| It's a bit of a pain to remove and sharpen a | | | | cutting off a few fingers, either when the operator is |
| lawnmower blade, but it is a necessary part of | | | | trying to remove a jam with their bare hand, or |
| maintenance. Dull blades tear grass and stress it out. | | | | taking off the blade and accidently starting the |
| Sharpening a blade is not a difficult task. | | | | mower. Regardless of how unlikely you think it is - |
| There is a vast range of lawn mowers on the | | | | better safe than permanently sorry. |
| market, each in a different price range offering | | | | 3. Tip the mower over - but be careful in doing so, |
| different features. But the most important feature of | | | | so no oil spills from its reservoir and gets into the air |
| your lawnmower is the blade - the tool that actually | | | | filter.. Wedge a piece of scrap wood against the |
| cuts the grass. | | | | blade to prevent it from moving while you use the |
| All blades will dull over time....if you allow the blade to | | | | appropriate wrench to unscrew the blade and |
| stay dull, there will be repercussions. A dull blade will | | | | remove it. Wear gloves. |
| have to work harder to cut the grass, and will not | | | | 4. Place the blade in a vice. |
| cut it as cleanly as a sharp blade. This damages the | | | | 5. Sharpen the blade with a file or grinder. |
| grass, and it also can damage the mower engine, as | | | | 6. Check the balance of the blade by putting a |
| the engine will have to work harder to power the | | | | screwdriver through the center hole, and then holding |
| blade. | | | | the screwdriver out horizontally. If the blade tilts one |
| Lawnmower Blades | | | | way or the other, carefully file off a bit of the |
| Read the manual on your lawnmower. Lawnmower | | | | heavier side. |
| blades are made from a variety of materials - and | | | | 6. Refit the blade. |
| some are not capable of being sharpened by the | | | | 7. Replace the sparkplug, battery or electric cord. |
| owner. | | | | It's always best to sharpen the blade every couple |
| 1. The manual will tell you how to remove the blade | | | | of months. |
| . | | | | If you don't want to go to the bother of sharpening |
| 2. If the mower is electric, pull out the plug, if battery | | | | your blade, you can always buy spares and put a |
| operated, remove the battery, and if it's a gasoline | | | | new blade on the mower. Bring the old blade into a |
| engine, remove the spark plug and make sure the | | | | hardware store and have them sharpen it. Then |
| gas tank is simple. The reason is simple. Most | | | | store it in a safe place so no one will be able to cut |
| accidents regarding lawn mowers entail the blade | | | | their hands on it. |