Sharpening and Balancing a Lawn Mower Blade
My dull-dirty-blade
Sharpening and balancing a lawn mower blade was in my future. I needed to sharpen my lawnmower blade. I could tell the blade was so dull. So I pulled the blade off the mower.
Blade-in-vise
In order to work on the blade, I needed to set up my workbench with a vise. The vise would be used to hold the blade for cleaning, sharpening and balancing the blade.
How much grinding
The following method only removes a very small amount of metal to produce a new cut edge. I only remove enough material to get a sharp edge and another small amount of material for balancing.
Related Article: Removing and Installing a lawn mower blade
Related Article:My workbench with vise
Wire-brush cup style
- With the blade off the mower clean the entire surface of the blade. That means top and bottom of the blade. This is done to make sure that the balance of the blade is true. Not dictated by an accumulation of buildup on the blade. I use a scraper to remove the initial buildup and then a cup wire brush on my angle grinder finishes the cleanup job. If you don’t have an angle grinder you can use a hand-powered wire brush or sandpaper/steel wool to get the blade metal clean.
Related Article: Removing Rust from Garden Tools
All Flap Discs at- Amazon.com
- Grinding a new edge on the blade. Using a 60 grit flap sander disc on the angle grinder I can control the material removed with ease. I try to match the angle of the original grind. You know when you have matched the original angle because the shiny grind spot on the blade will be all the way across the original grind edge in one pass. Grind off just enough material to give the blade a sharp edge. Make sure that the cutting edge and the mulching edge are sharpened.
All Files-at-Amazon.com
- A couple of passes using a smooth single cut rectangular file laid flat on the bottom side of the blade will remove the burr from grinding the new edge.
Definition of burr
: a thin ridge or area of roughness produced in cutting or shaping metal
“Burr.” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2017.
Setting Up for Balancing the Blade
Long reach screwdriver-in-vise for blade balancing
- I set up the small long reach screwdriver in the vise in order to balance the blade.
Blade-sharpened-not-balanced
- Hang the blade on the screwdriver and note the angle of the blade when it comes to rest. The lowest side will be the heavy end of the blade. Verify the heavy end by flipping the blade 180 degrees and the heavy end should be the lowest side.
Grind-locations pointed out
- Remove material from the end edge of the heavy side of the blade. Only remove material from the end edge of the blade. Remove a small amount and check the balance and repeat until the blade will stay level on the screwdriver.
Blade-sharp-and-balanced
- When the blade stays level on the screwdriver you have completed sharpening and balancing a lawn mower blade.
Deck-needs-cleaning before installing the blade
- Clean the buildup on the mower deck with a scraper before reinstalling the mower blade.
Please leave a comment if you try this procedure.
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To gain easy access to the part, tilt the mower up until it is exposed. The machine should not be turned all the way over or oil may leak into the cylinder. Squirt some WD-40 on the bolts to loosen them up and make them easier to remove. When removing the bolts, it is crucial to remember the proper placement for them so they can be replaced in the right location.
Hello Juan,
Thank you for the comment. Good catch, these three items are not mentioned in the article Removing and Installing a lawnmower blade. They will certainly make the removal and installation much easier.
RayC