Brush Hog Blade Sharpening

[LD1]

Properly sharpened blades prevents mas extinctions.

Dull blades require more HP
More HP requires more fuel
Burning more fuel causes more pollution
More pollution causes global warming
Global warming causes ice ages
Ice ages causes mass extinctions

 

[Coyote machine]

Yep, dull blades lead to extinction; sharp blades lead to more fun and less extinction.
Who wooda' thunk?:confused3:

 

[tcartwri]

Properly sharpened blades prevents mas extinctions.

Dull blades require more HP
More HP requires more fuel
Burning more fuel causes more pollution
More pollution causes global warming
Global warming causes ice ages
Ice ages causes mass extinctions

Start the weekend early??

 

[100 td]

Follow original sharpening pattern.

They even got it right in the manual!

 

[brown40]

My experience has been, I want as flat a face as possible on the leading edge, with a noticeable edge transitioning to the top & bottom of the blade for finer materials if I want the cut looking its best. Not sharp, but definite shearing points to pinch off flexible material. I see more windrows when it's rounded over/undressed than when sharpened to a trapezoid profile or with new blades. For strictly woody materials and brush I think it'd be a waste of time except to rebalance--the hammering blows them apart. Mine does both though, and I like as nice a finish on the field as I can get, so I touch them up when I look over and see I left stragglers in the grass. Sharpened to an actual edge, like a grass blade, they'd be folded over in minutes in woody material, and leave little punjee sticks for the tires until they got back to a hammering profile. They are wear items...

 

[kcflhrc]

Well, I think we have beaten this to death and got a wide range of responses. Some useful some not so. I think I will hit the nicks with an angle grinder and call it good. Wouldn't want to be responsible for mass extinction. WTF, really? :mur:

 

[MrGiggles]

I hog over 1000 acres of pasture every summer. We have a JD HX15, HX20, and a Bushhog 2615 in the fleet.

The edge on the blade definitely has an affect on cut quality in a pasture setting. The sharper the blade, the better the cut. Good blades and enough horsepower will leave a lawn-mower quality cut, and if you alternate direction they create a nice stripe pattern. Makes for a great looking field.

A flap wheel will never remove enough material on these blades. Using an angle grinder works best with good stones. Grind from the top of the blade, maintaining the factory angle. Try not to grind as much from the bottom side. Have water nearby to cool the blade as you sharpen, when the metal starts to discolor it needs cooling. This is the same procedure you follow while shaping HSS lathe tooling. I also weigh them on a digital scale afterward to achieve better balance.

For those saying the blade isn't supposed to be sharp, go look at a new blade. They look pretty "sharp" to me.

 

[LD1]

The flap wheels I use remove more material faster than hard stones. And much smoother to operate too.

Perhaps you are using 120 or 180 grit flappers instead of 36-40?

 

[MrGiggles]

The flap wheels I use remove more material faster than hard stones. And much smoother to operate too.

Perhaps you are using 120 or 180 grit flappers instead of 36-40?

Could have been. The blades laughed at the wheels I tried. I may try them again next year.

 

[LD1]

Get a good quality 40 grit and you will never use hard wheels again.

Only time I use them is grinding out cracks or welds or anything that requires using the edge, since flappers don't do that well