Sharpening A Reel Mower ........ How Is It Done?

[Ductape]

Looking at some gang reel mowers locally, owned by a school. I believe they are Toro or Jacobsen, as they are a commercial grade. Can the average Joe sharpen them himself? How are they sharpened? Are special tools or jigs needed (seems I've seen reel mower sharpeners for sale on CL in the past)? Anyone got pics of them being sharpened?

 

[gwdixon]

Looking at some gang reel mowers locally, owned by a school. I believe they are Toro or Jacobsen, as they are a commercial grade. Can the average Joe sharpen them himself? How are they sharpened? Are special tools or jigs needed (seems I've seen reel mower sharpeners for sale on CL in the past)? Anyone got pics of them being sharpened?

You may want to call or visit a golf course and ask the maintenance guy. As much as they mow it would require sharpening quite often. There is nothing like first hand information from someone who does it.

 

[PILOON]

In my youth we'd take the mowers to the local shop and he had a jig onto which he'd install the mower.
The inverted mower would then be driven by a belt and the operator would apply a greese or paste containing carborundum.
Powering the drive wheel would cause the blades and cutting edge to mate perfectly.

Now I don't know if that was a shop made rig or store bought, but it workrd just fine.

Guess it was sort of like sharpening sissors with fine sand paper.

 

[smstonypoint]

Here's a link to a Toro manual that has sharpening instructions.


http://www.toro.com/customercare/commercial/education/pdf/98008sl.pdf


Steve

 

[Sherweld]

Having worked on a golf course maintenance shop, I can say that these units are much more than just a scaled up version of the typical lawn mower variety. The typical units have lubricant filled gear boxes which require pretty regular tear down and maintenance (new seals gears bearings etc) The sharpening involves the reels as well as the bed knives and after enough wear, replacement because there is not enough material remaining to be effectively sharpened.

Our course has a dedicated sharpener (read lots of $$$) because the last time we checked the cost of sending them out, it was on the order of a hundred per unit. Also sharpening for a golf course with our type of grass and terrain should be done at least a couple of times per season.

I'm only advising to be aware of the age and condition of the units in order to be prepared for some expense down the road. R&R Products, Inc. is a pretty good source to check for replacement parts and prices.

But all in all, good units on the right terrain are really hard to beat for a quality cut and beautiful result. Hope this works out well for you.

Regards
Sherweld

 

[Willl]

Type in "Sharpening A Reel Mower" into Utube, seen a bunch of short vids on them.

 

[ray66v]

I have owned a Reelmaster fairway mower for 7 years, and have never had to send my reels out to be trued, and sharpened, I have always done it my self.

I would love to have them overhauled annually, as the gulf courses do, but at $150 to $250 per head, and having 5 total, that is not going to happen.

There is a learning curve, so even if you understand what you have to do, you will still probably mess it up, before you make it better.

Backlapping is the simplest way to sharpen the edges, and is usually done on a weekly basis if your using them 40 hrs. a week.

To backlap, you need to be able to turn the reels backwards, at a low speed. If your unit is not powered, you will need to find a way to make a rig that can do that. Basically, while the reel is spun slowly backwards, the bed knife is adjusted to tighten the gap between it and the reel, and a lapping compound is brushed on the reels, regrinding the edges. Re-tightening, and regrinding, is done as necessary, until the reel spins freely, and cuts paper easily, when hand spun forwards.

During the annual service, the reels are routinely removed, and reground to true the surface across the width, so it is as flat as possible. I have found that using a a block of wood, with self adhesive sandpaper, I can true mine, while the are spinning backwards, in the machine. Then, I backlap, and adjust the bedknife.

It is important to understand they do not need to be adjusted tight to cut grass well, they just need to be sharp. A tight reel will wear the bedknife, and reel quickly. They do need to be just tight enough to cut paper, and then you can back them off slightly from there.

If I could show you all this, it's really not complicated. But, difficult to figure out on your own.

 

[Carl_NH]

Ray,

Excellent write up - easy to follow the process as you describe. Sharpening is more of an art and is a process to get it right..

 

[orezok]

Ray x2

In a past life I managed the construction of two golf courses. A Pete Dye course in Rancho Santa Fe and a Joe Lee course nearby in Fairbanks Ranch. The second course was used in the LA Olympics for the equestrian events before we did the final conversion to the golf course.

At both courses the method used was as Ray described. An electric motor was connected to the gearbox to spin the blades backward for several hours every other day. The motor was a factory accessory and had a specific connection point.

When they were done, they were sharp enough to shave!

 

[forester2]

Couple questions DT; how much mowing are you going to do, how many gang unit are you looking at and what kind are they. If the school was sold properly they would be Jacobsen Blitzer mowers (5 blades, 10" reel, rectangular frames and no rear roller). Anything else would be designed for fine turf mowing (ie. fairways). Blitzer were actually developed during WWII to mow runways. Also look to see how much reel is left (dist. from weld to edge of blade) If you end up replacing reels its big $. Backlapping is OK for inseason maintaince of fine turf reels but of questionable value for large area units. If you look at a grind on a blade, you'll see it's actually a compound grind. Depending on your usage and how well you learn to adjust the blades, you will likely be able to get numberous years between sharpenings. Equipment dealers or local golf courses can provide sharpening service.

 

[Ductape]

I wouldn't say I'd be mowing alot.... about an acre once per week / week and a half. I currently use a LandPride 60" rear PTO finish mower for the same area right now. I'm mostly interested in the reel mowers because I thought they were priced inexpensively, and have a hard time passing up a deal. I'll know more when I can look at them in person..... perhaps they are worn to the point that replacing parts will outweigh their value.

 

[ray66v]

I would not recommend reel mowers to the average guy. Unless your reelly, D), looking for a striped, & manicured look, get a rotary mower.

No, you don't have to sharpen them a lot, mine go 50+ hrs without any attention, rotary blades can't go that long, and still have any kind of edge. Golf courses generally sharpen them weekly, because they put 40 hrs. on them in a week. They change the engine oil once a week too.

Reels are best for short, fine cutting, in thick healthy grass. They provide a scissor quality cut, that cannot be duplicated by a rotary mower.

You can do cool things like mow in, or immediately after, pouring rain, and even cut grass that is flooded, and under water. They really don't care. And they do not throw objects, like a rotary.

Finish cut reels do require mowing short, and more often, (i.e. daily in some cases). They will skip right over items too long to fit in the cutting gap.(i.e weeds). This means spending lots of money on fertilizer, chemicals, and water.

Rough cut reels (probably what your looking at), can handle the tall grass, and weeds better, but produce a less manicured look.

Both can also take considerable power to run, or pull.

Running over a stone, or metal stake, has the potential to do some very expensive damage.

Parts can be very expensive. Every time I call, It seems like it's over $100, no matter what it is I need.

 

[Travelover]

I worked in a lawn mower shop all through high school. You have been given good advice - reel mowers are for a fine lawn - they damage easily on rough surfaces or where stones / sticks are present. Grinding the reels takes a special machine and is labor intensive. Lapping with grinding compound is done if the reels are not too nicked or worn. An electric motor basically runs the reel backward and you slather on compound and readjust the fit to the cutter bar occasionally.

 

[forester2]

If these are rough cut units in decent shape you'll be fine. The other anvantage is fuel savings. Ground driven so tractor RPM's can be pretty low plus much less HP required for a larger cut.