# Cracks in 513 Cutter



## DForal (Jun 30, 2011)

We just bought a house and a JD 790 with 70 loader and 513 cutter conveyed with the house. Yesterday I cleaned up the tractor and noticed cracks in the weld on the back of the 513 cutter (pictures attached). The previous owner attempted to stop the cracks from growing by drilling stress-relief holes at the end, but as you can see, not very successfully.

I'm wondering if I need to address this issue by re-welding. I'm having trouble seeing how these welds see a load, must be a twisting motion of the deck? Any comments are welcome, I'm new to this machine and this lifestyle (although I'm really liking it ). Thanks. Dave


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## Hoodoo Valley (Nov 14, 2006)

That is obvious abuse in my opinion. You need to weld a plate with that angle of bend to it that extends a few or more inches in either direction, or just weld it up again with a nice wide bead and see iif it holds. You might even try welding a couple ribs from underneath or on top to prevent flexing at that point. You should replace that top link with a piece of chain to allow the mower to come up on uneven ground, because I believe this is the root cause. Nice mower and 790 by the way!


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## DForal (Jun 30, 2011)

Thanks for the comments; I prefer your first idea of welding a plate that will tend to strengthen the area.

I don't think I need to use a chain to allow the mower to move with uneven ground; the picture below shows that the configuration is a 4-bar link and it can accommodate uneven ground. The front end of the mower is supported by the two large clevis pins and the rear is supported by the wheel. If the wheel encounters uneven ground, the upper links should be able to move enough to prevent any binding. The configuration shown is with the mower lower than I would use to cut my pasture; with the mower raised to the operating height, the shortest link ("floating" link) will be more "horizontal" and allow more motion before having a chance to interfere. The only interference I can foresee is if the mower is set too low and the wheel encounters a big bump - then the clevis pin (in the bottom hole of the "floating" link) may interfere with the green support bar (the one with the orange warning label). I'll have to keep an eye on it when I use it for the first time. Dave


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