[CityBoyBG]

My own version of a "poor man's Load and Go" set up has made it much easier to maintain my mower deck. As you all well know, you need to block a blade to prevent it turning before you can apply wrench force to remove or install it. With the mower deck hanging conveniently in a vertical position I was finding it frustrating to say the least to block a blade from rotating. Maybe it was just me, but 10/10 times I found blocks, blades and bolts on the ground trying to work this.

The problem of course is "blocking a blade" conventionally doesn't really work well with the deck vertical. The block (i.e., a piece of wood) you would typically lodge in there against a blade needs some pressure applied to it by the blade or it just falls out due to the laws of gravity. At least that is what was happening for me.

Hmmm.....

Well a few minutes of trial and error and a few pieces of scrap wood just created this little jig. Works a charm. I'm sure someone else posted this fix 10 years ago but I found it 10 days ago and I wanted to share.

Another little helper to make a necessary task a bit easier.

.

 

[Levi]

Impact wrench?? It's what I use.

 

[CityBoyBG]

Impact wrench?? It's what I use.

My tool collection is growing but not there yet. I'm sure that item makes it a breeze.

 

[Ritz]

If you have the deck up on it's side, why bother taking the blades off at all if you just want to sharpen them? Get a sharpening stone on a mandrel that's made for doing mower blades and let your drill do the work. That's how I sharpened mine at about 20 hours of usage. It took about 5 minutes to do all 3 blades on my 60" deck.

I used something like this which I believe I bought at homedepot.

https://www.amazon.com/Grizzly-Lawn-Gear-Sharpener-Attachment/dp/B07W3ZGQRN

Best,

 

[Ritz]

Impact wrench?? It's what I use.

Yep, an impact wrench is the only way to fly for mower blades. And for a DIY person, they come in very handy, in general.

Best,

 

[CityBoyBG]

If you have the deck up on it's side, why bother taking the blades off at all if you just want to sharpen them? Get a sharpening stone on a mandrel that's made for doing mower blades and let your drill do the work. That's how I sharpened mine at about 20 hours of usage. It took about 5 minutes to do all 3 blades on my 60" deck.

I used something like this which I believe I bought at homedepot.

Amazon.com: Grizzly Lawn Gear Lawn Mower Blade Sharpener Drill Attachment Kit Includes Free Blade Balancer Gloves for Power and Hand Drill Mower Blade Sharpener Lawnmower Blade Sharpener : Patio, Lawn & Garden

Best,

Agreed. With this new lifting capability, I am just bringing my angle grinder to the deck and doing it right there. This particular time I felt they needed a balance check so I took them off, and was happy to have my helper. For a quick 1-2 only with the angle grinder, I would just leave them in place and move on.

 

[2016JD3033R]

I use an impact as well. I had a block of wood that I used before the impact came along.

 

[bpop]

Quick question for dressing the blades. Grinder disk or flap disk? (assuming no major divots in the blade)

 

[Kbar]

Flap
For a blade stop I use one of these.

Solid Rubber Wheel Chock

Amazing deals on this Solid Rubber Wheel Chock at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

But like others my impact gets it off while holding it. With gloves on if course

 

[coaltrain]

Yep, an impact wrench is the only way to fly for mower blades. And for a DIY person, they come in very handy, in general.

Best,

I use an impact as well. I had a block of wood that I used before the impact came along.

How do you guys use a torque wrench when you don’t use any blocks of wood?

I tried installing my blade bolts with the impact wrench on low as a test and the bolts were WAY over torqued.

 

[bpop]

How do you guys use a torque wrench when you don’t use any blocks of wood?

I tried installing my blade bolts with the impact wrench on low as a test and the bolts were WAY over torqued.

Impact for removal. Torque wrench for install.

 

[Ritz]

Impact for removal. Torque wrench for install.

In a previous life I was a mechanic for a long time. I can't say I'm anywhere close to the accuracy of a decent torque wrench by "feel", but I think I'm close enough for mower blades.

Yes, in a perfect world, you'd use a torque wrench for everything. I generally don't bother unless I'm working on an engine, brakes, or suspension components.

Best,

 

[bpop]

In a previous life I was a mechanic for a long time. I can't say I'm anywhere close to the accuracy of a decent torque wrench by "feel", but I think I'm close enough for mower blades.

Yes, in a perfect world, you'd use a torque wrench for everything. I generally don't bother unless I'm working on an engine, brakes, or suspension components.

Best,

Understood, but not impact for the install. Correct?

 

[Ritz]

Understood, but not impact for the install. Correct?

My 1/2" air impact wrench torques up to about 80ft/lbs on the lowest setting with my compressor putting out 150psi. So yes, I'd personally use my impact gun because I know how it performs. If you don't have that level of familiarity with your tools, use a torque wrench.

Best,

 

[MattL]

Flap
For a blade stop I use one of these.

Solid Rubber Wheel Chock

Amazing deals on this Solid Rubber Wheel Chock at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

But like others my impact gets it off while holding it. With gloves on if course

Not all of the blade is sharp! But I don't touch the blade(s) while the impact is Thwack-Thwack-Thwacking...

 

[MattL]

How do you guys use a torque wrench when you don’t use any blocks of wood?

I tried installing my blade bolts with the impact wrench on low as a test and the bolts were WAY over torqued.

I used my Dewalt 20v Impact Driver (no where near as strong as a proper impact wrench) and use the "good-n-tight" method of securing them. I usually swap my blades between 15-20 hours of mowing, likely way too much....

 

[Ritz]

Not all of the blade is sharp! But I don't touch the blade(s) while the impact is Thwack-Thwack-Thwacking...

I have gloves on and just hold it on the dull edge. If you've got an impact gun, you just need to apply enough force to keep it from rotating...which isn't very much. But that's just me. To be completely safe, it's hard to find fault with a block of wood,rubber/hockey puck/etc to jam in there to prevent the blade from spinning. Better safe than sorry.

Best,

 

[bpop]

My 1/2" air impact wrench torques up to about 80ft/lbs on the lowest setting with my compressor putting out 150psi. So yes, I'd personally use my impact gun because I know how it performs. If you don't have that level of familiarity with your tools, use a torque wrench.

Best,

Ok. My only impact is the 1000lb/ft Milwaukee beast. I think the low setting is 250lbs. Still not nearly as familiar with it as you are with yours.

 

[MattL]

Ok. My only impact is the 1000lb/ft Milwaukee beast. I think the low setting is 250lbs. Still not nearly as familiar with it as you are with yours.

That's WAY too much muscle to put them on! 😁

 

[Pedals2Paddles]

Impact gun to remove and install. No blocking needed. No I don't use a torque wrench on mower blades. I'm confident I am not missing out on anything important by not using a torque wrench for this task. It's a mower blade, not a cylinder head.

With the blades removed and in a vice, I use a wire brush on the whole thing to clean all the garbage off so it's clean metal. You can't do that without removing the blades obviously. Then a flap disc on an angle grinder to sharpen. If the edge is really chewed up, I'll grind the edge blunt first to clean the chewed up nicks off.

There's no way I'd be sharpening these blades by hand or with or with a drill, especially with them still attached. Tried and it sucked.

How much effort you need to put into cleaning and sharpening the blades depends greatly on your lawn's conditions. Your conditions may leave the blades super chewed up or super clean and easy.