Honest opinions please,

[Clark]

Here is a pic of the new and old blades, keep in mind the old blades have TWO hours on them, cutting (mostly) grass. I am also posting the "monster" stick pic, keep in mind, I'm 5'6" and have small hands (insert joke here), the pic is of me holding the stick. Oh and the other pic is my version of safety first,

So am I right or wrong about the blades? I can take, tell me honestly.

?pic=4ys0vt3?pic=6fet181Thanks again.

Clark notice the Matteuccia struthiopteris in the background?

[Art]

It's fairly obvious that the replacement blades are of better quality. What opinions are you wanting?

[willshak]

on 7/22/2007 4:28 PM Clark said the following:

I like your idea in numbers 3 and 4. I have a come-along and never though of using it to jack the mower to remove the blades for sharpening. I usually just removed the mower housing and then the blades (PITA). Thanks.

[Eggs Zachtly]

[...]

My honest opinion is:

There is a perfectly good, unopened beer wasting away on the bench, and that's serious alcohol abuse.

I was beginning to like you, man. But, now I gotta rethink this whole image-thing...

=P

[Jim]

[....]

[....]

I wonder if lifting from the rear of Clark's mower would work and save the time required for removing the cowling?

I lift mine from the rear.

[Tomes]

"willshak" ...

Me too. I like the lift system, looks easy once it is set up. Gotta have that cross-piece though. I also remove my mower deck to work on the blades, but on my JD it takes me about 2 minutes, easy as cake. You also need to drink that beer. =-) Tomes

[willshak]

on 7/22/2007 11:15 PM Tomes said the following:

My Murray deck takes about 15 minutes to remove, with or without beer. :-)

[NapalmHeart]

I use a floor jack under the front axle of my Cub Cadet.

Ken

[Clark]

The gas tank is on the rear of this unit a is not recommended to jack from there, (gas might get into crankcase I think)

Clark

[Clark]

I was framed!!! Kathy put an unopened beer out before the other was finished.

Clark

[Clark]

Well the part number is the same, the opinion I was looking for was whether or not Sears put sub-standard blades on the mower it shipped.

Clark

[Clark]

Oh and the cowling is one wire and lift out on an agle as the hinge is not fixed. No tools.

Clark

[Tomes]

"Clark" ...

This kind of reminds me of the tires that car companies put on that wear out after 25K miles and then you get a real set that lasts 60K. Yep, it looks like they put on cheap blades. Blades are a consumable. Tomes

[Tomes]

"willshak" ...

On the JD it is turn the deck wheels sideways, lower the deck, pull the J-pins holding up the rear, unhook the front bracket, remove the belt that is now loose and roll it out sideways. That is all there is. Putting it back on takes maybe 3 minutes. What else do you need to do? Tomes

[Clark]

My father told me the same thing, how could this be? my father knew somthing!

Calrk

[willshak]

on 7/23/2007 11:05 AM Tomes said the following:

Lay on the ground. Remove 6 (bobby) pins. 1 for the front hanger rod pin (then pull;the 8" rod out). 4 pins (2 each side) holding torsion rods and hangers (some require the use of pliers because they are not readily accessible to hands), 1 pin for the mower actuator rod. Remove drive belt. Turn the steering wheel to left fully and angle the deck to be able to slide it out between the front and rear wheels, which would not fit if slid straight out. The deck wheels do not swivel.

[Art]

That's not really opinion. I think you proved that, but I still don't get the point. They certainly can improve any part they want and leave it the same part number or assign it a new one. Aren't you glad there is a much better blade available now than what it came with? If the original was the only blade available I could see you raising a stink about the poor quality.

[Clark]

My issue with the blades the mower came with is that they bent and cut into the mower deck within two hours of mowing, and causing the engine to come to a dead stop from full throttle, maybe causing engine damage too.

Clark

[Tomes]

"willshak" om...

Yow. I guess this is what I get for going with the JD. Glad I did. Tomes

[willshak]

on 7/24/2007 10:31 PM Tomes said the following:

I have to do this routine twice a year. Remove the mower deck in the late fall to be able to mount the snowblower attachment, which is even more of a task since the tractor has to be elevated a bit to slide the very heavy snowblower frame under the tractor. Then in the spring, reverse the procedure. I guess the best thing about this (or the worst, however you look at it) is that I have been doing it for about 12 years with the same tractor, mower, and snowblower attachment.