50C Mower Deck

[twoton]

Originally Posted by bluesman

.....can I replace the large headed bolt on the belt tensioner with a regular bolt and large washer without an issue?....

Yes.

[bluesman]

Originally Posted by cooperino

Its great that you have a mig. If you have shielding gas, even better. If your using flux core shielded wire, welding this thin a material will be tougher. Either way. Use like thickness material for patching. As an experienced welder I can tell you that welding 2 different gauge materials is much harder than 2 of the same gauge. Also, fresh clean metal always welds better than old and rusty. Wire speed and amperage settings will be key in welding thin gauge material.

Have fun!

Thanks for the tips. I'm looking forward to trying my hand at this. The hold up right now is finding a sandblaster in my area. I do have gas, CO2 and Argon I think.

[bluesman]

Originally Posted by john hall

Rebuilt the 50C under my 1811. Put on pretty much everything new. It was severely pitted in places. Wire brushed and I think I treated with a rust converter (can't remember for sure). I'll run it till it falls apart--should be a while. Been using it 2-3 years so far.

Wow, I hope mine looks that good.

[DavidinTN]

This is my first post, so I hope I get it close to correct. I just recently started restoring some attachments for two 782s my uncle got in the early 80s. Both still run and one we even still use to till our garden. The attachments were a Brinly plow and the deck. They were both practice items as I’m planning to re-do one of 782s next. Fingers crossed they’re some pics in this response...

[Vrobert]

What processes did you use, and would you do anything differently?

I.E. your methods to strip, prep, and paint those rusty attachments.

[Ozcub]

It is amazing what a bit of polish and elbow grease can achieve
Oz

[DavidinTN]

I took everything apart that I could get apart. I used penetrating fluid, an impact wrench, and a torch (for heat, not cutting). On the plow I started removing paint/rust with a braided wire wheel on an angle grinder. In the hard to reach places I used a wire brush on my drill and for the really tight spots a dremel with wire brush like attachments. Then I sanded some places by hand. I cleaned up all the dirt, dust, etc and primed with Rustoleum rusty metal primer then painted. Afterwards I reassembled and touched up some places.

For the deck, I used a random orbital sander to remove the rust and flaky paint. The metal on the deck is so much thinner than on the plow and I didn’t want to scar it with the wire wheel. I sanded quite a bit moving from course to fine grit. Then I followed the same prime and paint process. The deck also required the use of a ton of degreaser. In 40 years the amount of grease that accumulated was incredible.

There are a few things I’d have done differently along the way, but that’s mainly to save some skin on my knuckles. I’m sure someone with more experience could show me some ways to do things better, but I don’t know what they are. I went ahead and replaced the spindles while I had it apart. I’m an accountant by trade, so figuring those out was a little tricky for me.

Also I painted everything with rattle cans. They worked well for the attachments, but I’m planning to uses a spray gun when I start painting tractor parts.

[bluesman]

Originally Posted by DavidinTN

This is my first post, so I hope I get it close to correct. I just recently started restoring some attachments for two 782s my uncle got in the early 80s. Both still run and one we even still use to till our garden. The attachments were a Brinly plow and the deck. They were both practice items as I’m planning to re-do one of 782s next. Fingers crossed they’re some pics in this response...

Wow, great job on the mower deck. Maybe you can answer a question. Is that flange on the front where the height adjusters located supposed to be flat or is there a slight bend in it.? This is what mine looks like.

[twoton]

I just checked a 50 that I have out back and there is no bend.

[twoton]

No bend in the 44 either.