Mower Deck Spindles

I’ve got a Craftsman mower that I would like to use as a mulching mower. I’ve added the mulching kit which consists of nothing more than a block-off plate. The original blades are completely wrong for mulching. They have too much lift and throw the grass too hard and in the wrong direction. They handle dry leaves well enough, but green grass just ends up in a wad on the right side of the mower. Since it has a five-point star drive on the end of the spindle, I’m stuck with the original blades or Gator Blades which don’t handle grass any better (actually worse). I decided that if I made my own spindles with a round boss, that would significantly increase the selection of blades I had to choose from. I picked out a blade I liked the look of and got some 4140HT, a pair of replacement spindle assemblies and pulleys (so I can keep the originals in case this doesn’t work) and got to work.