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How important is a fabricated deck over a stamped deck really? All opinions please Jay Stortini

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jay stortini said:

How important is a fabricated deck over a stamped deck really? All opinions please Jay Stortini

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Fabricated decks are inherently a thicker gauge(usually minimum of 10 gauge up to 5gauge), with reinforcements where the spindles are mounted, and will hold up longer than a stamped deck(normally 12gauge/11gauge, and sometimes 10gauge). The fabricated decks also tend to be free-floating and/or chain hung on the upper models versus fixed mounting of stamped decks. I had a John Deere salesman(trying to sell me a $7k ZTR with a stamped deck) tell me that JD had tested and proven that stamped decks gave a more professional cut, but he couldn't answer why the $10k-$12k John Deer ZTR's had a fabricated deck. I think the consensus you will get from most users will be that the design of fabricated decks will allow higher blade tip speeds, create more air flow/lift with their chamber design and therefore will give a more professional cut.

I think the only stamped deck I would consider for a commercial application is John Deere's 7-Iron deck. Its stamped 7 gauge steel. I think they claim the stamped deck allows for better air flow and less grass build up because it gentle curves in it vs. the sharp edges and angles with a fabricated deck.

afoulk said:

I think the only stamped deck I would consider for a commercial application is John Deere's 7-Iron deck. Its stamped 7 gauge steel. I think they claim the stamped deck allows for better air flow and less grass build up because it gentle curves in it vs. the sharp edges and angles with a fabricated deck.

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........... and lower production cost.

MBDiagMan said:

........... and lower production cost.

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Yeah...but can you really justify a $6K-$7K ZTR having a stamped deck???? And it sounds like user afoulk actually bought into the sales pitch by a JD salesman about the "gentle curves in a stamped deck vs. the sharp edges and angles with a fabricated deck". That is almost "verbatim" of what my local JD dealer's saleman told me!!!! Maybe that salesman user afoulk heard that from explained why the top-of-the-line JD ZTR's had those "lousy fabricated decks":0)

No, I heard it in their video promotion on their website:laughing: I was just trying to bring to light John Deere's thinking behind it. Quite frankly, I'm just amazed that there is a press strong enough to stamp out a 7 gauge piece of steel:wink: I think I would still prefer a fabricated deck myself, I think it would make repairing a damaged deck much easier. I have no first hand experience, so I don't know if a stamped 7 guage deck would really be any stronger than a fabricated deck. I do know that if I were shopping residential equipment, I would much rather have a fabricated deck than the cheap, flimsy stamped stuff that comes on most ztr's and lawn tractors.