removing disc blades

[troweller]

just got a great old rusty offset disc that needs a rebuild. how do I get the blades off.

 

[bucmeister]

The ones I have dealt with it was just a matter of using a heavy enough wrench and long enough cheater pipe to get the nut off of the axle then unstacking the components like you would remove shiskabob from a stick. Did have to use a piece of hard oak to wedge the blade to keep it from spinning.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

just got a great old rusty offset disc that needs a rebuild. how do I get the blades off.

BIG honkin' impact wrench and heat (via acetylene torch) to nut is one good way. Hold axle with big pipe wrench.

 

[hans2]

That old steel may surprise you. The disc I have stood outside in Wisconsin snow etc. for who knows how long and when I needed to remove the shaft to reweld a disc the shaft nut came right off. I was amazed but that it not the first time old steel has been nice to me.

 

[BTDT]

Sometimes it is easier to just burn it off with torch (quicker), replace discs, and install new nut. When working on dirt equipment with wear, rust, etc, this has been my experience.

 

[troweller]

If you burn the nut off, wont that ruin the axle? Where would I get new discs? local tractor shop or online. It's a sweet disc, 4 foot offset drag disc with hydraulic lift with hollow metal wheels. 6 discs per axle. I want to put new 22"s on it, some are still big, but some are worn down to 17". Is it worth getting new bearings. Also hydraulic cylinder is leaking, is it worth repairing or replacing. Essentially this disc is a pile of scrap, but i want to fix it up.

 

[bucmeister]

Burning the nut off will not necessarily damage the axle, honestly it depends on the skill of the operator. Lot of times the heat used with make the nut swell faster than the axle and give enough slack to start the nut turning. I was instructed to heat and use bees wax on a frozen plug one time, couple of heat/cool cycles got the wax into the threads and viola.

 

[BTDT]

If you have a need for the disc, I would fix it. You can get seals and repair kit for cyl. for probably 10 bucks or less. I would try to get nut off first with a wrench, but if it is taking too long, my thinking is just cut it off and go back with new nut. You can cut majority of nut off, on both sides, and try to loosen that way, once you get close to threads, as nut glows red, you just ease cut toward shaft and it will just "wash" off. Just keep cut off of axle threads. You can practice with a nut and bolt before actually trying on axle. Tractor Supply will probably have discs and bearings. If not parts house may have bearings and seals. Good luck.

 

[flusher]

just got a great old rusty offset disc that needs a rebuild. how do I get the blades off.

Try the easy way first.
Use PB Blaster on the nuts and other parts rusted together.
Let the liquid soak for 10-15 minutes.
Hit the nut or whatever a few stout whacks with a hammer.
Then get your wrenches and cheater bars and apply the muscle.

Got the rusted 15/16" nuts off the fender bolts of my 1966 MF-135 that way with only a moderate amount of force on the cheater.

 

[bucmeister]

Another option would be to grind the nut down on two sides just barely to the htreads. May be more time consuming, but no excess heat.