new finish mower: pto shaft too long

Money Pit

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finish mower i got w hile back pto shaft hooks up fine without the orc using the orc it is about 2 inches too long. seems pretty obvious the shaft needs to get shortened. both halves get shortened the same amount? meaning if i want 2 inches shorter each section gets cut back 2 inches? inner half of the shaft is solid; probaly no easy way to do this? and it has the guard installed too so i can clamp on the guard but it wont hold the shaft still.

thanks.
 
Yep need to cut both pieces and the easy way is with a chop saw. BTDT many times over the years
 
Some say you do need an orc on a finish mower.
I used mine without and didn't have a problem.
One thing to consider;
If you cut your pto shaft and IF you ever upgraded to a tractor with live PTO then you wont need an orc for anything. And your pto shafts will all be too short.
I went through that when I upgraded and had to buy a new shaft.
May not apply in your case but it's something to think about.
 
I use my finish mower without. When you push in the clutch it might push you a foot versus the six or eight that a rotary mower does. I would mow a couple times without it and see what you think. If you have ever run a rotary mower without one you will think this is nothing.
 
"Yep need to cut both pieces and the easy way is with a chop saw. BTDT many times over the years"

Many versions of modern shielded PTO drivelines do NOT lend themselves to being cut so easily because the outer tube is ROUND and has a short square, rectangular or splined "sleeve" welded at it's end that mated with the other half of the driveshaft.

The "sleeve" may also have a bearing groove for a nylon ring that acts as a bearing for the free-rotating driveline shield.


If these HAVE to be cut, the tube has to be cut off where it is welded to the yoke, then be shortened on that end.

BT,DT. It's nice to have a big lathe, sometimes!

<img src = "http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u125/27Grainfield/N%20Ford/hack_zpsad8d13f1.jpg">
 
thanks for the input; mine isn't like that. both the inner and outer portions flop around looses in the shield. i'll take a closer look before proceeding though.

could i get by without the orc? probably. mowed several times without it already so i know how much i get pushed. but i'm kind of picky about being able to stop when and where i want.

also i like the idea of being able to get the mower up to speed before beginning forward motion. any way to do that without a orc?
 
[i:654c4848f0]"also i like the idea of being able to get the mower up to speed before beginning forward motion. any way to do that without a orc?"
[/i:654c4848f0]

I'm not sure what you mean. ORC or not there is no way to do that without live or independent PTO.
 
only way to cut this type of shaft is to have a shop that builds driveshafts for trucks ect do it for you, one can cut it and reweld the end back on, but you better be a real good welder, chicken poop welding wont cut it here
 
i'll try to describe; i do this with my 8n / bush hog quite often.

tranny in neutral pto engaged clutch released. engage clutch and pto spins bringing mower up to speed. push in clutch and orc does its thing letting the hog freewheel. engage tranny in gear and let clutch out and start mowing.

maybe part of my situation is the design of the finish mower. no gearbox; the pto drives a large pulley which i would think adds to the inertia i need to dissipate when pressing hte clutch in. have lot more moving mass than just 3 mower blades. (woods rm306 mower)
 
(quoted from post at 22:32:52 07/08/14) i'll try to describe; i do this with my 8n / bush hog quite often.

tranny in neutral pto engaged clutch released. engage clutch and pto spins bringing mower up to speed. push in clutch and orc does its thing letting the hog freewheel. engage tranny in gear and let clutch out and start mowing.

maybe part of my situation is the design of the finish mower. no gearbox; the pto drives a large pulley which i would think adds to the inertia i need to dissipate when pressing hte clutch in. have lot more moving mass than just 3 mower blades. (woods rm306 mower)

I do the same on with my mower, works good to get the blades turning before moving forward!
 
On that type I grind the weld off then shorten the pipe part and weld it back together also BTDT many times
 
I had the same issue many years ago when I started using an orc with my Woods RM-59. I just bolted a piece of steel plate where the lift pins on the mower were and I moved the pins 2 inches forward. I had to stretch the top link a little, but it worked great for me for 30 years. I just didn't want to get into the shaft alteration. Also, I used it with my 860 on occasion with the pto hooked directly to the shaft with no problems.
 

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