Lawn Mower Balde - Sharpen & Balance

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Question: How do folks on here maintain their lawn-mower blades ?

Recently I wanted to sharpen and rebalance mine (Toro, walk behind).
Problem: The angle was way off from repeated sharpenings and I suspected the balance was off.

I tried balancing using the round shank of a screw-driver / this seemed to work and did repeat.(The nail in the wall method)
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Then I came up with a better idea (after seeing the $100 Balancers on E-Bay).
I bought a small Roller Bearing hoping it would reduce any resistance and turn more freely.
I also bought a Acme Thread Gage which is 30 degrees.
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With the Bearing inserted into the blade and then slide onto screw-driver shank, the balance was now showing as being OFF.
I checked for repeatability and the results were consistant.
I'm more inclined to believe the bearing.
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If anyone is interested, this is what I bought:
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Interesting … What are you doing to balance ? Grind some steel off the heavier side ?
 
Originally Posted by 4WD
Interesting … What are you doing to balance ? Grind some steel off the heavier side ?

Just resharpen and keep checking balance.
It should not take much effort to get acceptable.
Every thing has a tolerance. Mostly I want to confirm there not way off balance.
 
We lay a dowel down and set the blade atop as if making a see-saw.

I like the Oregon cone EricG linked to. It's how the Sunoco station used to balance our tires.
 
Nice idea, but I've found that it's hard to find bearings in most box and hardware stores. Guess that's why you used McMaster?
 
I bought a sharpening and balance kit from Lowes, works well. You just sit it on the bench and center the blade. Grind on the low side of the blade, re-center on the piviot , and repeat. until it sits level.
 
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To be honest … my 42" shakes more since I sharpened the blades … so just went to Sears parts direct for a new pair. Figured with an extra set I'd spend more time to sharpen and balance the offline pair …
 
Nothing as fancy as all that. I alternate passes on the bench grinder What I take off one edge, i take off the other side too. Just like an algebraic equation. Lawn mower blades don't have to be razor sharp. A new blade isn't beveled to a sharp edge. There is a ~32" of blunt edge that starts the cut. I used to sharpen at the start of every season, Now I check the grass. If it is cut cleanly, not ragged or torn, the blade is doing its job and doesn't need sharpening.It is a less is better kind of thing. Any lawn care pros out there? What do you guys do? TIA
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Originally Posted by atikovi
Why balance mower blades?

A blade that's off balance creates more wear & stress on the engine crank & main bearings (or deck bearings), not to mention vibrates the mower apart, makes your hands tingle, etc.
 
Originally Posted by LoneRanger
Mower blades are throw away items now days, like everything else. China.




I use them for years. I have 3 sets for the zero turn. 2 sets of regular blades, that way a sharp set is always ready to swap on. I have a gator mulch set that I use for the last couple of mows of the fall and the first 2-3 mows of the spring.

I use the smallest diameter nail I have to check mine. I check the balance closer on the pushmower since the blade is basically mounted right to the crank.
 
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Originally Posted by EricG
Don't over-think it. Less than $5!

https://www.amazon.com/Oregon-Mower-Blade-Balancer-42-100/dp/B000VYFOJM


My last two lawnmowers did not have a round hole in the blade, it was an irregular shape. I have one of these, but it no longer works.

I pop the blade off every month or so, and hit it with a file. I'm not sure balancing really matters unless it's really unbalanced. But I buy cheap Sears push mowers and just don't worry about it.
 
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