| Chances are if you live in a rural area, your mower gets used for cutting more than perfect manicured lawns. Mowers used this way tend to hit rocks and roots getting dings that run fairly deep and can lead to balancing problems when you sharpen it. As you grind or file these surfaces, especially on the side that has the largest dings, you may find the blade becoming unbalanced. This will cause premature failure of either the spindle it mounts on or even the mower deck due to excessive vibration. To sharpen them, use a low speed grinder and slowly take off material on both sides as evenly as possible. Cool the blade frequently to keep the metal from softening. To monitor how evenly you are removing the material, hang the blade by its center hole on a nail pounded into a wall and see which side is heavier. You will know the heavy side since it will tend to go down. Take off extra material on the side that is heavier until the blade hangs perfectly parallel to the ground. Chris, from WA, entered 1999-12-12 |
