Johnjan
New member
What's the best maintenance for a bush hog blade after kicking a few rocks across the pasture? Grinding out the dings or heating and hammering them back into shape?
Bush Hog Blades
- Thread starter Johnjan
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Johnjan said:
I cringe when ever I read a post like your (no offense to you personally!).
NEVER heat a blade. They are very precisely tempered to give a hard crunchy outside and a soft chewy inside. You can very easily make the blade much harder throughout and it will crack - break in two and send 1/2 of it flying out at mach 1 looking for a bus load of orphans and nuns to to crash into. You don't want that.
Just sharpen it with a grinder, but not sharp. leave a 1/16 blunt edge so it will shatter small stumps, keeping them from sprouting back.
good luck!
jb
Johnjan said:
OK, I'll relax. It sounds like you have some metalurgical experience.
I have seen some backyard stuff where blades were "fixed" with a Ox/Ac torch, dipped in a bucket of water to cool quick and put back in service. One blade went thru both sides of a 38" tire - only a couple years old. Nother time the blade tip was never found.
jb
Therein lies the problem, quenching in water will harden the steel, espesh if the material is a high carbon, or high carbon equivalent alloy. There's an inverse relationship between hardness and toughness. Make it hard by heating and quenching and it gets brittle. Heat and let it cool slowly or naturally, and the material gets softer and tougher.
So yes, I have some formal training in metallurgy, just don't get the chance to use it as much as I'd like.
So yes, I have some formal training in metallurgy, just don't get the chance to use it as much as I'd like.
Lockport
Platinum Member
Johnjan said:
Guess I will be grinding mine!