Replacing Disc Blades

[gannman]

i recently purchased a john deere 12' disk. it needs the discs replaced on it and i had an old disc with good discs on it yet. my problem is the old discs have 1" square holes and i need 1 1/8" square holes. i checked with the local machine shop they said they couldn't punch bigger holes in them. does anybody have any ideas how i can accomplish this?
thanks

 

[hudr]

What model disc? I have a 1630 12' JD and a ~20' Massey Model 52.
I had the same problem. I actually bought a bunch of new pans and just eyeballed the shaft (from the truck while driving by on my way to the dealer)instead of measuring. Big mistake as the dealer wouldn't ship the pans back w/o a HUGE restocking fee. I have used a torch to gouge out the holes. The biggest problem w/ disc pans is they are very hard and can get brittle and crack. So far my torching seems to be doing fine.
Also, in the future I will take my late father's advice and always carry a pattern w/ me to the dealer.

 

[art]

Disc blades are heat treated and are not a metal that you can cut with a torch and expect any life after. We once had a customer that thought he would like notched blades and didn't want to buy them so he used his torch to make them notched!!!
We sell a lot of blades as we have good supplier with great pricing not knowing your exact size I'd say your around 20 dollars each new.

 

[gannman]

the model is RWA 12' with a 1 1/8" square shaft, i would like to put 20'' discs on it but might have to use 18". i think i need something like 36 discs. i was thinking about using a die grinder on them or a plasma cutter, or finding someone with some discs i can purchase.

 

[hudr]

Like Art said, I wouldn't torch the cutting edges due to heat treating. I torched mine in the middle, just where the shaft goes through. All the pressure is held by the "cones" that keep the spacing between the pans. These cones contact the pans several inches from the center. I wouldn't think a pan would last long at all cutting on the outside cutting edge. They would probably crack the first time a rock or root was hit.
Your best bet would be getting new pans. I don't know what condition the pans on the other disc are in, but the way I look at it, you have to pretty much take the disc down to its component molecules to put pans on it, might as well be new ones.
And seriously consider new bearings while you're at it.

 

[art]

I know the heavy cutting disc of the JD that you mentioned and it is good cutting disc nice and heavy!


I'd measure the frame on that disc to the frame as I think you might be limited to an 18" blade. Just curious as to the diameter of the blades that you have now. The fronts wear the fastest compared to the rear as they get the brunt of the work hitting everything first! Depending on how much you intend to work this machine would make a difference as to repairs?
To use the disc on an acre of land and having bades that are still 16 inches of diameter I might not be to worried about them.

 

[John Chappelear]

Over the years I have fixed a couple of old discs up to get longer life out of them. There shouldn't be a reason you can't cut a larger center opening to accept a larger shaft. I'm currently building a dump trailer to use on the ranch and just finished using a plasma cutter for the first time. If you have a plasma cutter and a jig/template for end result of 1 1/8" it should be a breeze.
Or the old gas torch will work just as good.

 

[gannman]

thanks for the comments guys, i think i will try the plasma cutter first. i can always buy new discs if this doesn't work. i think a template like John mentioned would be a great idea.

 

[scott_vt]

Afternoon gannman,
Do you have any friends with a machine shop ? It would be pretty simple to set them up on a CNC Bridgeport with a carbide mill to give you the clearance you need for a 1 1/8" square shaft ! You could even have someone take a piece of 1" sq stock and turn one end so you could hold it in the chuck to center each disc. Just a thought !