Refurb & Refit a 42” Deck Onto a 30” Dixon Mower and Improve Cutting Performance Too!

[C. Livingstone]

Here’s a little something to share with WeldingWeb members, as it was a recent fun and functional project in many ways. And there’s undoubtedly something in there for a welder, fabricator, lawn enthusiast, or small engine modder to enjoy, I think.

I’ll include a link to the video that I’ve uploaded to my non-commercial YouTube Channel, but will also include some photos in a series of posts, and in an effort not to incur any “quoted” and therefore redundant postings of a long series of photos that tend to make a thread seem unnecessarily bloated, and to also save time for people who don’t seem to have as much extra time, as the video is not short.

Here's some before-and-after pics:



Here’s how I describe the project in the text description at YouTube:

“Christian Livingstone demonstrates or describes virtually all of the steps taken to effectively install a larger deck onto riding mowers designed for smaller decks, while still being able to utilize, in this case, the same motor, by including a higher-compression cylinder head and an additional performance modification, while also making changes in pulley sizes to reach a happy so-called medium between faster blade speed and higher torque from the motor, thereby giving even better mower cutting performance than before, which provides most of the rationale he gives for doing a project like this. Refurbishment and preservation of the deck body is outlined. Bearings and spindle sets are shown in their refurbishment, along with their upgraded longevity via zerk fitting installation and removal of bearing inner seals, as well as methods of deck parts procurement from tax-free sources. Refitting and relocating hangers and improvement of other mechanisms are demonstrated by using compression springs rather than tension springs. Some TIG welding of deck parts on both mild steel and aluminum fabrication of a pulley guard from diamond plate are also demonstrated. Christian goes off on one related tangent regarding a quick modification and mounting of a 12 volt spreader to the mower in the front, rather than the rear. Two customer properties are used as staging and testing grounds while using a mower-mounted Action Video Cam, which includes overviews of lawn cutting techniques and strategy too. Of course, with this being somewhat of lengthy video demonstration lasting about 77 minutes, Christian’s humor, enthusiasm, and a few traces of his anti-Statist, anti-Extortion, or anti-Coercion views are also heard. Wheeeee!”

[C. Livingstone]

Gee, the series of photo posts from yesterday seem to have been deleted from the thread, along with the nice feedback from a few members.

So, I'll post them here again.

Here's some welding clips taken from the video.

[C. Livingstone]

Here's some refurb/refit clips.

[C. Livingstone]

Here's how cool a Mobius Action Cam can be in capturing "action".

[C. Livingstone]

Here's a little on that related spreader mod tangent.

[C. Livingstone]

Here's some pics of final output and performance while mulching.

[C. Livingstone]

Here's a couple on the performance mods.

[C. Livingstone]

Gee, I guess I accidentally made two threads for this project yesterday, and the other one with the photos and feedback is still intact.

http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php...erformance-Too

So, any moderator please feel free to delete this one. But I'll add the cover photo here too, as someone may only this thread, and that photo tells it all, so-to-speak.

[SHW&F]

I have a 1986 Dixon 30 them old Dixon's are great mowers

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[C. Livingstone]

Gee,

This thread doesn't have the link to the video, as the other does. Here it is: