EZ way to balance a blade

[have_blue]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Pic 2 just shows how I pull my mower blades using a floor jack. )</font>

Syncro,

From what I can see, that mower looks exactly like mine. If it is, it has 7 quick clips holding on the deck. It takes me 2 minutes to pop the clips, and 30 seconds to pull the deck out from under the mower and and flip it over. It's then very easy to remove and sharpen the blade.

I used to jack mine up until I decided to pop the clips one time. It sure saves me a lot of time. Not only that, but it's a lot easier to clean the grass buildup from the deck.

If it's not like mine, well, never mind. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[John_Mc]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( some blades have a star pattern hole which precludes the use of a screwdriver as a fulcrum. The attached pic is a simple and very accurate way to get perfectly balanced blades. I used a 8d nail between vise jaws, this easily fits into any star pattern hole )</font>

You are assuming that one of the lobes of the star is centered... which is not necessarily the case. The lobe can be skewed a bit one way or the other. Even if it were centered along the longer axis, it's definitely not centered along the short axis (it would have to be in the center of the hole for that... which, as others have pointed out, is the point of the cone on the factory made balancers.) With it off the center of the hole, at best you will have a balance with very little sensitivity, since when horizontal more of the weight of the blade is hanging below the lobe of the star you are using for a balance point.

John Mc

 

[Bird]

Sonnie, I certainly don't disagree with your quote from an engineer, if you want "perfect" balance, but I've used the nail (or a very small, round shanked Phillips screwdriver) method for many years with no problem. In my opinion, that method will balance one close enough for a lawnmower, assuming a round arbor hole instead of the star shaped one. Another way I've done it is to lay a smooth straight rod (or again a round shanked screwdriver) on the workbench with the mower blade laid across it. You can roll the rod back and forth until the blade balances on it, and see if it appears that the rod is exactly centered under the hole in the center of the blade at that time.

 

[chim]

That should get it close enough. Heck, if you really could achieve perfect balance, it would only be perfect till a bit more grass built up on the one end of the blade..................chim

 

[Syncro]

<font color="blue"> From what I can see, that mower looks exactly like mine. If it is, it has 7 quick clips holding on the deck. </font>

Could be, it is a K-Grow (Yard Machines made for K-Mart) it has a horizontal twin 18 hp Briggs engine that sounds a litttle like a Harley. I bought it way back in '93, use it a lot, and never had to do anything but change the oil twice a season. Of course I keep it garaged, clean, and lube the deck every 2 years which helps, but still, very good performance for a K-Mart lawnmower. I know I can remove the deck with a few pins, but using a floor jack is a little quicker for me.

As for the nail balance trick, well... I guess it ain't astonishing news, but it does work better that anything else I've tried and the deck runs pretty smooth. Good enough for who its for! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[MicroPilot]

How would you balance bush hog blades?

 

[Indydirtfarmer]

Never saw the need to, even though I've worn out several dozen sets over the years. I guess if it was needed, the best way would be with scales. As long as they're reasonabley close in weight, that would be as accurate as any method. Especially with bigger bush hogs, balancing just isn't as crucial as with "lighter" mowers

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( How would you balance bush hog blades? )</font>

This question has come up several times. Personally, I did just what Indyfarmer said. I removed the blades to sharpen them, and I had some scales that registered up to 20 pounds so I just weighed each blade to be sure they were the same.

 

[MicroPilot]

/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Saw several threads dealing with this question AFTER I posted here.

Thanks for the info guys.

 

[ejtaylor822]

I use one of these. for checking the balance after sharpening the lawnmower blades.

It's very easy to use and costs a few dollars. Just set it on a level surface and place the blade on it. Works with star or circular shafts. My neighbor saw it and started using a small metal funnel - works just as well.