sharpening reel blades and bed blade on reel mower

[scrapcan]

Just thought I would ask if anyone here can offer insight into sharpening the reel and bed blade on a reel mower.

[shaggist]

If you will Google 'www. reelmowers.info', it will tell you step-by-step how to sharpen both sides, both the reel and the bed blade. I didn't have computer access when I first did mine and it was a bigger job than I would take on now. It is a rather interesting process, though.

[Bret4207]

Some allow you to reverse the rotation of the reel to sharpen. I seem to recall a paste abrasive being used so it's more of a lapping event. The traditional reel grinder was a lathe looking contraption with a grinder and feed mechanism. I saw one many, many years ago but never saw it run.

[JeffinNZ]

+1 with Bret. I paid to have my handmower sharpened then had to do it myself anyway. I tweaked up the bed blade then back lapped it. Worked a treat. Didn't take too long either.

[shotman]

both the last replies is best , use valve lapping compound . and run slow in reverse You need to clean bed plate and get ready to adjust it needs to fit tight and when done set to a dollar bill is able to pull out with out tearing. Watch the blades and make sure they are cutting uniform. from one end to the other . As jeff said it is a pain but hard to fine any one to do them.
But after you get it right the first time its easy. Then you can put wife behind it and have a beer

[scrapcan]

Thanks guys. I did read everything I could find on all the sites from google that mentioned info on reel mower maintenance.

I was wondering if you have to adjust the bed blade along the way of back honing? i.e lap a bit re-adjsut, lap a bit, etc...

I was told by an old friend who sharpened lots of reels for mowing golf courses that I should just take it to the golf course with a six pack and talk tot he maintenance guys. I am not a golfer so they would be onto me quick ( I thought golf balls were for mid range target practice!). He also said they did the intial bed blade set with a playing card (now I know why he alsways seemed to be a few cards short of a full deck, the rest are in that damn shop somewhere) then would take it down to the dollar bill thing.

I had great pleasure as a kid some 25 to 30 years ago using the push reel mower and a sell propelled engine driven reel mower and have had this int eh back of my mind since that time.

I could try to take it somewhere, but being independant sort I would like to know how to do it myself.

[Bill*]

I've done a couple. We would adjust the bed knife fairly tight, brush on some valve lapping compound, and run it with a slow or variable speed big (1/2 HP 2 handed) electric drill motor. Just keep painting on compound as the blade loses the "gritty" sound. On the ones I did, you could take off a few machine screws and pull a side plate to get to the reel nut. Get a 1/2" drive socket to fit and cut off the ratchet end of a drive extension, Chuck that in the drill and away you go. Be wary of your drill speed though, or you'll be wearing that lapping compound :shock:
Just re-read last post; No, we didn't adjust the bed knife while lapping. The ones I worked on had springs to maintain closure pressure onto the reel. I just relied on that.

[scrapcan]

Thanks Bill I appreciate your input.

[JIMinPHX]

There used to be machines around for sharpening those reels. A place in White Plains NY, called Silver Lake Garage used to have one. That place isn't there anymore. I think that a guy out in northern NJ got the sharpening rig off of him. Most of the reel mowers are either made by Worthington or Toro. Both of those reels can be sharpened on the same machine. There are also some less common brands out there that use smaller reels that don't fit on the full sized sharpening rig.

You might try hanging around with some of the greens-keepers at a local golf course & ask where they get their reels sharpened. Golf courses are probably the most common places to use that type of mower.

[GabbyM]

If you use a machine it's a cylindrical grinding machine. They used to be fairly common in machine shops but modern lathes and tooling have yielded the ability to hold .0005” tolerance with a fairly nice surface finish. Last small shop I worked in they sold there grinder since they'd not run it in a few years.

You all wealthy people can use dollar bills to gauge your reel but I'll stick with notebook paper folded double.

I worked at Agri-Fab in Sullivan , IL for a year. Back then we were the only company making walk behind real mowers. They probably placed different brand names on them as they did most items. They assembled them on a line that ran all the way through packing and onto a truck. Took the lady maybe fifteen seconds to gauge the reel. I watched her do it a few times since she was after all a beautiful blond. She used notebook paper and it cut on the final roll. Can't recall if she had it folded once or not. With new reels you grind them since they are just a rough weldment that's been painted.

Put some miles on a push real mower when I was a youngster. Mowing around my Grandfathers honey bee hives. Gas engines tend to upset them which is not a good idea.

[Cap'n Morgan]

For a quick 'n' dirty temporary fix, paint the edge of the blades with a marker, and grind or file a relief on the back of the edge leaving only a thin bearing surface. Do the same for the bed-knife.

[scrapcan]

Thanks again fo rthe good info. I will be going down this road in the very near future. If all else fails the reel mower, a six pack, and I will be going to one of the local golf course maintenance shops!

[JeffinNZ]

Golf greenkeepers will know their stuff!!! Good thinking.