Lawn mowers, like any equipment, do not last forever. There come times when some parts wear out and require the user's attention. In such cases, it is important not to ignore the features of the device and carry out all quality maintenance operations.

Of course, you can contact service specialists, but many operations can be easily carried out by the owners themselves; the main thing is to know how to carry out repairs and strictly follow the instructions.

How to tidy up your lawn mower blade?

A person can immediately purchase replacement blades after purchasing a device, or he can also sharpen an existing knife. In any case, after the part becomes dull, it must be removed.

First, unplug the electrical device and place it on its side. As for the gasoline unit, everything is somewhat more complicated.

• The grass collection tank should be removed;
• Carefully drain the oil and gasoline into separate containers;
• Disconnect spark plugs;
• Place the mower on its side.

The following steps relate directly to replacing the knife.

• It is necessary to fix the blade with a log or board so as not to cut yourself in the process;
• Often the blades are mounted on two bolts or one, but large, located in the center. A socket or socket wrench will be a great helper;
• Unscrew the bolts counterclockwise as right hand threads are standard;
• If the factory tightening is stuck and holds very tightly, you can use a special liquid wrench WD-40.

There are also times when the knife adapters that connect the cutting element to the engine need to be replaced. It is important to understand here that each manufacturer supplements its products with certain features, therefore, for example, the specified part from an Alco mower cannot be used for MTD.

Using the tips indicated in the video below, every owner of a “garden assistant” can learn methods that allow you to create an adapter with your own hands using basic parts and tools.

Knife sharpening

After removal, the blades are often either replaced with new ones or the existing ones are sharpened. High-quality products can be “renewed” several times and must be replaced only when the plate itself becomes thinner or the corners of the knife are rounded.

For the process itself, you can use a grinding bench machine and do not forget about a protective mask and gloves. When using an angle grinder, you must hold the blade itself in a vice. A file is also considered as an option, but working with it requires a lot of effort and time.

Upon completion of sharpening

After the above procedures, you should not rush to install the blade, because you should check its balancing. To do this, you need to place a nail in the hole of the blade and make sure that the work done is correct.

If the required effect is not present, installation of such a cutting part can lead to vibration and damage to the device itself. Therefore, you should use a file or machine to correct the situation. Afterwards you need to install the blade in place and tighten the bolts.

The next step in lawn mower maintenance is cleaning.

High-quality care of a lawn mower is impossible without basic cleaning of the deck and engine from grass.

Removing the deck from vegetation

The grass itself has an incredible corrosive effect on the unit, so it is necessary to periodically clean the deco. It is important to understand that a wet lawn should not be mowed under any circumstances, because then the negative impact will double.

Dry vegetation will fall away from the object itself, and it will be possible to clean it as efficiently as possible using an air compressor or blower. Some models are equipped with a special flushing fitting, saving the user from additional hassle.

Removing the motor from vegetation

Since the mower engines are air-cooled, the entire system will work efficiently only if the fins are not dirty. Otherwise, you should expect the device to overheat and quickly fail.

The fins can be cleaned by removing additional engine parts and using compressed air. Even a soft small brush will work perfectly, which in this case will demonstrate excellent effectiveness.

Changing the lawn mower oil

The oil should be changed according to the information specified in the operating instructions for the device. The procedure itself involves draining the old composition into a separate container and pouring in a fresh one.

An important point: the new oil must have the appropriate API class and the required viscosity level. The draining process itself should be carried out with a warm engine, because then the tank is emptied as much as possible. Do not allow dirt to get into the container.

Features of oils for 2-stroke engines and 4-stroke engines

Each manufacturer has its own recommendations regarding this issue, so the answer should be found in the operating instructions. You should not choose an oil based on its cost, because the adaptability of the ingredients of a substance is influenced by the class of equipment and the degree of grinding of the associated components.

• protects metal objects from corrosion;
• guarantees heat resistance;
• prevents oxidation;
• stabilizes viscosity.

As for 4-stroke engine oil, it has different additives and viscosity. With its help, the elements are washed, and this despite the fact that the oil does not mix with the fuel. It must be replaced after every 50 hours of operation.

Among the proposed options for two-stroke engines, the most common are:

• Semi-synthetic oil Premium Inforce;
• HP oil, Husqvarna 5878085-12;
• API TC CARVER oil;
• Mineral oil POWER ACTIVE 2T dosing;
• Semi-synthetic oil DDE SS-2T.

To operate four-stroke models, it is better to give preference to the following oil:

• Husqvarna Universal SAE 30;
• Champion Snowthrower 5W30;
• MaxCut 4THDSAE 30;
• ELITECH 4TDUltraSAE 5W30;
• Anchor SAE 10W40.

In any case, when choosing, you should rely on the recommendations in the manual for the unit.

Other lawn mower maintenance tips

• The elements are lubricated using a special grease gun;
• It is advisable to clean the air filter periodically, but at the end of the working season it is worth buying a new one;
• A burnt or rusted spark plug must be replaced;
• At the end of the season, you should drain the gasoline from the mower to avoid unpleasant consequences in the form of deposits in the tank.

In principle, if you figure it out, caring for a mower is not so difficult, the main thing is to adhere to the basic rules and use only high-quality elements, oils and fuels.

Push-type lawn mowers are a thing of the past. To make work easier, the knives were driven by an electric motor. The design of an electric lawn mower remains simple, but some nuances have appeared.

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With electrical devices, it is easy to turn the area around a cottage or country house into a well-groomed area, emphasizing a certain level that the owner managed to achieve in landscape design. Using a scythe or even a trimmer cannot achieve such a result, since it will not be possible to cut the grass at the same height.

All electric lawn mowers are designed the same. They have a platform for mounting a motor, the shaft of which is parallel to the ground. A knife (or two) is attached to the shaft of the electrical device, with which the weeds are mowed. For high-quality mowing, the speed of the electric cutting tool must be high.

For convenience, the platform itself is equipped with four wheels and a handle with elements attached to it that control the engine. It is designed to push the device forward and control the electric mower.

The wheel fastening can be rigid and swivel. In the first case, you will have to lift two wheels when turning. Rotary ones involve the use of less physical force.

In addition, they “spoil” the lawn less. Therefore, if flowers are planted on the lawn, there are swings, gazebos, etc., then it is recommended to use swivel wheels. Electric lawn mowers with such wheels are convenient for caring for areas under bushes and trees.

The engine is covered with a housing that simultaneously protects the operator working with the electric lawn mower from injury from accidental objects. The material used for its manufacture is often plastic and less often metal. As you can see, the design of an electric lawn mower is quite simple.

Grass that is cut and left on the lawn turns the area into an unsightly one, and in addition, when it dries out, it will require cleaning the lawn with a rake, for example. If the weeds are not removed before the rain, the grass rots and leads to the appearance of bald spots on the lawn. Therefore, it would be more correct if the electric mower is equipped with a grass catcher.

Structurally, they are divided into:

• hard;
• soft;
• combined, i.e. They themselves are soft (made of fabric, and the top is hard).

The grass catcher container has holes for air circulation. The grass catchers are located at the rear of the electrical device. Their design should be such that the container can be easily removed for cleaning.

The larger the volume of the grass catcher, the less often it will have to be cleaned, which means less time will be spent.

This part is responsible for cutting weeds, so it must be reliable. The knife must be made of high quality special steel. The lawn mower can be equipped with one or more blades, depending on the model.

Do not mow areas where there are stones, so as not to break the knife and damage the device.

After removing the blade from the electric lawn mower, you can replace it with a new one or sharpen it. To do this, you will have to remove the old one, for which the mower is prepared - disconnected from the power supply. Next, the blade is fixed so that it does not rotate.

The blade is secured with one bolt in the center or two. To unscrew them you will need a socket or socket wrench. It is better not to use pliers so as not to “lick” the edges.

If you cannot remove the bolt because it is stuck, you can use a WD-40 liquid wrench.

Video: Replacing the cutting blade on a lawn mower

Pen

This part is used to control the device: pushing forward and turning. A button is installed on it that turns on the motor. Therefore, the main requirements for the handle are convenience, strength, and the ability to adjust to the height of the worker.

Basic faults

There are not many of them, but it is necessary to identify them and correctly eliminate them:

• does not cut weeds. This may mean that the knives have become dull and broken. It is recommended to buy a new knife for each season and, moreover, only the one that is necessary for a specific model. If the knife becomes dull, it is carefully removed for sharpening. If you have no sharpening experience, it is better to entrust the operation to specialists. Having sharpened the knife on both sides at 30 degrees, it is installed in its original place without disturbing the balancing. Otherwise, vibration and noise occur, leading to destruction of the bearings. Check the balancing by placing a knife on a screwdriver. If one of the sides turns out to be heavier, you will need to grind off the metal from that side;

• The device is difficult to move across the lawn. Perhaps the weeds are being cut too high and the cutting height needs to be adjusted. It is also worth checking whether the wheels or roller are stuck (if they rotate freely). They may be clogged with debris or grass. Parts need to be inspected and cleaned;

• the motor overheats. The reason may lie in a blocked air intake, i.e. air flow is reduced. It is necessary to clear the air intake grilles of accumulated grass;
• The electrical device does not work at all (shows no signs of life). If such a breakdown is detected, start by checking the knives by turning off the device and, if they are clogged with grass, then clean them by rotating the cylinder in the opposite direction until it begins to rotate freely.

If the knives are fine, check the drive belts for breaks. Perhaps they stretched out, broke, wore out, or simply jumped off the pulley.

To check this, remove the cover from the belts, loosen the fastening screws and bring the pulleys - small and large - closer to each other.

A new belt is put on the smaller diameter pulley, then it is gradually “screwed” onto the larger one, smoothly rotating the latter.

After installing both pulleys, tighten the belts and tighten the screws.

Check the belt tension (the deflection should not exceed 4 mm), put the cover in its original place;

• broken power cord. During operation, the cord rolls and unrolls and moves across the lawn, so eventually its internal conductors break. Therefore, it should be checked for a break; if detected, the wire must be replaced by first turning off the lawn mower and removing the switch cover.

To disconnect the cord, you need a 1 mm hexagon, which is inserted into the holes for the conductors, loosening the clamps. Having removed and checked the wire for a break, install it or a new one, observing the polarity;

• The switch has failed. It is better to have it diagnosed at a service center. There, if necessary, it is replaced;
• there is no power supply.

The simplest reason could be an electric mower that is not plugged in. If other devices connected to the same circuit do not work, you should check the circuit breakers on the panel or fuses.

How to change oil

For anyone who periodically faces the challenge of mowing weeds, a lawn mower is an indispensable tool. The simple device, however, sometimes requires maintenance, which includes changing the oil used to cool the mechanism, which allows the motor to operate at high speeds.

In addition, the oil serves to protect electrical device parts stored at subzero temperatures.

The frequency of oil changes is determined by the technical condition of the engine. In new devices, it is necessary to change the oil in lawn mowers immediately after the break-in is completed, i.e. after 5-6 hours of continuous operation.

In the future, replacement is made after another 5-10 hours. This prevents debris from accumulating in the motor. In a new engine, the period between oil changes increases to 25-50 hours, which corresponds to 2-3 months.

You can also determine that the oil needs replacing by its color: as soon as a black tint appears, you need to replace it so that the engine does not jam.

The entire process of replacing fluid is divided into stages:

• draining old oil;
• turning the electric lawn mower with the drain hole facing downwards;
• installing the device in a horizontal position;
• Fill new oil through the neck to the mark on the crankcase.

What kind of oil to pour into a lawn mower depends on the ambient temperature in which the garden tool is used. It is correct to use SAE-30 liquid if it is 5-30 degrees outside. Oil with a viscosity of 10W-30 is suitable for the off-season, and the 5W-30 series is most preferable in winter.

You cannot ignore Synthetic 5W-30 - a reliable product that ensures operation of the device at low subzero temperatures.

The fishing line is used as a cutting tool. It is advisable to select it with the diameter intended for this type of mower. If it is taken with a larger diameter, this can cause overheating and failure of the motor and bushings.

When choosing a fishing line with a smaller diameter, the efficiency of work decreases, and the consumption of the fishing line itself increases.

You can replace the fishing line in two ways:

• winding it on a bobbin;
• installing a bobbin with already wound fishing line (new).

If the first method is chosen, it is important to correctly wind the fishing line onto the lawn mower, for which you hold the bobbin with one hand and unscrew the pressure head, which is rotated clockwise, with the other.

Then check whether the bolt moves freely inside.

Next, remove the bobbin and the spring located in it. Wipe them with a rag. The shaft and inner surface of the housing are also cleaned. After this, the fishing line is folded in half, and the ends are passed into two holding grooves.

By pulling it, reduce the loop to a minimum. The length of the fishing line should be 7.5 meters, and the turns should lie tightly to each other. The line is wound in the direction indicated on the bobbin with both ends at once, placing the index finger between them to avoid overlap.

Having installed the spring in the bobbin, the latter is placed in the housing. Then, by pulling sharply on both ends at the same time, it is removed from the grooves.

Important: the spring is placed in the bobbin before the reel is assembled. A pressure head is installed into the assembled coil, then it is screwed counterclockwise.

They also change the fishing line on the lawn mower, replacing the bobbin with a new one on which the fishing line is already wound: the spring is removed from the bobbin spool removed from the housing, wiped as indicated above, the spring is reinstalled in a new bobbin with fishing line, and the ends of the fishing line are threaded into the bushings of the housing.

All that remains is to place the bobbin in place, install the pressure head correctly and tighten it by rotating counterclockwise.

It’s even easier to replace a lawn mower cable: you need to buy a new one and install it in place of the damaged one.

A common cause of failure of a lawn mower recoil starter is the spring, which anyone can replace. It is enough to unscrew the starter, remove the pulley by unscrewing the screw and releasing the spring. It can be purchased separately, like the entire starter, but you can repair it yourself.

Having replaced the spring with a new one, install a pulley on it and perform the steps in the reverse order. Then the cable is wound so that the spring is tight.

Video: Maintenance / Partner Lawn Mower / Video instruction

A sign that the tool blade has become dull and requires sharpening or replacement of this part. At first glance, it may seem that it is easier to change a dull tool - buy a lawn mower knife. But this is associated with costs, and finding a knife of a suitable configuration may be quite difficult. This option is justified only in case of significant damage to the cutting edges or damage to the knife in a collision with a hard obstacle, for example, a stone.

In most cases, restoring the functionality of a knife is quite easy - sharpen the knife lawn mowers with your own hands.
Sharpening a knife lawn mowers or everyone can replace it without the help of others; for this, the initial ability to work with manual equipment is sufficient.
Please note that the development of sharpening depends on the type of blades installed on the lawn mower. There are two types of equipment used for lawn work: rotary lawn mowers and drum lawn mowers. Let's describe the sharpening process knife for each type of knives separately.

Sharpening knife rotary lawn mower.

Rotary devices include:

Gasoline lawn mowers;
Electronic lawn mowers - corded and battery-powered.

They are mainly equipped with two-bladed knives, and less commonly, a knife with 4 blades. The sharpening method is the same for all types, and there are no differences.

To complete the work you need:

Work gloves;
A spanner or socket wrench of the appropriate size;
A set of grinding files, an abrasive stone, or an electronic sharpening tool.

Before you start sharpening the mower blade, you need to perform several preparatory operations:

Prepare the lawn mower for removing the blade. Owners of gasoline lawn mower models should pay particular attention to this step. It may be necessary to drain fuel and oil;

Adapter DIY lawn mower blade

Lawn Mower Blade Adapter DIY MATRIX Turbo 50. After the destruction of the unusual knife adapter MATRIX.

Adapter lawn mower blade Matrix Turbo

Unfortunately, Matrix-direct has stopped supporting this product. In service centers located on the list.
Turn the lawn mower over to access the cutting tool;
Secure the knife with a wooden block;
Using the necessary tool, usually a socket or socket wrench, unscrew the knife attachment points;
Take off the knife itself.

After cleaning the knife from adhering grass and dirt, you can start sharpening it.

To sharpen the lawn mower blade, you will need a stable base - a table or workbench, on the surface of which you can comfortably place and secure the blade for final sharpening. A balanced option is if you have the opportunity to secure the knife in a vice.

When performing work, keep in mind that the working part of the knife is hardened, you should try to minimize the impact on the blade and maintain the sharpening angle lawn mower blade.

If the working parts of the knife are not damaged - burrs, notches, then you can limit yourself to straightening the blade. For this purpose, you can use an abrasive stone or a diamond-coated file. There is no need to remove a large amount of metal, and you can get by with a “thin” tool.

If the knife blades are damaged, they must be removed before sharpening using a coarse file, an emery wheel, or an electric tool with an abrasive attachment.

If you do the work using a file or an abrasive stone, then sharpening is done from the center of the knife to the edge. The movement of the instrument is “pull forward”. After completing the work, you need to check whether the balancing of the lawn mower blade has changed.

The sharpened blade can be installed on the lawn mower and you can start mowing the lawn.

Sharpening the blade of a spindle lawn mower.

Drum (spindle) lawn mowers are equipped with a blade block - a formed drum in which several curved blades and a stationary straight blade are installed. It may seem that sharpening such a knife is very difficult, but it is not. You don't even have to remove the spindle.

To sharpen the spindle knife, you will need abrasive sandpaper, preferably waterproof.

From a sheet of paper, you need to cut a strip wider than the width of the fixed blade by 1-2 mm and stick it onto the fixed blade of the lawn mower using double-sided tape, with the side with the abrasive applied up.

Then activate the blade drive. Roll a manual drum lawn mower on a flat, hard surface several times; if you have an electric drum mower, connect it to the mains, turn it on and let it run for a short time, 1 minute is enough.

Before using your lawn mower, be sure to remove any sandpaper from the bed blade.

How to remove a knife from a lawn mower At the moment 04/27/2018 01:11:46 Sharpening knives from lawn mowers So this problem arose. 🙁 Tell me - and you yourself

How to remove a lawn mower blade

Currently 04/27/2018 01:11:46

Sharpening lawn mower blades

So this problem arose. 🙁 Tell me, do you sharpen your knives yourself? Somehow they intimidated me - they need to not only be sharpened, but also balanced. How? No, on a theoretical level I figured it out, but in reality - no way :) Or is it better to take it to a metal repair shop and they will sharpen and balance it perfectly? Or would it be better to contact a service workshop? How are you doing?

The husband couldn’t even unscrew the knife.

Tatiana. The clamping screw must be unscrewed counterclockwise: 99.9% of lawn mowers (German, Italian, American, Swedish) have a right-hand thread. Only it’s better to twist not with pliers, but with an adjustable wrench, or even better - with a socket head.

Tatyana65. Or rather, to the workshop. A small imbalance will only increase the load on the support bearings and accelerate wear, while a large imbalance will “smash it apart”.

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larix, thanks for the advice. And Tatyana asked her own question just in time :) Thank you! You can’t drag the mower to the service center :)

But I don’t sharpen at all, I buy a new knife once a season and there’s no hassle.

Rom165, I would do this too, but I’ve already searched all over the Internet and haven’t found the knives 🙁 Where do you buy them? And they probably differ depending on the brand and company? What mower do you have? If this cannot be written in the topic, please write to me in a personal message, if it does not make it more difficult for you.

Tatyana65. In general, there is no need to sharpen a kitchen knife until it is sharp. In practice, it’s enough to use a ratfil or an abrasive stone to carefully take off burrs, without affecting the metal of the entire blade, so that the surface of the blade is even and does not tear the grass. After all, an imbalance may appear due to differences in the mass of the “wings,” acquired from too much and unevenly removed metal during sharpening. Therefore, if you don’t know how, it’s better not to approach an electric sharpener. But if you are careful and slowly, you can remove burrs with a ratfil without even removing the knife from the mower.

larix, thank you! It never even occurred to me! 🙂 Needed first So experience. If it doesn’t help, then go to the workshop.

Sharpening a lawn mower blade from Lenfilm studio

We tried our best. If you are not very satisfied, then take a look at our website. There we examined the “flights” in detail.

Bosch Rotak 37 LI how to change the blade on a lawn mower

Bosch Rotak 37 LI how to change knife on lawnmower.

Tatyana65, I have a Honda lawn mower, it is now in its fourth year. It comes with a detailed instruction on sharpening the knife. larix I wrote everything correctly. Although it is safer and more convenient to remove the knife, which, by the way, is secured with 2 bolts. We check the balancing by “hanging” it on a screwdriver.

Naturally, you should not, if possible, run into pebbles and other objects - this will greatly damage the knife.

MTD from me, I bought the knife on Novoryazanskaya in a gardening equipment store.

Read also

I always sharpen knives myself - service centers are a bit far away, but the sharpener is nearby. The previous relatively low-power electronic mower had to be sharpened quite often, otherwise the edges of the grass would become shaggy. The stronger petrol one has so far been sharpened once a season - apparently, it takes “pressure”. It was very difficult to remove the knife the first time - something stuck, but my husband only got special from the third use. Unscrewed it with a key. And on the electronic one I controlled it with pliers without any problems.

I took a spare knife from the Lawn Mower Shop, but my husband took off the old one and sharpened it, I worked with it for some time, secretly hoping that the mower would become unbalanced and I would buy a new one - nothing noticeable came of it, I’m still using the old one, and it’s at least 4 years old - it’s already boring.

To a certain extent, the danger of a small imbalance is a myth. Look at the knife, there is so much that sticks to it like a film, and not moderately. And nothing harmful will happen.

But if you remove it and sharpen it on a sharpener, you will definitely get an imbalance; the sharpener removes metal shamelessly.

Personally, I sharpen either with a diamond grinder (very good for tool steel and removes a minimum). Or, if I run a mini-drill like a Dremel, in other words, it can also be sharpened very carefully. It is not necessary to sharpen the knife completely until it is sharp, the main thing is that there is an obvious angle, and not roundness.

What prevents you from checking the balance by putting a knife by the central hole on a stick - if it hangs evenly - it’s balanced, if one side is pulled down - it’s unbalanced and needs to be removed a little. Naturally, with this method, the knives are sharpened faster - but it seems to me that buying a couple of spare ones and replacing them as they are ground is more economically profitable than dragging each time to a service center on the other side of town and paying for sharpening (the only time I did this was They charged me 300 rubles, this was 5 years ago). You just need to calculate how much the knife costs and how much it costs to travel to the workshop.

But I don’t like sharpening with a ratfile or a whetstone - it’s long and tedious - it’s really a waste of time. You can also meditate while doing other work—weeding, for example. 🙂 IMHO

Vaska, I don’t sharpen knives either, I change them, but I’ll still tell you about the imbalance. By putting a knife on a stick and leveling it, you will only get a static balance; dynamic balance cannot be checked at home, but specifically it gives the most unfavorable consequences for the motor.

Rom165, I would like to clarify - I just sharpen knives - but myself, with an electric sharpener. As for the rest, I agree - we’ve been using the electronic mower for 6 years, and its body (plastic) has already begun to wear out - but it worked properly and was given “in good hands” after purchasing a gasoline one in working condition. Over the years, the 2 knives were used alternately, and did not have time sharpen it with a sharpener before throwing it away. And they mowed a lot - 12 acres of grass. There was an imbalance - there wasn’t - I don’t know. 🙂

I report - our craftsmen sharpened a knife for me at work, checked for imbalance, gave it to me and said - use it :) I closely watched how they sharpened, so that I could sharpen the knives myself later. I know how to use an electric sharpener. And sharpening the knives turned out to be so easy that I won’t even bother my wife :)

BOSCH Rotak 43! Review and first impression. BOSCH Rotak 43! Review and first impression. Test drive of the BOSCH Rotak 43 LI lawn mower. In this video I do a test drive of the BOSCH Rotak 43 LI lawn mower. Excellent lawn mower BOSCH Rotak 43 LI....

A lawnmower is a useful tool in the home, but the blades of the machine can easily become dull. A simple solution to the problem would be an expensive repair at a service center, but it is much more profitable to learn how to sharpen a lawn mower blade with your own hands.

How to remove a blade from a lawn mower

The process of disassembling the machine depends on the type of lawn mower, but before you begin, make sure that all safety rules are followed.

Machines running on electricity must be de-energized.

For a gasoline-powered car, the first thing to do is remove the spark plug cap. It is important to prevent fuel leakage, so the unit’s fuel tank must be empty. You can turn off the fuel valve by first installing a tight-fitting rubber membrane under the cap. After this, the gas hose designed to remove crankcase waste is clamped. Otherwise there is a risk of oil spillage. It is necessary to constantly check the instructions to avoid possible complications.

The blade is attached in two ways: with a single bolt in the center of the structure through a shaped washer, or with a pair of bolts that are attached to a pin or centering hole. The bolts are unscrewed clockwise. During this process, it is important to secure the cutting parts of the lawn mower to avoid injury. A wooden beam with an emphasis on the ground is suitable for this.

Cleaning and Editing

First, the working part is cleaned of dirt or debris that has adhered to it during operation. The most suitable tools for this work are metal brushes (brushes). When the blade is cleaned, you need to degrease the surface and inspect the damaged blade.

Due to small hard debris that gets under the tool during operation, the pruner may become deformed. Only the cutting edge of the lawn mower blades needs to be inspected for distortion, because... the blade itself can be of complex design. The damaged instrument is straightened with careful blows of a hammer with rounded edges. You need to place the knife on a strong surface, such as an anvil. It is necessary to straighten it, starting from the edges of the deformed area and gradually moving towards the center.

Balancing the knife

Balance of the blades is an important aspect in the operation of a lawn mower. Without this, the cutting elements will create constant vibrations, which reduces the durability of the equipment and complicates the work. First of all, this is important for tools with double-sided single blades; for other types it is not so critical.

To check the balancing, it is necessary to fix a smooth and thin rod in a horizontal position, clamping the end with a vice. After this, the blade is put on the pin and fixed. If there is no balance, the ends of the knife may move relative to each other.

To properly balance the blade, first grind off the metal from the back of the pruning shears so as to eliminate the excess. It is impossible to achieve an exact balance at home. For the mower to operate efficiently, it is enough for the blade of the unit to be kept in a horizontal position for some time.

Blade sharpening

After preliminary straightening of the cutting part, you can begin sharpening the lawn mower blade. It is necessary to ensure that all chips, nicks and deformed areas are removed from the cutting edge, and that the descent of the cutting edge is one flat plane. To do this, it is recommended to work slowly and carefully.

An emery block is the simplest and most accessible tool when sharpening lawn mower blades. It is recommended to use a grinding stone with a grit of 400 to 600 grit. Before use, the block is kept in a soap solution for 10-15 minutes and during the sharpening process the grinding surface is periodically moistened with water or a weak solution of table salt.

When sharpening lawn mower blades, it is important to keep the stone in the same position, otherwise there is a risk of it becoming misaligned and making the cutting edge uneven. It is important to ensure that an equal amount of metal is removed along the entire length of the knife, otherwise the balance will be incorrect. An exception to the rule is the blade of a lawn mower with four blades: due to the number of working elements, such parts are insensitive to imbalances.

How to make it yourself

Blades that become too thin need to be replaced, but there is no need to buy a factory-made pruner - you can make the blades yourself and replace them as needed. Homemade knives may be more expensive than factory ones, but having them will help save time spent on.

Making homemade knives requires tool steel. Strips 3 mm thick and 20-50 mm wide are best suited. If the surface of the lawn is uneven and the soil is rocky, then it is recommended to take thicker blanks. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the fragility of the material and its resistance to fracture. Unsuitable blades can damage the machine if they break.

The simplest version of a lawn mower blade looks like a long strip of steel attached symmetrically relative to the axis of the tool. In this case, you need to take a blank 30-50 cm long.

There is a second common option - two short homemade knives, 50-80 mm in length, attached to the edges of the axis. It is important that the angle between them is exactly 180° to maintain balance and symmetry. Such blades are positioned both straight and with a slight inclination relative to each other. The blades are secured with one or two bolts.

Regardless of the chosen option, the workpiece needs to be sharpened and balanced.

The above methods are only suitable for devices with steel blades. It is difficult to straighten plastic trimmer blades at home. If such a unit breaks down, you must contact a service center.