# shaping steel



## cibula11 (Jan 6, 2007)

yesterday I ran over something which bent the front part of my zero turn mower deck. I need to push it back out because the rollers on the deck are scraping the ground. Could I use a propane torch or mapp torch to bend this back out?


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## Tom Struble (Dec 29, 2008)

depends,sometimes the rod that the rollers are attached are hardened


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## Fix'n it (Mar 12, 2012)

lets see a pic. i doubt those heaters will get the metal hot enough. but, you may be able to just hammer it back.


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## cibula11 (Jan 6, 2007)

here's a pic. I have eventually got it bent back up so it's about 3/4" off the ground, but I think it needs to come up a bit more. I used a car jack to push it back out. Not sure if I should torch it or just keep bangin' away.


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## Fix'n it (Mar 12, 2012)

is that cracked ? kind of a bad pic. 

its just regular mild steel, so just bang away. but if it is cracked, it should be welded.


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## Thurman (Feb 9, 2009)

"Most" higher quality mower decks are tempered steel and heating them will make them brittle. It appears you already have a crack in this one. IF you don't want to invest in a new deck--can you say "high dollars ?" this one can be somewhat straightened out. The mounts for the roller will have to be removed, the deck taken off of the mower, the blades taken off, and use some type of anvil, railroad track, something to hammer against to straighten out what you can. As far as welding--a MIG gun would weld this much better then a regular arc welder. The arc welder will get the area of the weld too hot--brittle metal here again. I have saved quite a few this way.


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