When working on your mower deck, you need to take safety precautions to prevent your lawn tractor from turning on and moving. This post may include affiliate links. Purchases made through these links may provide a commission for us, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Lawn tractor blades should be changed once a year. Install a new set of lawn tractor blades annually while servicing your tractor.
If the blades you are removing at the end of the mowing season are still in good condition, sharpen them. Keep them on hand in case you damage a mower blade during the season and can no longer use it. Sharpen your lawn tractor blades after every 25 hours of use. For the average homeowner, this amounts to about twice a year. You may need to sharpen them more often if you mow more than the average homeowner or if you mow in dry and dusty conditions.
Lawn tractor blades purchased as new do not need to be sharpened prior to installing them. They have been sharpened during the manufacturing process and coated with a paint. There is no need to remove the paint along the edge of the blade. The new blade is ready to install and use on your lawn tractor. It is possible for your lawn tractor blades to become very worn or damaged from normal wear and tear.
Check the condition of your lawn tractor blades regularly. Sharpen or replace them when they begin to appear dull, worn or damaged. The blade sail is the high side of the blade that is used to create air movement under the deck as it rotates. The sail can wear from sand sucked into the deck. Walking your lawn before your mow to remove objects that your lawn tractor may hit is recommended to reduce damage to the tractor.
Even though you take every precaution to avoid hitting an object, it can still happen. Stones and small objects can create chips in the blade edge. Small chips in the blade can usually be smoothed out by sharpening the blade edge.
Larger chips and gouges require your blade be replaced to continue to receive a good cut from the blade. Hitting a solid stationary object can cause impact to the blade and bend it. You must replace a bent lawn tractor blade with a new blade. Never attempt to straighten the blade as you will weaken the metal. This weakened area is more prone to crack.
A cracked blade spinning at very high speeds can cause serious injury or damage. If you do find a bent blade, you should check the spindle housing for damage. Tighten the clamping screw so that it will hold blade in position when you torque the cutting blade spindle bolt. Tighten the cutting blade spindle bolt with a socket and torque wrench. Torque the cutting blade spindle bolt to between 27 to 35 foot pounds. A former cake decorator and competitive horticulturist, Amelia Allonsy is most at home in the kitchen or with her hands in the dirt.
She received her Bachelor's degree from West Virginia University. Her work has been published in the San Francisco Chronicle and on other websites. By Amelia Allonsy. Related Articles. Learn more If you're noticing missed patches in grass you know you mowed over, your mower just isn't cutting it any more. Blades wear out with use and need to be changed occasionally to make your mower more efficient.
You'll keep your lawn healthier and you'll need to mow less frequently with sharp, clean blades. Replacing them is an easy project that won't take up much time, as long as you approach it correctly. See Step 1 for more information. Before you can change a lawn mower blade, make sure there's no gas in the mower and disconnect the spark plugs, then lift the deck of the mower to expose the blade.
Next, use a wrench to loosen the mounting bolt holding the blade in place to remove it. If your old blades are chipped and worn out, replace them with a new set, then check they're in place correctly by making sure they don't wiggle up and down.
Finally, refill the gas tank and reconnect your spark plugs to get mowing again. To learn how to sharpen your old blades, read on!
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Related Articles. Article Summary. Part 1. All rights reserved. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc. Lift the mower deck to expose the blade. It's important to look closely at the carburetor and the oil compartment to make sure you're not tilting the mower in such a way as to spill oil all over the engine, the grass, and yourself.
This won't necessarily be true for all mowers, however, so use your judgment and consult the owner's manual, if necessary. It's also best to do this when there's no gas in the mower. Wait until you use it all up to change the blade, or you might consider draining out the gas with syphon hose. Remove the wooden block from the lawnmower mower deck. Set the new blade onto the blade spindle assembly with the cutting edge facing the ground and the lift wings facing the underside of the cutting deck.
Slide the flat washer onto the cutting blade retaining bolt. Hold the cutting blade onto the cutting blade spindle assembly with one hand while screwing the bolt into the blade spindle assembly threads. Place the wooden block back in place between the blade edge and mower deck to fix the blade position.
Torque the lawnmower cutting blade retaining bolt with a torque wrench and socket. The recommended cutting blade retaining bolt torque specifications vary with different lawnmower models and generally can be found in your lawnmower operator's manual.
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