Mowing hardfacing blades on finish mower?

accordionman · Jun 20, 2002

i have sharpened the blades so many times, i will have to buy new ones soon.
would it be practical to hardface the cutting edges on these blades. the blades
seem to be very soft, and the cutting edges appear to be bent back in places,
from possibly hitting a rock. if so what type of rod would you recommend.
i know they make different types, because years ago i used some on
the tines on a tiller, and it is still going strong. any suggestion will be appreciated.
accordionman
william l. brown

Bud · Jun 20, 2002

William, I hard surfaced the blades on my Power King with studite back in 1973. They stay sharp, but they chip. I think I'll do that to the blades on my Kubota when they get ground down a ways. The big problem is grinding off the excess material, it's very hard.
Bud

accordionman · Jun 21, 2002

BUD,
did you make a pass on the top of the cutting edge, or did you
do the top, and the bottom of the cutting edge?
thanks for the reply.
accordionman
william l. brown

Bud · Jun 21, 2002

William,
When I put the hard rod on the blades I took all of the taper off of the blades then put the hard rod on. No matter how hard you try you are going to have some grinding to do, And a good hard rod will be hard to clean up. When I did my blades I took them to work and used a heavy grinder with a 3 1/2" X 24" wheel. When I do it on my Kubota I'll use an angle grinder to clean them up. When you finish the edges don't make them hollow ground. That makes the edge weak and more prone to chipping.
Bud

smthng2do · Jun 22, 2002

Don't you think hard facing a finish mower blade is hard on the jackshafts? I mean, you are not only adding more weight to the blade, but there is no way your going to get a nice edge "and" a balanced blade. With the blades being out of balance, your going to put stress on the spindle bearings, and probably wear it out long before they should. I wouldn't think much about it on a rear mower, where the blades sling around, not as much to worry about there as far as balance is concerned, or finish cutting, however, I think for the cost of the new blades, it seems economical, not to mention that it takes forever to reface the blades when hardened. Cost ya more for the stones to flatten out the edge. I think the blade kit for a 60" MMM on a BX is a K5371-34330, and it's right around 14 bucks. And I think that's the kit.....all 3 blades! If not, even 14 bucks each wouldn't be bad.

Anonymous Poster · Jun 22, 2002

My two cents: do not hardface the blade. You may cause them to become brittle and therefore they MAY shatter. I tried this some 25 years ago on Power Harrow teeth. Was done by a professional company. It was a disaster.
You may also cause the blades to no longer be balanced. And this means trouble for bearings and for spindles. Last, it MAY cause the blades to not be as shart and thus causing some effect on mowing clean.

Seems like you are having some bad blades or you may have to mow higher since you MAY be scalping in abrasive circumstances.

Considered other brand blades ?
Let us know your brand and I may be able to steer you in the right direction for better quality blades at less cost.

All this applies unless you sell welding rods. OOPS !

Bud · Jun 22, 2002

I guess I better watch out for the spindle bearings to go on the Power King mower. ( I don't have jackshafts). The blades were hard surfaced in 1973 and still going. All I ever did was grease the spindle bearings, never even thought about anything going wrong. If you have enough money to have your dealer sharpen your blades, stick around and see how he balances them.
Bud

accordionman · Jun 23, 2002

REFERENCE TO,
this is a pull behind LANDPRIDE mower, and i have removed a bit of weight off the
cutting edge by grinding it. so if i added a bit of weight by hardsurfacing the cutting
edge, do you think it would matter? i had a suggestion from a friend who said buy a
set of carbide blades, i did not know these were made. carbide is very hard to grind,
and requires a special wheel. i use what is called a "green wheel" to grind cutting tools
for my machines, but carbide can also be ground with a diamond wheel, but these are
very pricey.
accordionman
william l. brown

chim · Jun 23, 2002

My first tractor was a Cub Loboy 154 w/ a MMM. The blades needed to be replaced, and when I went to the dealer, he asked if I wanted "regular or hardfaced". I got the hardfaced. They could be sharpened with the 4-1/2" angle grinder, but they did take longer to do than the unfaced blades.....................chim