Export thread

Have so many leaves, I hate to mow them over with a mulching push mower. Made this deck block off plate from aluminum stock, you cannot see the "L" brackets, but they are slotted so I can adjust the distance between plate and deck opening. The pic of the leaves shows how well it will keep them in the deck to be chopped up with the plate fully shut, and in the position shown, partly open, my once detested 7-Iron deck does a much better job of chopping up DRY grass than it formerly did, because the plate keeps most of the clippings inside the deck where the Gator blades can chop them up better, when it formerly blew all the grass out the chute before chopping it up. It still windrows, but nowhere as bad as it used to.

Nice job jd,always nice to see people make,create ,fab their own ideas and make something happen.not much raking to do now.

I have been thinking about getting a OCDC for my Hopper.

jd--looks good, I might add that I have been using a similar setup on my mowers for many years. I took a little different approach in that mine will swing up for two reasons. One reason being the ability to blow my driveway with plate swung up and the other is to scatter leaves or grass after "windrow".
I mow my lawn in a clockwise fashion and always have a single windrow of grass or leaves in the center:thumbsup:
Cutting this way means you are recutting the windrow and moving it over.
I sometimes rake the leaves or grass into piles and use for mulch:thumbsup:

Giles said:

I mow my lawn in a clockwise fashion and always have a single windrow of grass or leaves in the center:thumbsup:
Cutting this way means you are recutting the windrow and moving it over.

Click to expand...

That's exactly how I do it. I have a 34" JD Model 68 rear engine rider that I've installed a home made mulching plate on and mowing clockwise I'm always cutting up the windrow left at the chute. The only time there's a problem is when the grass isn't dry enough or I've left it too long. Then it just drops clumps randomly everywhere. I used to alternately mow clockwise and counterclockwise, but I now have a 30" Honda RER that I use every other time going CCW without a mulching plate that throws the clippings to the outside.

oldyellr said:

That's exactly how I do it. I have a 34" JD Model 68 rear engine rider that I've installed a home made mulching plate on and mowing clockwise I'm always cutting up the windrow left at the chute. The only time there's a problem is when the grass isn't dry enough or I've left it too long. Then it just drops clumps randomly everywhere. I used to alternately mow clockwise and counterclockwise, but I now have a 30" Honda RER that I use every other time going CCW without a mulching plate that throws the clippings to the outside.

Click to expand...

My biggest single mowing area is an acre and a half that has my barn, garden shed, and garden in the rough center, I begin in the center by the barn and mow in ever-widening circles so the grass gets cut and recut over and over.

Oh, should have mentioned, I would prefer to bag these leaves up with my mulcher pusher and put them on my garden plot, but they are BLACK WALNUT TREE leaves, which contain a chemical (juglone) in the roots of the tree, the buds, and the nut hulls and leaves which are highly toxic to many garden plants. They say the leaves contain the chemical but it will break down after several weeks. I do not want to find out the hard way if that is true.

I might add that I have tried three different type blades.--Gator, High Lift, and standard blades. To my surprise the regular blades do a better job.:thumbsup:
I think deck design plays a big role with any machine and some blades work better then others.
I have tried three different type blades on both my Gravely G16 with 50" deck and on my Wheel Horse C175 with 48".
Same results with both machines:smile:

I have run doubles with a mulch kit on my 48" mower, it chews the heck out of leaves and small twigs.

Here is the one I would like to get for my largest mower.

Sammy the Red said:

I have run doubles with a mulch kit on my 48" mower, it chews the heck out of leaves and small twigs.

Click to expand...

What are you referring to as "doubles"??

Giles said:

What are you referring to as "doubles"??

Click to expand...

2 blades per spindle in a + pattern. High lift on top, regular lift on the bottom.

Sammy the Red said:

Here is the one I would like to get for my largest mower.

Click to expand...

OCDC
after all our fancy and expensive OCDC got broken and fail - simple piece of of rubber, hey-wire and banjee does the job for years ...

cost-0; maintenance-0; take all the hits possible; damage -0; newer on the way, as if it isn't there

Thanks, DH....I have a lot of spare rubber stall mat sections lying around...that method is an EXCELLENT idea, I made my plate and brackets out of aluminum so if they hit the blade there would be no damage...but rubber is ever better....THANKS !!!!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Sammy the Red said:

2 blades per spindle in a + pattern. High lift on top, regular lift on the bottom.

Click to expand...

How is that possible? I have never seen a spindle that had a flange long enough to stack two blades, the concept seems very practical, but I have never seen it used anyplace. Seems to me blade balance would be even more critical if you stacked two blades.

JDgreen said:

How is that possible? I have never seen a spindle that had a flange long enough to stack two blades, the concept seems very practical, but I have never seen it used anyplace. Seems to me blade balance would be even more critical if you stacked two blades.

Click to expand...

I checked the length of the bolt for amount of thread engagement, saw it had plenty and put extra blade on. Check the balance of all blades with a round shank screwdriver.

Sammy the Red said:

I checked the length of the bolt for amount of thread engagement, saw it had plenty and put extra blade on. Check the balance of all blades with a round shank screwdriver.

Click to expand...

Not sure what equipment you are using it on, but every mower I have owned has a flange at the bottom of the spindle that is only long enough for a single blade. Did you pin or weld the blades together or add bracketry that would keep them in the proper + shape?

Your concept is really unique, tell us where you got the idea and show us a picture if you can, but first go get a patent application so nobody steals your idea...wonder why it isn't used commercially?

The flange at the bottom of the spindle that holds the blade will vary, depending on the mower. On the ones I have, the flange is round and flat and I could probably mount 2 blades on each spindle in an "X" with a long enough bolt.

Sammy the Red said:

I checked the length of the bolt for amount of thread engagement, saw it had plenty and put extra blade on. Check the balance of all blades with a round shank screwdriver.

Click to expand...

I could do this on any of my commercial decks. There is no flange and bolt is plenty long enough. But talking wit some others. Thoughts are if the blades are not exactly perpendicular it would shake and destroy the spindles

Parkmower said:

Thoughts are if the blades are not exactly perpendicular it would shake and destroy the spindles

Click to expand...

Nope. Just so each blade is balanced. Blades also need to be straight, or there will be dynamic unbalance, if that's what you mean. Also, two unbalanced blades will shake more than just one.

Do you know why it is slotted?