Mower blade sharpener

[4570Man]

Keep in mind that blade balance is critical, especially on lawnmower blades. Un balanced blades will quickly destroy the spindle bearings. Why I just replace them instead of fiddling with them.

People like to say that and maybe it’s true for homeowner grade mowers. Quality mower spindles last a long time. I’m sure if the blade was a pound out of balance it would be bad but a small amount from sharpening won’t make any difference.

 

[GeneV]

I check mines after sharpening with one of those cone doodads. If it's way off balanced, I'll hit the heavier side again with the flap disc.

A slight off balance is not going to do anything to your spindles. Heck, check a new blade for balance, even those commonly have a slight off balance.

 

[5030]

People like to say that and maybe it’s true for homeowner grade mowers. Quality mower spindles last a long time. I’m sure of the blade was a pound out of balance it would be bad but a small amount from sharpening won’t make any difference.

I take it you don't bother to balance you vehicle tires either. Don't consider my M60 Tank to be a 'homeowner grade ZTR. One thing I did do was I took the spindles apart and removed the inner seals on all the bearings so when I grease them, grease actually gets in the bearings. Never sharpen any blades. Easier for me to replace them.

 

[4570Man]

I take it you don't bother to balance you vehicle tires either. Don't consider my M60 Tank to be a 'homeowner grade ZTR. One thing I did do was I took the spindles apart and removed the inner seals on all the bearings so when I grease them, grease actually gets in the bearings. Never sharpen any blades. Easier for me to replace them.

I don’t sharpen mower blades until they’re a twig but I’ll sharpthem a few times. It takes like 5 minutes to grind them and they’re like $70 for a set. That seems pretty worthwhile to me.

 

[Cycledude]

Tried the flap grinder it’s ok, bench grinder is ok but very easy to mess up the angle, hand file works pretty well and not much chance of messing things up, next year I might try taking the blades to local dealer and see what happens. Once a year sharpening is about all I usually need to do these days, actually sharpened them a few days ago.

 

[5030]

Tried the flap grinder it’s ok, bench grinder is ok but very easy to mess up the angle, hand file works pretty well and not much chance of messing things up, next year I might try taking the blades to local dealer and see what happens. Once a year sharpening is about all I usually need to do these days, actually sharpened them a few days ago.

reminds me of taking chainsaw loops in to be ground, something I quit doing long ago. I grind my own (and others as well) now and I only remove enough tooth to restore the cutting edge.

 

[Cycledude]

reminds me of taking chainsaw loops in to be ground, something I quit doing long ago. I grind my own (and others as well) now and I only remove enough tooth to restore the cutting edge.

New set of blades for my Kubota ZD21 is about $60 , currently have 2 sets but one set is about worn out from sharpening so I’m probably going to buy another new set but might try mulching blades next time.
I’m surprised you were not able to properly sharpen your chainsaw with a hand file.

 

[GeneV]

I use a harbor freight sharpening contraction for the chainsaw chain, works awesome.

Electric Chain Saw Sharpener

Amazing deals on this Electric Chain Saw Sharpener at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

 

[RjCorazza]

Back to the balancing matter...
I balance my blades with a Mag1000 tool, and keep them practically perfect. There is no penalty in keeping blades relatively balanced, and even brand new blades can be unbalanced.

That said, I have never experienced a spindle bearing failure in thousands of hours of commercial use. No failures does not necessarily mean unbalanced blades cause bearing failures though. I suspect the truth is somewhere in the middle, meaning that slightly out of balance blades can cause premature wear and that severely unbalanced blades can cause rapid failure.

 

[5030]

I use a harbor freight sharpening contraction for the chainsaw chain, works awesome.

Electric Chain Saw Sharpener

Amazing deals on this Electric Chain Saw Sharpener at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

Don't consider the HF saw chain sharpener to be an accurate tool plus the non standard wheel diameter precludes the use of CBN wheels which is all I use. When grinding chain, consistent grinding between left and right hand cutters is paramount and the plastic HF grinder is incapable of doing that.

It's cheap compared to say an Oregon (Tecomec) chain grinder but like everything in life, you get what you pay for.