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I have a 2015 Gravely ZT 42. I purchased the mulch kit from gravely that is absolutely worthless because they don't make mulching blades. My clippings are just like they came out of the shoot. Anyway, Gator says they don't make a replacement blade for the ZT 42 which is 14 7/8" long, but they do make a blade that fits the ZT 42 XL which is 14 1/2" long and it looks like the pitch and bend is a little different. Whadda you think? Will they work?

sixtz4me said:

I have a 2015 Gravely ZT 42. I purchased the mulch kit from gravely that is absolutely worthless because they don't make mulching blades. My clippings are just like they came out of the shoot. Anyway, Gator says they don't make a replacement blade for the ZT 42 which is 14 7/8" long, but they do make a blade that fits the ZT 42 XL which is 14 1/2" long and it looks like the pitch and bend is a little different. Whadda you think? Will they work?

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They make the G3 Gator blade in the 14 1/2" It's 2.5" in width and 0.203 in thickness. What size spindle do you have?

sixtz4me said:

I have a 2015 Gravely ZT 42. I purchased the mulch kit from gravely that is absolutely worthless because they don't make mulching blades. My clippings are just like they came out of the shoot. Anyway, Gator says they don't make a replacement blade for the ZT 42 which is 14 7/8" long, but they do make a blade that fits the ZT 42 XL which is 14 1/2" long and it looks like the pitch and bend is a little different. Whadda you think? Will they work?

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The blade for the XL is to short.
Go on the Oregon site and look up blades by size. You will need the size of the center hole as well as the length.

I fit gators to decks they are not made for with mixed success.
Usually I can find one that is the right length but has the wrong step in it.
I have found what works best is to buy the blade for a bigger size of the same deck then cutting them shorter then rebalancing the blades
They must miss each other with a gap of .100" to .250" depending upon the deck.
If there is not enough overlap you will leave a mowhawk when cutting and particularly when turning.
Not enough clearence and the blade will hit each other when you mow as the deck & spindle do flex a little.

Everything I find that is 14 7/8" w/ 5/8" hole is flat..

There is a 14 13/16" w/ 3/8" whole and 5/16" offset Oregon blade, # 98-486, that you could redrill the hole size to 5/8" fairly easily.

http://www.oregonpartsonline.com/oregon-98-486-blade-mtd-14-13-16in-product-number-98-486-oregon/

Midniteoyl said:

Everything I find that is 14 7/8" w/ 5/8" hole is flat..

There is a 14 13/16" w/ 3/8" whole and 5/16" offset Oregon blade, # 98-486, that you could redrill the hole size to 5/8" fairly easily.

http://www.oregonpartsonline.com/oregon-98-486-blade-mtd-14-13-16in-product-number-98-486-oregon/

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You can mill the hole out or you can turn the hole out if you have a 4 jaw chuck but you will not drill the hole out unless you have carbide tipped drills.
Gators are Boron steel and it work hardens real quick.

Much easier to grind off each end than to enlarge the center hole.

Ric said:

They make the G3 Gator blade in the 14 1/2" It's 2.5" in width and 0.203 in thickness. What size spindle do you have?

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The spindle is 5/8...thanks for the replies.

sixtz4me said:

The spindle is 5/8...thanks for the replies.

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Look at the oregon blade # 91-501 here, it's the G3 in the 14 1/2 " that you stated you needed with the 5/8 size.

http://www.oregonproducts.com/pdfs/OregonBladesByLength.pdf

Ric said:

Look at the oregon blade # 91-501 here, it's the G3 in the 14 1/2 " that you stated you needed with the 5/8 size. http://www.oregonproducts.com/pdfs/OregonBladesByLength.pdf

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He needs a 14-7/8 blade.

Carscw said:

He needs a 14-7/8 blade.

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SO look at the 95.058 it's a G3 14 7/8 with a 5/8" hole. Same page.

Ric said:

SO look at the 95.058 it's a G3 14 7/8 with a 5/8" hole. Same page.

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Its still a flat blade, he needs an offset.

Midniteoyl said:

Its still a flat blade, he needs an offset.

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The G3 is a mulching blade with a 0.75 lift. I've used G3 blades for years on residential stuff and they work fine, they leave a good looking cut.

https://www.oregonproducts.com/pdfs/G-SeriesMowerBlades.pdf