MMM Blade sharpening recommendations
- Thread starter danbike
- Start date
- Views: 888
RalphVa
Super Member
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2003
- Messages
- 7,885
- Location
- Charlottesville, VA, USA
- Tractor
- JD 2025R, previously Gravely 5650 & JD 4010 & JD 1025R
On a Scag ZTR doing 4 to 5 acres at our church in NJ, I sharpened the blades every time I finished the mowing, which generally took about 3 1/2 hours.
You want to keep the blades sharp doing grass.
Ralph
You want to keep the blades sharp doing grass.
Ralph
Bird
Rest in Peace
Personally, I don't go by hours or seasons. I just look at, and feel the edge of, the blades and sharpen them whenever they appear to need it, and it's convenient for me to do it. I sharpened my mower blades yesterday. They'll be 2 years old in August and hardly needed sharpening because now I don't have any gravel, rocks, etc. to dull them as I've had in the past. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
JDgreen227
Super Member
Bird, that's the correct method, because using hours or seasons doesn't take into account what the blades actually look like. When I am mowing only grass with my 7-Iron deck the blades stay sharp for at least 50 hours, or 2/3 of my mowing season.
But if I do a lot of rough cutting in overgrown tall grass which has tough weeds, wild grapevines, and anthills it shortens the time between sharpenings to half that much. I do that mowing on my ATV trails as late as possible after all my regular lawn mowing is caught up with.
I cut a hole in the top floor of my barn about 30 inches square that is covered with a trapdoor, and I can access the underside of the MMM and remove the blades in 5 minutes from the basement area. When I think of all the time I wasted driving up on ramps and struggling to remove and replace the blades, I want to kick myself for not thinking of the trapdoor idea sooner.
/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
But if I do a lot of rough cutting in overgrown tall grass which has tough weeds, wild grapevines, and anthills it shortens the time between sharpenings to half that much. I do that mowing on my ATV trails as late as possible after all my regular lawn mowing is caught up with.
I cut a hole in the top floor of my barn about 30 inches square that is covered with a trapdoor, and I can access the underside of the MMM and remove the blades in 5 minutes from the basement area. When I think of all the time I wasted driving up on ramps and struggling to remove and replace the blades, I want to kick myself for not thinking of the trapdoor idea sooner.
/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
Like I have said before, this particular group of people know how to get a job done in the most efficient manner. Even when helping out someone with a large garden tractor. Great idea, I'll use the ramp idea since my barn has a concrete floor. I probably should have had an access pit done when we poured the floor, but that is another story. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
yellowsocks93
Veteran Member
Removing your mower would be very easy to do then you can clean the bottom of the deck and under the side shields good. For sharpining, if you have an angle grinder it goes much faster than using a bench grinder. If you get a lot of burs then go back and touch it up with the bench grinder.
