Woods RD990X Can't Get Blades Off to Sharpen! Best Method to Sharpen Them On the Mower?

[LD1]

Word pic sounds real similar to their rotary cutters....however.. if they ARE the same....you are forgetting a part.

On the rotary cutters....the pin has a groove. There is a square washer thing with a keyhole slot in it. That's what actually retains the pin, and the bolt and keeper just retain that square washer.

So once bolt and keeper are moved....that square washer thing needs tapped over to the big part of the keyhole and removed. Then the pin drops out

 

[ruffdog]

This video says the bolt comes out then you rotate a keeper for the pin to drop out...start video at 4:00

 

[LD1]

This is what the rotary cutters look like

 

[N750A]

Word pic sounds real similar to their rotary cutters....however.. if they ARE the same....you are forgetting a part.

On the rotary cutters....the pin has a groove. There is a square washer thing with a keyhole slot in it. That's what actually retains the pin, and the bolt and keeper just retain that square washer.

So once bolt and keeper are moved....that square washer thing needs tapped over to the big part of the keyhole and removed. Then the pin drops out

Nope, I didn't "forget a part." Guess the description wasn't clear, but I said the pin was retained by a "clip" and a bolt. On the RDX990, the "clip" is similar to your "square washer thing" and fits in the groove on the pin, the difference being the bolt goes directly through a hole in the clip - you remove the bolt and tap the clip out sideways. As I said, I could get the bolt and the clip out (of the groove on the pin), so there is nothing else retaining the pin in the mount - it should then drop out along with the blade.
BTW, after looking at that video review above and seeing his blades, mine look to be almost in "pristine condition" relative to his - looks like he gets into some rough stuff! LOL!

 

[Mertz]

Have the same RD990x mower. Pins can be tough to get out. I've had luck by grabbing the blade end & working them up & down to get the pin started moving. Also if you can grab the pin with a pipe wrench to try & rotate it a bit helps.
If you get the pins out, clean them up with some emery cloth. Then healthy amounts of Never Sieze on reassembly will be your best friend!

 

[Jims1025R]

I can't speak to the Woods brand mower, however, I'm just finishing up rebuilding a very similar mower, after 25 years of use. My comment is that if in doubt, and having the time, take it well apart, and rebuild everything you can, you'll be happy you did later. The longer seized parts are seized, the worse it will get. I'm replacing all bearings, seals and nuts and bolts with new.

By the way, I flew some initial developmental test flying on the very first CH701 for Chris Heinz back around 1985 or so - Fun plane!

 

[N750A]

I can't speak to the Woods brand mower, however, I'm just finishing up rebuilding a very similar mower, after 25 years of use. My comment is that if in doubt, and having the time, take it well apart, and rebuild everything you can, you'll be happy you did later. The longer seized parts are seized, the worse it will get. I'm replacing all bearings, seals and nuts and bolts with new.

By the way, I flew some initial developmental test flying on the very first CH701 for Chris Heinz back around 1985 or so - Fun plane!

Chris just passed recently - I was fortunate to have met him and even more fortunate to have built his CH750 STOL design - another fun plane! Nearly 10 years and 700+ hrs and still grinning!

 

[N750A]

Update:
Today I had time to talk both to Woods and also to my dealer's service department. Woods "technical support" was worthless - the "technician" couldn't think of anything beyond what I had already tried - penetrating oil, tapping with hammer, heating with torch, etc. No additional "tips or tricks" he could contribute. Very disappointing!
However, my dealer's service tech was much more helpful. He suggested that if there was access, that I could insert a steel rod from above, block the "stump jumper"/blade carrier, and tap out the pins. There is an access hole, but it is fairly small diameter and looks like it is aligned with the retaining clip bolt. I "think" it might be big enough to admit an impact wrench extension, so I suspect it was put there for getting the retaining clip bolts out, not the pins. He recommended to either make a hole that aligns with the pin and tap it out as described above, or, I ran the idea of welding a small bead between the blade and pin so I could hit the blade and break it loose and he thought that would likely work, too.
I'm actually pretty happy with the sharpening I did with the blades on the mower, but as many have pointed out, it's just delaying the inevitable and the longer I wait, the harder the job will be when the blades have to be removed. If I get some time the next week or two, I may try driving the pins out with the steel rod from above and see how it goes.
Thanks again for all the helpful ideas and comments! Merry Christmas!