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Section 5: Maintenance & Lubrication
RCF3696, RCFM3696, RCF3610, & RCFM3610 Rotary Cutters 326-600M
8/20/21
Cutter Blade Maintenance
WARNING
!
To avoid serious injury or death:
•
Do not operate cutter with blades that are out-of-balance,
bent, excessively worn, excessively nicked, or with blade
bolts that are excessively worn. Such blades can break loose
•
Do not attempt to straighten a bent blade or weld on a
blade. Do not attempt to modify a blade such as hard
surfacing, heat treating, cold treating, or by any other
method. Always replace blades with genuine OEM blades to
•
Cutter blades must be 90 deg. to each other to be in time or
blades will contact each other when hitting solid objects
such as tree stumps, rocks and earth.
•
A locknut that has been removed can lose its thread locking
properties. Reusing a used locknut can result in a thrown
blade. Always use a new locknut when installing blades.
Always inspect cutting blades before each use. Make
certain they are properly installed and in good working
condition. Replace any blade that is damaged, worn,
bent, or excessively nicked. Never try to straighten a bent
blade! Small nicks can be ground out when sharpening.
Refer to Figure 5-3 on page 57 when ordering Land Pride
replacement blade components.
1. Place tractor gear selector in park and/or set brakes,
shut engine off and remove ignition key.
2. Disconnect main driveline from tractor power take-off
and secure cutter deck in the up position with solid
supports before servicing underside of cutter.
Refer to Figure 5-3 on page 57:
3. Remove access cover (#5).
4. Rotate blade bolt (#1) until aligned with access
hole.
5. Unscrew locknut (#3) to remove cutting blade (#6).
Blade bolt (#1) is keyed and will not turn freely.
6. Both blades should be sharpened at the same angle
as the original cutting edge and must be replaced or
re-ground at the same time to maintain proper
balance. The following precautions should be taken
when sharpening blades:
a. Do not remove more material than necessary.
b. Do not heat and/or pound out a cutting edge.
c. Do not grind blades to a razor edge. Leave a blunt
cutting edge approximately 1/16" (2 mm) thick.
IMPORTANT:
Replace cutter blades in pairs with
genuine Land Pride blades only. Replacing single
blades can result in an out-of-balance condition that
will contribute to premature bearing wear/breakage
and/or structural cracks in gearbox and/or deck.
d. Always grind cutting edge so end of blade remains
square to cutting edge and not rounded.
e. Do not sharpen back side of blade.
f. Both blades should weigh the same after
sharpening with not more than 1 1/2 oz.
difference.
Blade Positioning and Rotational Directional
Figure 5-2
Refer to Figure 5-2:
7.
Make certain when installing cutter blades that the
blades on one spindle is positioned 90 degrees to the
blades on the other spindle as shown in Figure 5-2.
8. Carefully check cutting edges of blades in relation to
blade carrier rotation to ensure correct blade
placement. Blade rotation is counterclockwise on the
left side and clockwise on the right side. Airfoil (lift)
must be oriented towards the top of the deck.
Refer to Figure 5-3:
9. Insert blade bolt (#1) through blade (#6), dish
pan (#4), and flat washer (#2). Secure blade with a
new locknut (#3)
and torque to 450 ft-lbs.
10. If replacing dishpan (#4), castle nut (#7) on gearbox
output shaft should be torqued to 550 ft-lbs. minimum
and secured with cotter pin (#8) with both legs bent
opposite directions around the nut.
11. Replace access rubber plug (#5) and reconnect main
driveline to tractor power take-off shaft.
CCW
CC
IMPORTANT:
Examine blade bolts (#1) and
washers (#2) for excessive wear and replace if worn.
