Cutting Units
Blade Safety
A worn or damaged blade or bedknife can break, and
a piece could be thrown toward you or bystanders,
resulting in serious personal injury or death.
•
Inspect the blades and bedknives periodically for
excessive wear or damage.
•
Use care when checking the blades. Wear gloves
and use caution when servicing them. Only
replace or backlap the blades and bedknives;
never straighten or weld them.
•
On machines with multiple cutting units, take care
when rotating a cutting unit; it can cause the reels
in the other cutting units to rotate.
Back Lapping the Cutting
Units
WARNING
Contact with the cutting units or other moving
parts can result in personal injury.
•
Keep fingers, hands, and clothing away
from the cutting units or other moving
parts.
•
Never attempt to turn the cutting units by
hand or foot while the engine is running.
Use this process to restore the sharp cutting edges to
reels and bedknives which are needed for good-quality
grass cutting.
This process can only removes a small amount of
metal to restore the cutting edges. If the blade edges
are seriously worn or damaged, remove the cutting
unit and have the reels and bedknife ground again.
1.
Engage the parking brake, lower the cutting
units, shut off the engine, and remove the key.
2.
Adjust the reels to the bedknives to obtain light
contact.
3.
Apply a coat of medium-grade detergent-based
carborundum paste to the cutting edges of the
reels with a long-handled brush.
80-grade carborundum paste
Part number
0.45 kg (1 lb)
63-07-088
11.25 kg (25 lb)
63-07-086
g014445
Figure 72
4.
Sit on the operator seat, start the engine, and
set the engine speed to idle.
WARNING
If you touch the cutting units when the
engine is running, you could be seriously
injured.
•
Ensure that the area surrounding the
cutting units is clear of people.
•
Keep hands and feet clear of the
cutting units during the period when
the mower engine is running.
5.
Press cutting unit drive switch to the R
EVERSE
(backlap) position for a period of time. Listen
to the grinding action.
6.
Operate the cutting unit drive switch to the O
FF
.
When the cutting unit stops running, shut off the
engine and remove the key.
7.
Thoroughly clean the blade edges and adjust
the bedknives to the reels.
8.
Check that a thin piece of paper can be cut
cleanly at all points along the cutting edges
while rotating the reels by hand.
9.
If further back lapping is necessary repeat steps
through
.
10.
Thoroughly clean off all traces of the
carborundum paste from the reels and
bedknives.
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