Do You Balance Your Mower Blades

[WranglerX]

Anybody balance their mower blades...

Have a JD L120 mower with three blades in deck (48 inch deck)... I use Oregon blades because I get them for about half the prices of JD blades and the last longer...

I take them off at several times during cutting season to resharpen and reuse because it "country" and rocks and gopher mounds and stoick's seem to take their toll...

But what is good process to balance blades other then buying a $50-200 balancer?

And definitely not going with this one.,..

Stens 75-5 Blade Balancer: Lawn Mower Blades: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

And this little guy does not fit the hole on my blades, one step to small, next step to big...

Dale

 

[Bigfoot62]

Yessir. I put one blade in the middle and one on either side!

No, seriously, I don't balance because I don't grind. I buy new factory blades and run them until they're worn, then replace.
But, if you sharpen blades, then I would recommend balancing. Unbalanced blades are hard on spindles.

Something like this would work: Arnold Sharpener/Balancer at Lowes

It's not as accurate, but a nail or screw driven into the edge of your workbench will get you close.

 

[Bird]

Dale, that looks like the same balancer that I use, but the holes in my blades fit just right on it.

 

[mikester]

These blades wing around at very high speeds I dont believe a manual balance by eyeball is going to make that much of a difference in vibration.

I dont re-balance mine. I just grease the spindles regularly and replace the mower blades every spring. I have sandy soil and the blades get sand blasted paper thin after a season.

I also find that my blades get an uneven coating of a hard crust of pulverized grass and dirt. Id have to sand blast the blades to bare metal each time before rebalancing.

I went with a commercial ZTR because the bearings and spindles are beefier and will take a lot more abuse.

 

[oosik]

I bought my JD G100 mid-mount mower brand new in 2003. I remove the blades every spring. Sharpen & balance. I'm still using the OEM blades. I have a light line scribed in the center of each blade. Hatchet in vice - scribed line is set on hatchet blade.

I cut EVERYTHING that the mower can drive over. Lawn, wild roses, Buck brush, pasture, etc. So far, after 17 years, only had to change oil & filter. OH - I've also had to use Gorilla tape on the seat.

Otherwise - it does just great.

 

[grnspot110]

After sharpening, I stick a small diameter screwdriver through the hole in the blade. Then hold the screwdriver firmly against a door post horizontally, check for balance, then turn the blade 180* & check again.

This is similar to the "nail in the wall" procedure recommended in the older John Deere mower manuals!

 

[3Ts]

I use the same balancer as the OP and the holes in my blades don't fit on the balancer either, so I try to center it by eyeball the best I can and balance it from there. When I lived in a sandy soil area I ended up putting hardfacing on the blades which requires a balance afterward. I got reasonably close but not perfect. The spindles lasted 30 years. I don't sharpen my bushhog cutter and don't balance them, suppose I should. Weighing them is the only way I can think of balancing them, but that's not completely correct. Mass and distance from the axis affects the balance, don't know how to do that with separate blades.

 

[TractorGuy]

I use the little cone shaped thingy but a nail sounds like it would be more better.

 

[hawkeye08]

Yep, nail or knife edge... just try to make sure it is not way off.. especially if I have to grind more on one side due to serious ding in edge... I try and even things up.

 

[JerryK]

I have several of the cone thing, but have done it the other way many times...... I try to remove as much grass coating on the blades as possible. Too early to worry a boot this up heah, still have lots of snow bergs.....