44c mower deck hole
 

Hello. I am new here. My shop teacher has a 44c mower deck on her 1811 with a huge piece blown out of it. the piece is missing and it is about 1 foot long. The hole is on the lower part of the shell. I'm talking about the piece around the outside that protects you from the blades. Not sure what this is called. So anyway, I the point i'm trying to get to is; Is there anyone who has experience welding these old decks they could pass on to me.:Thanks:

How about a picture of this problem...??

:TTWWP:

I knew you guys would ask. I could probably get one tomorrow, the deck is at school right now and i'm at home. By the way, like the 782 in your account picture. I really want an 82 series tractor:biggrin2:

here are the pics

WOW!! You weren't kidding when you said "blown out"!!!
It could be fixed with a little patience but the biggest problem I can see is finding enough solid metal remaining to weld to!!

Liable to be a case of "where do you stop" once you get into it.
Considering the location of the missing chunk, this will affect the stability of the whole unit. Just remember, things get pretty violent under there when in operation and any repairs that are made need to be quality.

Myself, I think I would be looking for another deck, at least the shell. Also, whoever makes this repair may incur some liability should it fail and someone was to get injured.

JMHO, But I would stay clear of this one for sure. Just wondering, how long was this thing under water??LOL

yeah, I thought that it probably wasn't worth it. But my shop teacher at school (it's her deck, not mine) wants me to try to weld on it:Unknown:. Thanks for the reply.

I'd bet once you pull the top cover plate off, you'd be looking at a sieve.
I'd sure hate to see you get yourself into a mess here.

Good luck!

That has don't get involved written all over it.:biggrin2: I'd start by pulling the top cover and see what the deck looks like under there, odds are its swiss cheese and will need a ton of repair. I know what your teacher wants put this looks like something that would be better to replace than repair.

thank you everyone for the helpful replies. The metal is pretty thin, the other corner has a bit of rot, and I don't have a lot of welding experience. I think I should stay away from this

That is not from rust - look at the corresponding bolt holes on either side of the hole, along with the paint. Something was bolted on there, such as a vac possibly???

or a custom by cobble craft patch job!!
Very odd place for a vac, 180 degrees opposite from the discharge.

that is not original. There was a piece of rubber screwed in there as a sort of temporary fix. that is what the holes and residue are from. Thanks for the reply though.

I think it is feasable. My 44 had a hole similar in size, with a little bit of welding it should be good as new. I'm not saying full on auto body patch job simply lay metal over the hole and weld it up. Besides the weakest part is the long stretch leading to the discharge chute on the right side. If you opt to not fix it, at least part it out. Spindles, blades, cover, etc. always get saved around here.

And by the way, :Welcome2:

Agreed on the part it out!!

A shop teacher worth their salt should know how to weld!
Personally, I wouldn't touch that repair job for someone other than myself with a 10' welding rod!!

Depends on which shop class. My woodshop teacher couldn't weld (he can now) and my metal shop teacher couldn't make a dovetail.:)

Thank you again for all the helpful replies. I have found a piece of metal that would cover it real nice. The thing is though, the whole deck is pretty thin, and I think I may burn through. I think she at least wants me to try to weld it though. I have another deck question. She also has a 44" lt deck off a 1610. This has a great shell, but the spindles are solid. It looks almost exactly the same, exept the front mounts look different. Has anyone ever mounted one of these to a wide frame gt like an 1811. Btw, she is my woods and metals shop teacher

The lt deck shell will work,change the qa brackets from your 1811 deck,[the holes to bolt them on are already there] the hubs,the deck plate[or cut the lt mounts off if it's in better shape and use it]The biggest difference is the front roller is positioned different,all you need to do is weld a flat strap on top of the lt mount long enough to put the lift eyes for the gt deck in the right place,or remove both roller mounts and weld the gt mount on in the correct position.

:Thanks: I think that would probably be the best thing to do

They're the same shell. Simply lay then next to one another to see what you need to do to make necessary changes.

Can she weld? :bigthink:

Age? :ROTF1:

Why's that? You looking for a gal who can weld? LOL

:GoodLuck:

Why do I think that a metal shop teacher should be able to weld? Strange concept. :bigthink:

That's what I was getting at.

Not sure what the IHCadetCollector was getting at with the age thing.....? :bigthink:

she can weld. She put me in charge of the project, because I have a study hall with nothing better to do and I really like cubs. She has an 1811 and a 1610. I got the 1811 running after fixing an electrical problem and the 1610 sat outside forever with the engine taken out. Someone attempted to restore it and lost interest. The engine is all apart. The small engines class was supposed to fix them, but they never got time. So now she put me in charge of her tractors. Here's a video of the 1811 in action. I am not he one driving it like a maniac, that was a classmate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwCaFRrCLt8

Then she ought to know that thing is beyond repair......

OK, I'm going out on a limb on this one. Can the shell be patched, probably, should you probably not. Maybe just maybe this teacher wants to see just how much talent you have so she is giving you a tough one. I'm only going by the pics you posted so here goes. Cut it back till you find something that has enough meat to work with. Roll a new piece of steel and fit it in then tack it in place. Turn the heat down low enough that you don't just blow holes in it. Go slow with plenty of small welds then clean up and weld it solid but you'll still need to keep the heat down low. Your basically welding a rusted screen. Good luck. :beerchug:

Thank you for the advise, but I am thinking I will just swap out the needed parts into the lt shell. You can't see it in the pic, but the other side of the deck is pretty rotten and the round metal is worn through in small cracks. apparently, someone hit a rock and that is what caused that section to let go