weedeater is going to get a lot less usage
from now on .


Yeah, but do all three blades cut in the same plane? I've seen new
mowers that couldn't do that! (distinct, individual blade paths
visible in the cut-width)

Lloyd

Yup , they seem to be all in the same plane as far as I can tell . Not as
smooth as a putting green , but then the area I tested it on was the power
line easement , grass and weeds/wildflowers were between knee and waist high
. I need to sharpen and balance the blades , there's a little vibration .
I'm on totally new ground here , my previous mower experience is a 22" cut
single blade u-push-it unit . A guy could easily get spoiled by a machine
like this ...
BTW , for those that were discussing leveling the deck - This deck rides
on wheels , with rollers at center front and rear to (I think) help stop
scalping . There is no way to level the deck other than to adjust the lift
links for side/side leveling . I'll be looking at an online manual for
information on how it's supposed to be set up .
Adjust the wheels??

It didn't look like they had any adjustment there. Wheels are for
anti-scalping, anyway.

My Murray deck has slotted area on the back bracketsand wingnuts for
setting overall height range and leveling. I cut a couple pieces of
tubasix the height I liked, rolled the mower onto the driveway, and
set them under the deck, then loosened/tightened those adjuster nuts.
Bingo, instant set! Those blocks live in the pump house, so they
don't get lost. The front mount pair is sort of a floating bracket
which hangs from the mower frame. I think the rear adjusters move the
deck a bit front to back, then allow it to hang flat and self-level,
for the most part. It seems to work pretty well.

--
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)

On Sun, 17 May 2015 13:29:54 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:


Larry Jaques wrote:

So why didn't we hear that you said "OK, hon. Go jump into your Levis
and an old tee and we'll finish this together.", hmm?


Maybe because he could finish it faster, without any help?

Yabbut, that didn't get her off his back, now did it?

--
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)

On Sun, 17 May 2015 13:40:27 -0500, "Terry Coombs"
wrote:

Larry Jaques wrote:
On Sun, 17 May 2015 10:16:26 -0500, "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.


Why is it that wives don't understand the drive to finish a
project while you're focused on it ?

Maybe because they have literally dozens of other projects lined up
waiting for you?

No , actually it was her day off and she wanted to "do something" .
Probably wanted me to think up "something to do" too ...

So why didn't we hear that you said "OK, hon. Go jump into your Levis
and an old tee and we'll finish this together.", hmm?

You don't get it . She expects me to KNOW that she wants something . It
wouldn't be fair if she actually said something ... like "Hey , ya wanna go

Which is why women should come with instructions...


to town and get a burger and then hit some of the tourist trap shops on
main?"
"We've enjoyed 25 years of wedded bilss . "

I've enjoyed 61 years of unwedded bliss so far, and I'm the happiest
when listening to these stories y'all tell, knowwhatImean,Vern?

--
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)

Larry Jaques wrote:

On Sun, 17 May 2015 13:29:54 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:


Larry Jaques wrote:

So why didn't we hear that you said "OK, hon. Go jump into your Levis
and an old tee and we'll finish this together.", hmm?


Maybe because he could finish it faster, without any help?

Yabbut, that didn't get her off his back, now did it?


How do you know? Were you there, peeking in the window? ;-)

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


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?


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)

On Sun, 17 May 2015 16:28:13 -0400, 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 .
Why is it that wives don't understand the drive to finish a project while
you're focused on it ?

Because it gets in the way of THEIR agenda!!!

Which they (and we) _also_ do not understand.

--
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)

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

It's a JD model 317 of 1982 vintage...
snip

Check this out:

http://public.fotki.com/blazbk/john-...17operato.html

http://public.fotki.com/blazbk/john-...1and48rot.html

http://public.fotki.com/blazbk/john-deere-tractor/

Will take me a day or two but I can try putting the Operator and Mower
deck images all into one pdf file for you if it would help.

The second one was what I've been looking for , it's now bookmarked - I
already had the first one . Thank you !

--
Snag

On Sun, 17 May 2015 15:30:04 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

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

Steve W. wrote:
snip
The 1/4" lower in front is to cut down on any drag,

_Drag_, at 4mph? giggle

snip

Yeah, drag of the blade on the grass. If the front is higher, it'll
still do most of the cutting, but the rest of the blade will gradually
try to reduce the height that last little bit, increasing the load and
giving a raggedy beat up cut.

Pete Keillor wrote:
On Sun, 17 May 2015 15:30:04 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

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

Steve W. wrote:
snip
The 1/4" lower in front is to cut down on any drag,

_Drag_, at 4mph? giggle

snip

Yeah, drag of the blade on the grass. If the front is higher, it'll
still do most of the cutting, but the rest of the blade will gradually
try to reduce the height that last little bit, increasing the load and
giving a raggedy beat up cut.

Actually in this case it's only 1/8" - according to the directions
specific to this deck . My thanks to Leon Fisk for finding and posting the
link to the model 48 setup and user manual . I learned how it's supposed to
be set up , and how to accomplish the proper alignment .
As others have said , the wheels aren't supposed to touch during normal
operation . I didn't know that - and apparently neither did the last guy
that ran this deck .
I also found out that the throttle is supposed to be ran wide open during
cutting operations , which kinda makes sense . Higher blade speed should
give a cleaner cut . New bearings for the 2 outboard spindles are on order ,
there was detectable play in them . Center spindle bearings were tight and
smooth , apparently have been replaced already . That should clear up the
slight vibration . I have a feeling that now my wife is going to want a
"lawn" ... she thinks the area I was using for testing looks much better
than when I use the weedeater .
--
Snag

On Sun, 17 May 2015 18:25:38 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:


Larry Jaques wrote:

On Sun, 17 May 2015 13:29:54 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:


Larry Jaques wrote:

So why didn't we hear that you said "OK, hon. Go jump into your Levis
and an old tee and we'll finish this together.", hmm?


Maybe because he could finish it faster, without any help?

Yabbut, that didn't get her off his back, now did it?


How do you know? Were you there, peeking in the window? ;-)

With my special spidey sense (bachelorhood), I can track the poor
married guys' conditions and know how this inevitably plays out. I've
also heard the lamentations on it almost daily for decade upon decade,
y'know? But, nooooo, you guys keep chasing them until they catch you.
Sest lavvy.

--
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)