Tips for blade sharpening, how do ya’ll do it?

S

Skippydiesel

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Sir! You are both a gentleman & a scholar - you flatter me.

"Is this because the Cub has three mowing blades, and the John Deere has just two? What do you think?"
Speculation:
Depends on what you mean by blades.
Two cutting heads will have 4 blades (even if its a single part, each blade has two cutting edges). Three heads, 6 blades.
To give a nice even cut, the cutting arks must overlap slightly - its much easier to achieve this with three cutting heads, than with two.
Assuming the same mowing width for both mowers;
The two cutting heads blades are having to do more work on every rotation than the 3 heads.
Given the better overlap of the 3 heads, you will likly get a better more consistent finish or your lawn.
At a given speed, the three head mower is less likly to get "bogged down"
The Cub may also get away with a slightly less powerful engine.
😈
 
Tool_Maker_Tim

Tool_Maker_Tim

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Sir! You are both a gentleman & a scholar - you flatter me.
I'm not sure about all that, and I only offer praise when it is deserved. Otherwise, I have been accused of being an acerbic *** (I thought only my wife knew me that well)! I do appreciate your kind and thoughtful responses.
As for my lawn tractors, the opposite is true; the Cub is a 23 HP model, and my John Deere is an 18 HP V-twin (but a smooth 18 ponies). As you can probably tell, I like the idea of using my John Deere, but reality dictates that the Cub is my "go-to" machine. I suppose I'm just a slave to fashion! Unfortunately, none of that matters because my Cub has a blown engine. I wasted much energy and angst arguing on this forum (and others) about the life expectancy of the Kohler Courage SV720S engine. To make a short story long, I pulled it into the shed for winter, and the next spring, I've got nothing but mud on my face, and that taste of fried liver and Pepto-Bismol in my mouth! Blown engine! I treat all of my equipment with care, but the Cub's previous owner rode it hard and put it away wet! So, I am looking to either re-power it (I'd love to drop a Predator 22 HP Vertical into it, but the Jackass known as Mr. Schmidt's mentally challenged son as well as the current owner and marketing genius of Harbor Freight Tools, in his infinite wisdom has discontinued all vertical engines except for the 173cc) or rebuild the SV720. I'll most likely make the rebuild my winter project this year. I'll keep you posted on my progress. Good talking with you, Skippydiesel!
 
Tool_Maker_Tim

Tool_Maker_Tim

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Skippydiesel said:
Sorry Stevestd - no idea how Took MakerTims name got attached to your words

You only have to worry about blade balance, when you damage the blade OR sharpen it.
Can only try and avoid damage - S--t happens!
Sharpening is a deliberate choice, that you impose on yourself, for little gain & substantial cost. 😈
Click to expand...
I, by nature, am a kinesthetic learner. A kinesthetic learner is someone who learns best through physical activity and hands-on experiences. Keeping that in mind, the only way that I know to improve on my grinding skills is to grind something......a lot! It's the same way a musician gets to Carnegie Hall.......Practice, practice, practice! Take a piece of like material (Tool steel for tool steel) and grind it. It's not easy, but if you endeavor to persevere, you will improve!
 
Tool_Maker_Tim

Tool_Maker_Tim

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Skippydiesel said:
Sir! You are both a gentleman & a scholar - you flatter me.

"Is this because the Cub has three mowing blades, and the John Deere has just two? What do you think?"
Speculation:
Depends on what you mean by blades.
Two cutting heads will have 4 blades (even if its a single part, each blade has two cutting edges). Three heads, 6 blades.
To give a nice even cut, the cutting arks must overlap slightly - its much easier to achieve this with three cutting heads, than with two.
Assuming the same mowing width for both mowers;
The two cutting heads blades are having to do more work on every rotation than the 3 heads.
Given the better overlap of the 3 heads, you will likly get a better more consistent finish or your lawn.
At a given speed, the three head mower is less likly to get "bogged down"
The Cub may also get away with a slightly less powerful engine.
😈
Click to expand...
The Cub is a 50" cut, and the JD is a 42" cut. Additionally, the cub is rated as a 23 (tired) HP, and the JD is an 18 HP. Both are V-twins.
 
S

SeniorCitizen

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I agree , balance is important and I use my pocket knife and know where center is . You say , how in hell does that ole man know where center is . Work as a jeweler for awhile and you can get to within 0.005" of center . And another thought . I have a antique Crows foot postal scale to weigh each end .
 
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Skippydiesel

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Just being pedantic;

Weight is but one factor in blade balance.
The other factors are "tracking" & weight distribution (base to tip).
  • Tracking means, are all the blase following exactly the same path? This could be effected by damage, blade security, etc
  • Weight distribution - A blade can weigh the same as another yet due to differences in dimension, sharpening technique, damage, etc be out of balance when spinning (dynamic as apposed to static balance)
😈
 
S

SeniorCitizen

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Skippydiesel said:
Just being pedantic;

Weight is but one factor in blade balance.
The other factors are "tracking" & weight distribution (base to tip).
  • Tracking means, are all the blase following exactly the same path? This could be effected by damage, blade security, etc
  • Weight distribution - A blade can weigh the same as another yet due to differences in dimension, sharpening technique, damage, etc be out of balance when spinning (dynamic as apposed to static balance)
😈
Click to expand...
The blade can be balanced that way i i r in Denver .
 
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