Rotary Cutter Sharpening shredder, bush hog, rotary cutter blades.

[MutzFarm]

At this time of year I may be getting the wagon in front of the horse, but down in South Central TEXAS we have customers already calling wanting their fields cut.

What position is your shredder in when you sharpen blades?
We have two different units. I prefer to stand one on the 3 point and the other on its side.

How do you sharpen your blades?
I just hit them with a grinder trying to follow the same angle / bevel as they come with while extending the cutting edge a pinch more each time I sharpen them.

How often do you sharpen your blades?
If it was just personal use I might say once every other year, but as we do have customers and use are units a lot sometimes it is a s often as every other week. Most of the time every other month.

Do you hold the blade?
We use a board and C clamp to hold the blade in place.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

We call them a brush hog not shredder. Those have gone beyond doing an efficient job. I Inspect periodically and sharpen when the edge gets blunt or chipped. I take them off and clamp in a vise. Grind with a 4 1/2" angle grinder to a less that real sharp edge n(like you are supposed to do with lawn mower blades. I weigh them and grind off extra if necessary to have close to equal weight to assure dynamic balance. Vibration will destroy bearings in the gear box quickly. My manual gives the tolerance for the weights. I have an extra set ready to go and grind the others when I have time.

Ron

 

[mcfarmall]

I remove the blades and clamp them in a vise, then proceed to create a "sharp" edge...any bevel with a 1/16" radius on the edge will do just fine. My cutter is 30 years old with BIG bearings and I've never attempted to balance the blades. Seems like you'd do more gearbox damage striking a rock or fresh tree stump than being a few grams out of balance.

 

[BTDT2]

I sharpen the blades on the tractor. I use the top-n-tilt to raise the bushhog to maximum height and then put heavy duty jack stands under both sides in case the hydraulics leak down. As the previous poster's video indicated I use a board and a c-clamp to restrict movement while I grind the blade back to its original angle. I try not to grind too fast to avoid overheating, and try to use about the same amount of grinding time on both sides to maintain balance. I also inspect for cracks and discard both blades if I find any indication of splitting. If the blades need a lot of work, I will remove them to a vise for grinding and then use a scale for balancing, or buy replacement blades if I think they are too worn.

I lost a friend from being pinned under a bushog while sharpening the blades. Trust me! Farm machinery can, and will kill you, if you don't respect it, always think safety first.

 

[MutzFarm]

Never thought about balancing / weighing them. I see it as if Im taking them off it is getting new ones.

Never thought about the edge chipping off though. I have two units. I do use one for rough cut and rocky country. The other is for the nicer pastures and want an almost manicured look. I believe that rough cut I wont make such a sharp edge any more.

 

[EddieWalker]

Never sharpen any blades. On my bush hog, I run them until the break, then replace them. On my lawn mower, I put a new set of blades on every Spring.

 

[Shaneard]

I have 3 sets for my mower and just switch them out when they need sharpening and sharpen the ones I took off when I get time. The bush hog gets it about once a year and I always take the blades off. Easier to sharpen in a vise and it keeps the bolts from getting hard to take off 5 years later if not removed. If a blade bolt needs replacing then it gets replaced, safety first with how fast they spin!

 

[scdeerslayer]

Take them off, put in vise, sharpen with 7" grinder. Tried sharpening with the blades still on because one of the nuts wouldn't come off, I'll never do that again, much easier to take them off.

 

[Fallon]

I ran mine dull. Sharpening the blades makes for sharp stumps. Sharp stumps make for flat tires. Dull blades make for shattered fuzzy stumps. Still cuts grass & brush just fine.

 

[MESSMAKER]

lift your mower , put some jack stands in place and go at it with a grinder. They work best on brush if only slightly sharp. You don't want a delicate edge. Spend time on the outer 6 inches of the blade. That is where most of the cutting takes place. It will only take about 10 min. total. Don't worry about the balance thing. You would have to really get them out of whack for it to make a difference.