Mower Blade Sharpening

[Ed Hill]

Here is situation: long time amateur lawn mower, first time Kubota/Land Pride user. Previous mowers were Lawn Boy 2 cycle, so when it came time to sharpen, I turned the mower on it's side, removed the blade and either filed it in a vise or ground it on a wheel.
I now have a Land Pride FDR1648 and though I can see it has three blades, I can't see how to remove them for sharpening. Is there an easy answer to this?

 

[Ed Hill]

No, seriously, there are no dumb questions, just dumb people asking questions!
I see the nut that hold on the blade, but what is the easiest way to get at the underside of the mower? You don't just lie on the ground and reach under, do you?
Vic's advice about checking the radiator was valuable; mine had a "protective coating of fuzz" about a half inch thick. I'll blow that out later. The cup on the end of the air cleaner canister was full of stuff, too.
I suppose I could buy a second tractor with a front end loader, remove the mower, chain it to the loader bucket and pick it up for easier access, but my wife said no to the second tractor, so I wait for advice.

 

[eserv]

Sometimes we do just lay on the ground and reach under! In the shop i lift the mower up with my overhead crane. However you do it be sure it is blocked securely You sure don't want it falling on you!
Ed

 

[Michael]

The fastest and easiest way to sharpen the blades is actually what Vic said and that is remove the deck and use the FEl and lift it by the front and then use a air impact wrench and remove the blades. then sharpen the blade one at a time and then reinstall the blade the same as the other blades.

That is what I do with any mid mount mower. One note of caution is to use a good sturdy tow strap to lift the deck and then lean the mower deck onto a good solid block of wood or a jack stand. Be sure not to trap the drive shaft I generally use a old coat hanger to keep it fully contracted.

The reason I only remove one blade at a time to sharpen is it makes sure that I put the blade on correctly after sharpening it and not upside down, you can pretty well tell I have accidently flipped a blade over in the years I have been working on tractors and mowers OPPsssss......

 

[Ed Hill]

OK, guys, thanks! I have a big wooden frame I can use to lift the deck. One at a time is a good suggestion, too!

 

[KeithBarney]

My B6100 will pick up the Land Pride mower deck by moving the attachment lift lever to the right of the seat with the engine running.

At this point with the deck raised I shut off the engine and stick a floor jack under the FDR1648 deck's dovetail and proceed to loosen the blade bolts.

One trick with the blade bolts is that I take a 2x4 and jam it between the blade and the baffles to keep that blade from turning when I am tightening or loosening.

When I reinstall the blade bolts I use a smidgen of anti-seize compound on the threads.