I have sandy soil and mow about 100 hours per season. In fall after leafs are done I do a complete service on my ZD and replace the blades.
I am (since the new zero turn.) Oregon precision blade balancing tool. It’s almost too delicate but the end result is ZERO vibrations.Those of you that are sharpening your blades, are you then re-balancing the blades? Any concerns of spindle damage due to running unbalanced blades?
I balance them on a nail inserted through the center-hole. It’s not a dynamic balance…. but it sure stopped my frequent/expensive spindle-failures since I started doing that.I mow my lawns twice a week in season (about 40 minutes). I mow the road side, local public reserve, and another section 2km down the road once every 2-3 weeks, that's about 2 hours of mowing.
The road side has quite a bit of gravel, and sometimes I mow a bit of dirt that I didn't mean to. It's hard on the blades.
I used to sharpen with an angle grinder. The result was reasonably poor. It turns out that removing the blades isn't hard, and the bench grinder does a much better job. I do them probably 3-4 times a season. They're pretty dull when I do them, and in OK shape when I'm done (nothing flash). I never balance them, and never worry about it. The B2601 has a reasonably heavy duty deck, it doesn't seem to vibrate or otherwise have issues.
If I didn't sharpen I'd have to replace the blades quite often.
When I used to sharpen, that was my preferred balance method also. I recently replaced all three spindles at 1500 hrs of use in my dry sandy conditions.I balance them on a nail inserted through the center-hole. It’s not a dynamic balance…. but it sure stopped my frequent/expensive spindle-failures since I started doing that.
I used to do that, then I bought an actual cone balancer. As well as a tool to make sure blades same height which is more so issue with riding mower.I balance them on a nail inserted through the center-hole. It’s not a dynamic balance…. but it sure stopped my frequent/expensive spindle-failures since I started doing that.
I have 2 sets of blades for my mower - I swapped them to take the old ones to get them sharpened then it skipped my mind and never did. Then before the blades in use needed sharpened, I bought the sharpening jig. I have 3 Pieces of equipment with blades that I usually sharpen at least once a year at a cost of $15 each (assuming no inflation), it'll ONLY take me 7 years to recoup the cost of the sharpener jig (in year 2, so only 6 more to go!). As an added bonus, I sharpen some friends blades as well.When they start leaving uneven patches or doesn't cut every blade of grass, and I find it easier and less time consuming to keep a spare set or 2 on hand and take them to someone with a machine to sharpen and balance them, much better blade life and results on my lawn.
Cheers
Samantha
$33 for a new set of 3 (48" deck) blades (I just bought 3 Oregon blades).When they start leaving uneven patches or doesn't cut every blade of grass, and I find it easier and less time consuming to keep a spare set or 2 on hand and take them to someone with a machine to sharpen and balance them, much better blade life and results on my lawn.
Cheers
Samantha
Last time I paid for blades to be sharpened, was set of 3 for 48" mower (2 years ago) and it was $15. Now, it takes about 15 minutes to sharpen 3 including the time to get out the sharpener, clamp in bench vice, get out the angle grinder, install the disk, sharpen the 3 blades, then put it all away.$33 for a new set of 3 (48" deck) blades (I just bought 3 Oregon blades).
How much does sharpening of 3 blades cost?
We have a couple of places here and they both charge about $5.00 per blade.$33 for a new set of 3 (48" deck) blades (I just bought 3 Oregon blades).
How much does sharpening of 3 blades cost?