Oren wrote the following:
I pile them up into a large compost pile. It may be 5 feet tall at the end of summer, but by spring, it is down to about 3 feet tall. The bottom of the pile has the blackest, richest soil that can be easily shoveled out like it was the soil that Billy Mays used to tout the Awesome Auger. :-)
Hmm, Mulching does not work in our climate. It'll never decompse. If one uses mulching mower all the time on our lawn, soon s/he'll realize the grass is being destroyed by extreme choking. We have to dethatch our lawn every spring.
To follow up on this thread, I learned a lot, summarized as:
- It cuts better when/if you sharpen the blade
- Sharpen the blade off the lawnmower; balance it before putting it back
In the end, I bought a new blade from Sears ($15) but only because I was also ordering a new plastic intake manifold and screws which were snapped in half by my idiotic attempt at prying up the flywheel while banging down on the crankshaft. NEVER DO THAT!
Nothing is gonna happen except aluminum and plastic stuff under the engine will break. The part that broke is #50 (intake manifold, Sears PN 497465) and #54 (intake manifold screw) on page 36 of this 40-page pdf (half of which is in Spanish).
If you ever have to remove a flywheel like the one in my Craftsman 21" push mower 917.388853 with a Briggs and Stratton 6.5HP 123K02-0444-E1 engine, simply tap the two holes in the flywheel with a 1/4 x 20 tap, and use a harmonic balancer puller and voila, the flywheel will come off.
Resist the tempatation to pry (you'll only break stuff) and bang on the crankshaft (what's that gonna do anyway; the crankshaft isn't going to move down?????).
When I pick up a screw extractor set, I'll remove the broken bolt; and when the new intake manifold arrives, it will come with a new blade which will solve my dilemma once and for all!
Thanks for all your advice; you guys are wonderful!
What is your climate? You don't have earthworms?
The blades on my mulching Toro have almost no lift compared to my bagging Snapper.
There are many kinds of "mulching blades. Some have 2 blades, one 1/2" higher than the other. Some have a downward forcing "fan" blade in the center to kick the grass around more under the mower, and maybe force it down into the grass. My toro is just a flat blade with the back corner bent up a tiny bit. One Toro I've used had plastic lumps under the deck like "waves" to force the cut grass back down.
Sure, takes a few minutes and cuts better, cleaner. Most times I just take a file and do it in place. Same number of swipes on each side to keep it in balance.
Hi, I do sharp blade but not often, maybe once a season or less. When I take blade out for sharpening I also make sure it is in balance. You can feel when blade gets dull, you can even see the clippings how clean they are cut instead of beat up with jagged cut edges. Maybe they are trying to sell more replacement blade, LOL! Any way I don't cut lawn myself any more. Some one else does it but I take care of mower(John Deer, Kawasaki engine)
I do. A dull blade shreds the grass instead of cutting it clean, stressing the grass more.Just makes a better job. But a "sharp" blade is not sharp like a razor blade. It has a "square edge" if done properly. A razor edgw will curl and nick too easily, and a good square edge cuts grass cleanly. Some people call it a "butter knife" edge.
I do every couple years. Every four years, someone reminds me. Must be sharpen time, this year.
The blades I've seen which were out of balance, will take more than a few file strokes to bring them back.
$100 to $200? Where are you getting those rates? I can take my blade up the street for an $8 sharpen but I can also do it myself which I do.
It's your grass, if you want to have torn grass blades resulting in a diseased lawn and inviting more weeds, go for it. I'll keep mine sharpen for a nicer lawn.
I used to every couple years but got out of the habit. My current blade is about 4 or 5 years old and up until recently seemed to cut ok. I noticed it started leaving a line of grass along the edge and isn't vacuuming as well as it used to. I looked at the blade and it looks like it's lost about 1" of length from each end so I ordered a new blade. It's supposed to be a 21" inch blade but it's only about
18.5" total length now.
Yep, I sharpen mine about every other year, at the same time that I change the oil. It makes a noticeable difference in the ability of the engine to cut the grass.
Jon
No, the sand here polishes a good edge on them and every season or so you buy new ones. (but look sometimes they are ready to eject a tip a bit sooner) This is a year
It may have bladeoporosis.
When I got my new-used electric mower, I intended to sharpen the blade, but was in a hurry to mow the lawn and I put the blade on without sharpening or balancing.
There's no noticeable vibration, but 2 to 5 times each time I mow the lawn, it leaves a strip uncut, tapered up to an inch or two wide. I'll go over the strip again but usually it's still not cut. Sometimes a third time gets it. Sometimes I just figure I'll get it next time.
The kind of grass is the same as the grass next to it that got cut the first time.
OTOH, when it does cut, there are no ragged edges.
So what is going on?
I sharpen the blades a bit while it's on the mower. Makes a big difference.
I knew I needed to order new blades, because they were bent. I can't unbend them myself. Last week caught up on manhole cover out back. Busted blade mount on rider. Been there before. Found cheap entire kit for $63. Two of everything plus belts.
Other rider leaked gas into oil last year. Engine pretty much gone. Oh I guess I go to scrap. Got good use out of that used mower or 8 years. Lots of stumps, roots, branches, etc.
Tried to start larger mower brother gave me last summer. Wiring mess on that. Got to jump start solenoid. Not sucking gas. Tried priming fuel pump. Runs ok on that for a while. Still needs work. My grass is growing.
Waiting for parts. Got 3 push mowers. I'll wait.
Greg
I take them off and sharpen on a bench grinder. With all the trees and shrubs about my yard dropping twigs they get nicked and dull quickly. Makes a noticible difference in performance and looks much neater, no brown sheen on top from being ripped off rather than cleanly cut.
John
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