TripleEDaddy
New Member
I have a Bush hog 306, 6ft cut, with the hay cutting side discharge option, probably from the 60's that needs sheet metal work done to the deck. I was surprised to see how much larger the hole in the deck is than the size of the gear box housing that goes thru it to the blades. It appears at one time a thick square plate was there but so little of it is left I have no idea what it's for or its true shape and hole size it had originally. I looked in Bush hog info and I believe it is a "buck plate assembly clamp plate", part 22 in picture below. It's over $100. The gear box on this thing is suspended above the deck unlike those that are bolted flat to the deck. Perhaps the "buck plate" acts like a collar clamped onto the end of the gear box housing right at the deck to help support and stabilize it. It's been so long without it, I may or may not beef up the hole with additional metal, but am unsure how tight to make the hole around the housing. Mine seems to have had the plate welded to the deck but it wouldn't have been that way originally as it's a replaceable part that appears to clamp onto the housing with nut, washer, and bolt, parts 23 and 24. I noticed not all models use a clamp with the buck plate, so I assume they just rest the housing on it. So, anybody seen this arrangement before and can provide any insight on this would be greatly appreciated.
