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Simplicity Gator Mulching Blades


landlord2110

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Yes, they will and they should be cheaper at the link below. By about $4 a blade and shipping as well. I have bought from the people below and had no problems. http://www.smallengineequipmentparts.com/search/site/96642
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Any drill on a true gator blade is not any easy task, I have tried. it can be done with the right equipment. Love Gators they last a long time and are worth the extra $s. I still have one or two sets of gators left hand discharge for the B series. Last I heard they do not make a left hand discharge gator any more.
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I questioned the 1" hole size on another thread, very recently. I was told that was ok. But I never even considered the left-hand discharge. Maybe ok, those blades were for a Simp 48" deck. (good point)
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Yes,96-642 is the gator blade part number. The dimensions are in the link as well and they are on page 80 of the Oregon blade manual in the link below. http://www.oregonproducts.com/pro/pdf/OREGON_BladesByOEM.pdf These won`t need to be drilled. They are the same as I have on my 42" deck. These blades fasten with the two 3/8" mounting holes. The center hole is irrelevant on these blades. The old style 42" blades had a bigger hole in the center to clear the weld on arborshaft. On the new style 42" blades like these the hole is smaller but they ground the weld off of the arborshaft on the newer style decks. Some of the older styles have the weld and some are machined flat. If there is a weld in the way it can be ground flat to the mounting surface. I know the gators are hardened. I put straight blades on my gull wing 48" deck and had to drill the center mounting hole out to 1" diameter. I ended up having to use a carbide drill bit. Went through like butter with the carbide. I wore out a high speed steel drill in short order.
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quote:
Originally posted by MysTiK
I questioned the 1" hole size on another thread, very recently. I was told that was ok. But I never even considered the left-hand discharge. Maybe ok, those blades were for a Simp 48" deck. (good point)
The blade he is looking at has a 3/4" center hole so that it can be used on the newer splined shaft decks as well. The gull wing decks use the 1" center hole in the blade because they went to a different style splined washer. The left hand blades are in the manual above for 48" gull wings and 42" straight blades. Everywhere I look the 48" left hand discharge is NLA. I do know of a website that still has a few sets. I need to get me another set as well but they do show up on ebay from time to time. The last time they stopped making the 48" straight gator they came out the following year with a new part number. So hopefully we will see them again. Were talking about blades that are made for 25 year to 40 year old tractors. If they don`t sell enough to make it worth their while financially they will quit making them.
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Easy to sharpen. Don`t know how you plan to sharpen. I usually use a 4" disc sander or a belt sander. A sharpening usually last me a season. How long - that would depend how often you mow, what you hit, if you have sandy ground and so on alot of variables.
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I use Gators on all my mower. I mow commercial lawns and abandoned properties. My gators last almost twice as long, give or take some. I get 3 or 4 sharpening on as set before it starts to effect the cut. I sharpen them with a mid-size bench grinder or a 4 1/2 angle grinder with no problem. Like any other blade there is no need to get a knife edge point when sharpening, a good 45 degree angle helps as well. Yes this is one of the hardest steel I have ever seen. To this point I have run over and hit some huge obstacles in my work. And these blades show little to no nicks or gashes. I was cleaning up some stored mowers lined up at my dads last month. My brother walked the ground for obstacles and missed the front mule drive for my Wheel horse c120. You have seen them their 15 pounds 2 pulleys and one chunk of steel bigger than a foot ball. I hit this mule drive straight on with my right side blade. Bang and it flew 20' out of the deck. I looked at the mule and there was a 1/2" gash in the 3/8 steel frame. The Gators did not bend or not even a kick in the blade.
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I like to use the lawn sweeper to collect grass clippings for the garden each time I mow. Does the gator blades eliminate those grass clippings?
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Several of my costumers have insisted that I bag there clippings. They have done it that way for years and they want to continue. I don't bag as a rule, What I show anyone that want me to bag is by cut there grass a little higher and with gators the clipping are so small. Even in the heaviest of grass after the cut grass drys and a little wild or a small rain the clipping fall to the ground never to be seen again. For me it works out well and customer is happy as well (most the time). Some just wont change.
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I'm with dhardin on the sharpening and bagging. Sharps to a razor edge will not last, and all you do is wear away more steel to get it. New blades are not that sharp - ever. period. A well shaped strong edge is the thing. But you can experiment and learn if you like. Agree re bagging - some won't change. Mow it tall as you can, or can stand, until you get used to it. It's where it's at. Tall mowed grass is capable of double the photosynthesis - that's excess energy for plant maintenance and root growth. The thatch - mother nature breaks that down. PLUG-Aerate spring and/or fall to deal with excess. Keep it simple. But - "they just won't change". They want it mowed like they think it's a golf green, and they don't know beans about greens either. omg. drive me nuts. lol ANY serious turf school website will tell you to mow it tall, and thatch is good. Excess insulating thatch is bad. So aerate. Mix it in. It's called O.M. (organic matter). Earthworms do it for you also. (you can mow in your leaves also - just more o.m. which is what good soil contains). edit = I sharpen w blade in a vise and an angle grinder. Takes a bit to catch the feel - wear safety gear.
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Hi Ray, I don't have the blade numbers for my Legacy. I will have to try and find them. If I can't find the blade numbers, what information do I need to order the blades (deck size, discharge side, etc)? thanks Rick........
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The blade numbers should be in the Legacy parts manual. The Oregon manual will show the OEM part number that there blades replace. What deck do you have 48" or 60"?
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