marvc, spend another $1.50 and build the diy balancer shown in this forum. it will balance down to 1/8 oz on the star blades.
motoman,
WOW...just read this whole thread and all I can say is I vote for allowing beer at the BALANCE-OFF contest!! The first time I realized that balancing a lawn mower blade was important was right after watching the movie Sling Blade with Billy Bob Thornton:0)
I too began sharpening my lawn tractor blades with the cheap plastic cone balancer. I would use a wire brush, chisel and finally the wire brush on my bench grinder to clean the blade and then balance it as I sharpened it, rotating it on the cone several times to make sure it was good as was possible. I could easily see that this was not a "perfect balancing system"(but of course I didn't know about the less accurate nail method at the time...or the $200 Magna-Matic more accurate balancer). I was one of those that believed the myth that if I didn't do this annually my spindle bearings would be destroyed. But I'm not convinced there is any truth to that. I did, however, notice an improvement in the level of vibration I felt when riding the lawn tractor(or observed/heard in the deck) before/after sharpening & balancing just as mentioned by some other users. Sooooo...even the the cheap diy cone balancers must help "some". I'm still not convince(yet) that it is worth a $200 investment to improve the balancing with a Magna-matic. And I am certain that should I run over someone's head when mowing it's gonna result in a clean & straight cut that would make Billy Bob proud of me:0)
motoman,
WOW...just read this whole thread and all I can say is I vote for allowing beer at the BALANCE-OFF contest!! The first time I realized that balancing a lawn mower blade was important was right after watching the movie Sling Blade with Billy Bob Thornton:0)
I too began sharpening my lawn tractor blades with the cheap plastic cone balancer. I would use a wire brush, chisel and finally the wire brush on my bench grinder to clean the blade and then balance it as I sharpened it, rotating it on the cone several times to make sure it was good as was possible. I could easily see that this was not a "perfect balancing system"(but of course I didn't know about the less accurate nail method at the time...or the $200 Magna-Matic more accurate balancer). I was one of those that believed the myth that if I didn't do this annually my spindle bearings would be destroyed. But I'm not convinced there is any truth to that. I did, however, notice an improvement in the level of vibration I felt when riding the lawn tractor(or observed/heard in the deck) before/after sharpening & balancing just as mentioned by some other users. Sooooo...even the the cheap diy cone balancers must help "some". I'm still not convince(yet) that it is worth a $200 investment to improve the balancing with a Magna-matic. And I am certain that should I run over someone's head when mowing it's gonna result in a clean & straight cut that would make Billy Bob proud of me:0)
I have been clamping mower blades in a vise to sharpen them with files for over 35 years, really, the only "Balancer" you need is a finish nail driven into a wood block. Just hang the blade on the horizontal nail and if the blade is unbalanced the heavy end will be lower. I have NEVER had an unbalanced blade, because by filing you remove so little material from each end the blade usually remains well balanced.
An uneven load will impact balance ... a mower blade during its normal operation will always have an uneven load.
The importance of balancing (mower blades) is Greatly overrated. But, as in most things, if it makes you feel better, or pay closer attention to your maintenance procedures ... by all means do it... :smile:KennyV
...we are changing the dynamic balance, ie left to right,,...