Craftsman Tractor Blades

[BoylermanCT]

The offset blades are the only one Oregon has for a 46 inch deck with the Craftsman star center hole. If anyone knows of different blades, let me know. The Oregon's kept my deck cleaner than any other blades I have used. I used their blade finder tool on the website and bought the one the listed, and in looking at the pic online, it is offset. Maybe I will call them.

 

[Midniteoyl]

The offset blades are the only one Oregon has for a 46 inch deck with the Craftsman star center hole. If anyone knows of different blades, let me know. The Oregon's kept my deck cleaner than any other blades I have used. I used their blade finder tool on the website and bought the one the listed, and in looking at the pic online, it is offset. Maybe I will call them.

Well thats pretty silly.. All of them have 3/16-5/16 offset: https://www.oregonproducts.com/pdfs/OregonBladesByLength.pdf .

Shame, as the G5 version looks pretty good and a good price: G5 Gator Blade 22-7/8" Length / 596-370 , or, Amazon.com : Set of 2, Longer Life 596-37� Gator Fusion G5 3-In-1 Mulching Blades to Replace 4�538�, 5324�538�, 4�31�7, 5324�31�7: Craftsman, Poulan, Husqvarna, Made in USA : Patio, Lawn & Garden

Could you not adjust your deck up another 1/4-5/16"?

 

[BoylermanCT]

I mow at the highest setting already, and the deck is adjusted to be as high as it can go. Its a funny setup from Craftsman. Deck setting 1 and 2 are not usable. Level 3 has the deck scalp wheels on the ground. So I mow at setting 6 which is 4 inches.

 

[dougbthom]

Very interesting! I fooled around for about an hour yesterday trying to get the mower deck, blades etc. as level as I could. What a job that was. My cutting setting is at 4 which I find to be about right and the deck wheels are about an inch off the ground. I set them on level ground ( concrete) at the number 4 setting. I'm waiting for the lawn to dry (lots of rain lately) and then give it a try to see if it cuts better than the other day before I did all the leveling. I also like a dummy sharpened a fairly new set of Oregon blades just slightly but I sharpened the bottom side of the blade. I am picking up a new set of Oregon blades next week as the dealer was sold out of them right now. The last time I cut it looked as though it was missing proper cutting in some spots so I'll have to wait to see if there's an improvement this time.

 

[dougbthom]

After leveling the deck and getting the blades at the proper distance from level ground, 95% of the problem is solved. When I get the new set of Oregon's this coming Monday, I'm sure that all will be good. Thanks for all the input on this forum. I can see that there's lots to learn here .

 

[dougbthom]

Concerning the deck scalp wheels--- The manual says they should be set just off the ground in the cutting position. Do most of you follow this recommendation? At the same setting on each wheel, my wheels are about 1 inch off the ground and the front wheels are slightly higher than the back. I'm still getting some uneven cutting and am wondering if I should be adjusting the wheels slightly higher. I'm not getting any scalping right now at these settings. I have double checked the distance from the bottom of the blades to the ground and both sides appear to be as close as possible. What I did notice is that when I measure the deck itself distance to the ground, one side is a bit higher than the other ( about 1/2 an inch) but the blades are the same distance on each side. Any comments are appreciated.

 

[BoylermanCT]

I have mine at the lowest level possible because I mow at 3.5 inches which is the second highest setting for the deck itself. So my wheels are about 2.5 inches off the ground. The bottom of the wheels are about 1 inch below the edge of the deck. You really shouldn't have the wheels touching the ground very often, only when you drive thru dips and valleys.

Make sure your tires are all at the same pressure. I had a terrible time getting the deck to cut level, and I finally realized it was a tire problem, not a deck problem. If your blades are level but your deck is not, then your spindles are mounted at different heights or at an angle. I would remove them and re-attach them to make sure they are mounted level.

 

[dougbthom]

Thanks so much for your comments. Some of what you said I have done such as checked the tires and they were right on.With your wheels 2.5 inches off the ground, do you not get a lot of scalping? In doing some cutting today, there was some improvement but not where it should be yet. The wheels were touching the ground at most times but just barely touching. I may raise them up a bit as you have. When you are talking about the spindles are you talking about the brackets that you adjust for the wheels? Or are you referring to the rods that actually hold the deck on?

 

[prichard]

The spindles are what your blades mount to and spin on.

 

[dougbthom]

Thanks for your help and info. I will check out that the spindles are mounted correctly and give it a try.