Mowing a lawn is a soothing task that helps you pass your idle time as well as keeps your lawn healthy.
Eventually, all that depends on the sharpness of the blade. If you don’t want to sharpen the old way, you need to know how to sharpen lawn mower blade with a bench grinder.
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Why do You Need to Sharpen Lawn Mower Blade?
If you are new to the mowing game, here are some reasons to understand why sharpening the lawnmower bladehttps://www.gardeningeasily.com/best-lawn-mower-blades-for-thick-grass/ is crucial.
- Clean and neat Lawn – A Sharp blade will always cut your grass more effectively and gives it a sparkling look.
- Fuel Efficiency –Usually a dull blade tears the grass rather than cuts it. You will be mowing more to finish the job. That will consume more fuel as a result.
- Less Work – With a sharp blade you will need only one fell-swoop to finish mowing. That saves a lot of time.
- Easy to use – When the blade in the mower loses sharpness, it tends to drag a lot and becomes harder to maneuver. With a sharp blade, it’s the opposite.
How to Sharpen Lawn Mower Blade with a Bench Grinder?
Every individual with lawn mowing experience knows what it means to have a sharp blade in your mower. The most common way you can achieve that is by using a steel file.
It is still a great way to sharpen your blade unless you are in a hurry and you need a better option.
Fortunately, a bench grinder can do that effectively without spending much of your time. Plus, the end result will be outstanding due to using different levels of gritstone.
In short, a bench grinder makes your work much easier than using a steel file. Here are the steps to follow:–
- Equip necessary safety gear like gloves, goggles, and mask.
- Remove the blade from the mower
- Wash your blade and dry.
- Use a bench grinder to sharpen it.
- Make the blade properly balanced.
- Reconnect the blade with the mower.
Now, let’s jump right into it.
Equip Necessary Safety Gear Like Gloves, Goggles, and Mask
It’s a brainer to take safety precautions whenever you are working with power tools. Whether it’s a complex auto repair or simple handy housework, there shouldn’t be any exception.
The same principle applies here. Keep in mind that it’s easier to take safety before than to suffer later.
You will need heavy-duty gloves to hold the blade. If you are familiar with the lawnmower blades, you know how keen they can be. Even the old and used ones can be fairly dangerous to touch with naked hands.
The goggles and mask serve the same purpose of keeping your body protected from accidental harm.
Remove the Blade from the Mower
Removing the blade is fairly an easy task provided you know what to do. But there are some tricks that more first-times would miss.
It will make your removal process much easier. Before you start, keep these tools near for your convenience.
- Torque wrench.
- Small piece of wood.
- Jacks for lifting.
The first step of the removal process is unplugging the spark plug. By doing that you will make sure the lawnmower doesn’t start accidentally.
The next step is lifting the mower so you can get to the blade from underneath. If it’s a riding mower, it would be much heavier than a hand-controlled one.
So it’s best to use a car jack to lift the front side of the mower. The lighter mower can be lifted by hands much effortlessly. Just make sure you are not spilling any oil from the engine.
The blade is attached through a single nut with the spindle. Hold down the blade with gloves and use the torque wrench to unscrew the nut counterclockwise slowly.
You can also use a rag instead of gloves. If you have trouble unscrewing the nut, jam a wood piece to prevent the blade from turning.
Wash Your Lawn Mower Blade and Dry it
After you have successfully removed the blade, give it a good wash. The blade is probably old and there will be a lot of gunk and dirt due to regular mowing.
So washing it before the sharpening will give it a clean look to inspect the curves. And remember to dry it too.
Use a Bench Grinder to Sharpen it
Now you have come to the most important part. Again, as you are ready to grind the blade wear gloves, goggles, and a mask for your protection.
The grinder has a powerful motor. If this is your first time with the grinder, get familiar with the controls.
Start grinding with the roughest stone you have. Follow the exact line and angle of the edge on the blade as they were before.
Slowly move the blade tracing the prior line of sharping. Ensure you are doing it with a consistent move and steady hand. If you grind too much, it will get harder to balance later on.
After finishing preliminary grinding, review the work. Try to find any missing spot and sharpen that part thoroughly. Then retouch all the sharpened lines with a finer grinding stone for smooth finishing.
Remember, if your blade is comparatively thinner than other mower blades, don’t grind it too much.
It will compromise the integrity of the blade and can cause accidents in the future. If that’s the case replace the blade with a new one.
Make the Blade Properly Balanced
The process of sharpening involves scraping off a significant amount of metal from the blade. That makes one side of the blade lighter than the other.
If you continue mowing with this while it’s unbalanced. You are not going to get better results, let alone bend the blade the right way.
The simplest approach to make it balance is to use a nail or you can also use simple twine. The goal is to hang the blade from exactly the middle to see which side is still heavy.
Use a grinder to make the heavy side a bit lighter and check the balance again until you get the proportion right.
Reconnect The Blade With Mower
After you completed the sharpening and balancing process, it’s finally time to reconnect the blade with the Lawnmower.
Make sure you place the edge facing the right direction. If the edge is on the wrong side, the blade will tear your grass very badly.
The way you can achieve this is to place the sharp side of the blade counterclockwise.
Normally blades turn the same side while operating. If you can’t remember the side, takes a picture before removing it. That will help you in the end.
Final Thought
Mowing can be a regular chore for you if you have a lawn around your house. And, keeping your lawn mower blade sharp is as important as cleaning the grass.
You can always buy a new blade if you want. But sharpening the blade with a bench grinder will always be cheap and easy.
We hope you found our article informative to understand how to sharpen lawn mower blades with a bench grinder. Now feel the beauty of your lawn with passion.
