Grading Bent blade or spindle

[Molerj]

Well, I either bent the blade or the spindle on my 72" MMM. I got on top of a low stump
that the deck went over & kinda hit pretty good the other day. Today I sharpened the
blades & noticed the center is cutting lower. Didn't have alot of time to check things out
before coming to work, but the center blade cutting edge to the side blade cutting edge
is about 1/2 inch off (ouch). Tomorrow if time permits I will remove deck & see where the
problem is. I imagine the center spindle or whatever I'll have to buy is going to be pretty
pricey. Kinda hoping it's the blade, but I doubt it cause I didn't notice anything wrong when
I had it off to sharpen it.

 

[beenthere]

Blades are fairly easy to bend, and I got up on a rock and bent one today. I had it off and sharpened it, and at first didn't think about looking for straightness (he edge at the tip on both ends was buggered up bad). When I was putting it back on, I thought it looked bent. I took it off and set it on a flat surface, and could see then that both ends turned up, when I compared it to a straight one.

Hopefully it is the blade on yours, but it is pretty hard to bend the deck around the spindle. If hard to spot what is wrong, switch the blade with one of the others, and see if it spins better than the one in question.

 

[Molerj]

Thanks, Hopefully your right. I think I'll take the blade off first & check it before I take the
deck off the tractor. One thing I can't stand is to see is the uneven cut when I mow the
lawn. I thought the last time I was able to raise the deck high enough to miss the stump,
but maybe it was a different angle this time. Another item on the never ending list --chop
out the stump over the hill.

 

[Molerj]

Well, I'm a little po'd at myself. Took the blades off & they weren't bent. Put them back
on & other than about 1/8 variation between the center & edge blades they were alright.
What I think I did was when I put the center blade back on I didn't get it centered on the
shoulder of the stud that the blade bolts to. With laying on the ground & reaching under the
deck, I guess I couldn't tell that it wasn't on right. Another lesson learned. I guess that is
better than a bent blade or spindle tho.