Do I actually need a blade balance?

Skippydiesel said:
can beYou got me.

I know what free swinging blades are, not what "Free swinging rotary cutter blades are"??

Please explain.

:devilish:
Click to expand...
Some people call them a bush-hog which is actually a brand name. I think Aussie's call it a slasher. Basically a large mower for cutting rough areas that have blades that can be anywhere between 18-30 inches long and weight 8-12 pounds each.

These are 12 pound blades 1785412027517.png
And an 1 ounce or 28 gram difference will show up as a vibration
 
ILENGINE said:
Some people call them a bush-hog which is actually a brand name. I think Aussie's call it a slasher. Basically a large mower for cutting rough areas that have blades that can be anywhere between 18-30 inches long and weight 8-12 pounds each.

These are 12 pound blades View attachment 74064
And an 1 ounce or 28 gram difference will show up as a vibration
Click to expand...
They are usually mounted on a bar or disc.
 
Hello ILENGINE,

Rotary cutter swing blades like used on field shredders are better off removed and ground and then weighed. If you get the weight withing a couple of ounces on each blade, that is considered balanced.

If the blades are just plain beat to death from rocks, replace them.
 
BackyardBrian said:
Alright so a couple weeks in with the X350 and Im already down the rabbit hole of blade care lol. Cut looked a little uneven last mow and figured its time to pull em, sharpen, put em back.
Watched a bunch of vids and now Im more confused than when I started. Half the guys say just stick a screwdriver through the center hole, eyeball it, if one side dips down grind that side till it sits level. Other half swear you need an actual balancer or the vibration will kill your spindles over time.
Then I came across this blade balancer. Its magnetic, mounts on the wall, you set the blade on the cone and it tells you which side is heavy. Looks way more accurate than the screwdriver trick but part of me wonders if Im overthinkin it for a homeowner rig thats only cuttin 1.5 acres. Or should I just skip the whole sharpen and balance thing and drop a fresh set of blades on instead? Wanna hear what you guys actually do.
Click to expand...
Hello B.,

The balancer you show is far better than any screwdriver or nail "trick" that people try to use. Good blade balance prolongs the spindle bearings lifespan. On a push/ walk behind mower, it reduces operating vibration that is transmitted into the handle of the mower.

Many years ago, when I started out in a small engine shop, all we had was a 16-penny nail hammered into the end of the work bench when the grinder was mounted. It was considered "good enough" back them, but most mower blades were standardized with a simple round hole in the middle.
 
ILENGINE said:
Some people call them a bush-hog which is actually a brand name. I think Aussie's call it a slasher. Basically a large mower for cutting rough areas that have blades that can be anywhere between 18-30 inches long and weight 8-12 pounds each.

These are 12 pound blades View attachment 74064
And an 1 ounce or 28 gram difference will show up as a vibration
Click to expand...
Aaah!

Yes we call this a "slasher". Most often a single head, on occasions two or more. We tend to consider the multi heads as "pastur toppers" used in broad acre (larger areas) .

They are just bigger, much heavier versions, of your push or ride on mower, powered via PTO from a tracter.

I occasionally use a 5 head version, powered by I think an old Internationale 80 hp tractor, for large area mowing.

We also have horizontal shaft "mulchers" in many seizes & duty levels - This is what I thaught you might have been thinking of;
1785494567837.png :devilish:
 
I grew up in a commercial golf course equipment company in the Midwest. At a young age I learned to sharpen rotary blades, This included balancing on a "Magna-Matic" Blade balancer. 60 years later I am still using a Magna-Matic. But apparently the patent has run out and the Chinese have decided to make them. This makes it easier to acquire one as the Magna-Matic was a $100.00. I was taught, "think about it, don't you balance a tire on your car? That always made sense to me and I found 1 in 3 new blades are so out of balance, it would shake your fillings out of you head. Before A.N.S.I., That law that came about because two idiots picked up a push rotary and tried to trim hedges with it and lost fingers, The blades were hard and went as fast as the manufacturer could spin them. Today, blade tip speed is regulated and the blades are so soft that they will not hold an edge for a whole day. In Illinois, blades would last a season even being sharpened regularly. I now live in Florida, on 5 acres and I am happy to get 3 mowings out of a set of homeowner blades( much thinner than commercial rotary blade) before they are completely worn out by the sand. So balancing is as much as a worry. BTW, I also balance the tires on my trailers. Have you ever followed a trailer bouncing and dancing down the interstate .
 
BackyardBrian said:
Alright so a couple weeks in with the X350 and Im already down the rabbit hole of blade care lol. Cut looked a little uneven last mow and figured its time to pull em, sharpen, put em back.
Watched a bunch of vids and now Im more confused than when I started. Half the guys say just stick a screwdriver through the center hole, eyeball it, if one side dips down grind that side till it sits level. Other half swear you need an actual balancer or the vibration will kill your spindles over time.
Then I came across this blade balancer. Its magnetic, mounts on the wall, you set the blade on the cone and it tells you which side is heavy. Looks way more accurate than the screwdriver trick but part of me wonders if Im overthinkin it for a homeowner rig thats only cuttin 1.5 acres. Or should I just skip the whole sharpen and balance thing and drop a fresh set of blades on instead? Wanna hear what you guys actually do.
Click to expand...
I have an X350 as well. One little thing to consider is equal air pressure on the front and back tires. As far as the blades go I just simply replace them when needed-they are not that expensive. I had an X350 prior to the one I have now and I put 1200 hours on it before I bought the one I have now. Fortunately I have had very few problems with uneven cutting.
 
BackyardBrian said:
Alright so a couple weeks in with the X350 and Im already down the rabbit hole of blade care lol. Cut looked a little uneven last mow and figured its time to pull em, sharpen, put em back.
Watched a bunch of vids and now Im more confused than when I started. Half the guys say just stick a screwdriver through the center hole, eyeball it, if one side dips down grind that side till it sits level. Other half swear you need an actual balancer or the vibration will kill your spindles over time.
Then I came across this blade balancer. Its magnetic, mounts on the wall, you set the blade on the cone and it tells you which side is heavy. Looks way more accurate than the screwdriver trick but part of me wonders if Im overthinkin it for a homeowner rig thats only cuttin 1.5 acres. Or should I just skip the whole sharpen and balance thing and drop a fresh set of blades on instead? Wanna hear what you guys actually do.
Click to expand...
Never balanced a blade in my life, and never replaced a bearing or a spindle. Generally start the year with sharp blades, and sharpen once during the year. About 50 hrs. of mowing each year.
 
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