It Must Be Monday....

I have an older model John Deere Shredder. It's missing parts, has cobbled parts, has parts that don't belong on it, etc....

It's beat up, but works.....

I have been trying to get the blade tips (knives) off of it for about 4 years so I can sharpen them properly. It's a small unit and is cramped underneath there. I flipped it up and chained it to a tree when I first got it and sharpened them, but it doesn't flip too well (it's a John Deere, so it doesn't like to cooperate....), so I haven't done it again since.

I knew that the knife bolts would be super tight - they are usually cut off and replaced with the knives....), so I didn't bother with them. Over the past years, I have concentrated on the center bolt of the blade. I have pried, beat, oiled, heated, tugged, cussed out and even sweet talked that bolt for years - to no avail.

Just to clear things up - and avoid false rumors -

YES, I WAS TRYING TO TURN IT THE RIGHT DIRECTION......

It is a normal RH threaded bolt - with fine threads.

The last time I messed with the thing was about a month and a half ago.

This morning, I decide to do some mowing since it was a nice, cool, morning. I fire up the 1949 8N and start to mow. Everything is going along smoothly. I am on the second pass of about 8 when I hear what I THOUGHT was a familiar sound.

Since the drive shaft clutch was shot when I bought the mower, I have replaced it with a "shear bolt" configuration. Every once-in-awhile - a couple times a summer - I shear a bolt. It takes about 1 or 2 minutes to replace.

So, here I am, tooling along, when I hear THAT sound. I look back at the shaft and IT'S STILL SPINNING LIKE NORMAL! No sheared pin! Hmmmmmmm........and the mower is running REAL quiet and smooth.......

I look about 15 feet behind the mower and see the entire blade assembly laying in the grass......

The stupid bolt I have been fighting forever is laying right beside it, uninjured.

APPARENTLY, a combination of oil, beatings, 4 letter words, and vibrations from the knives being out of balance, FINALLY took their toll and caused the bolt to back out.......