So I decided to tear into that deck first. Pulled off the cover and found a mess inside:
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Got that cleaned up a little:
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Removing these hangers presented a problem. Once I got them loosened up a little, the carriage bolt wanted to start spinning in its hole. That can't be good. So I found I could grab them with the tips of a vise-grip and hold them while I got the rusty nuts off.
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Then it came down to the spindles. I didn't have big enough wrenches to break these nuts. Standard 1/2" drive sockets and an adjustable wrench wouldn't do the trick. The blades were junk anyway, so I decided to break out the side grinder with a cutting wheel. I wanted to get that frozen center spindle out first. So I cut the blade off so I could get it through the hole, then cut the nuts off the spindle mount. Here it is after surgery:
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I needs more tools. So today I went to my Dad's shed (he passed away last year) and picked up his 6" vise, as well as some bigger wrenches. Once I get this vise mounted, I'll be able to clamp this spindle in and torque on it.
I'm considering picking up a sandblaster. It's something I've never done but have wanted to learn. But I called a local pro the other day and he said $40 for a mower deck. I think I might take it to him, and maybe acquire a small sandblaster for myself for the smaller stuff. Although, I've taken keen interest in the threads I've read about electrolytic cleaning. I picked up some metal rod from Dad's shed to build one. I'll experiment with it a little and post the progress here.