Do you file depth gauges on safety chain?

[PCeBiker]

I like the way you say "beat the grass off cleaner"

My string trimmer can really plow through the grass, but the string is round, and is probably the dullest shape possible?

Even a blunt edge would have corners that would help make it sharper.

Interestingly, I ran out of string for my trimmer and bought new line that turned out to be square !!

It works Way Better !!!

My chain link fence used to eat up all kinds of blunt round line because I had to rev the snot out of my trimmer to "beat the grass off".

With the square line, my rpms are Way Slower with the "sharpened corners" to cut through the grass, so the line just rubs on the wire fence instead of being cut.

Used for smaller trees on the ground; easier on cutters back. I think this one is missing a guard.

Bow Bar???? What is the purpose of a bar like this

Can any one tell me exactly what a bow bar is used for, are they better or worse than the normal bars found on chain saws for cutting. The only thing I know about a bow bar is the pulp cutters down south like them. The reason for the question is I recently bought an old Homelite gear drive...

arboristsite.com

Your link provided the answer.

 

[spokewrench]

On the lawn mower blades, I use a hand file unless the blade is really bad, the blades are soft metal and easy to sharpen with a good file. If an angle grinder is used the heat at the edge makes the edge really soft and they won't stay sharp very long. Haven't used a wet wheel but that would be ideal. And always balance the blades. I have a 25 yr old 48" walk behind with the same spindles as new.

I didn't like files. They would get dull. I'd have to set things up so I could apply pressure, and it was too easy to rock. I came to prefer a 1750 rpm bench grinder, especially for bush hog blades. The stone scraped the steel at 45 mph. It could work if the stone wasn't too coarse and I kept the pressure light.

After I left the farm, I didn't have a bench grinder. I resorted to using an angle grinder. A 4" disk scraped at 120 mph, way too fast! Control was terrible.

In 2019 I discovered the 1/2" belt sander. The speed can be adjusted between 10 and 20 mph. Almost no pressure is needed, so I can clamp a blade to the end of a board near eye level, where I can see up close. The length makes it easy to maintain a precise bevel, which I can find by painting the original bevel with a felt-tip pen. The ink also makes it easy to see when I've ground an edge sharp. I have a wide assortment of grits, and changing a belt is much cheaper than buying a file.

 

[Marcela]

I didn't like files. They would get dull. I'd have to set things up so I could apply pressure, and it was too easy to rock. I came to prefer a 1750 rpm bench grinder, especially for bush hog blades. The stone scraped the steel at 45 mph. It could work if the stone wasn't too coarse and I kept the pressure light.

After I left the farm, I didn't have a bench grinder. I resorted to using an angle grinder. A 4" disk scraped at 120 mph, way too fast! Control was terrible.

In 2019 I discovered the 1/2" belt sander. The speed can be adjusted between 10 and 20 mph. Almost no pressure is needed, so I can clamp a blade to the end of a board near eye level, where I can see up close. The length makes it easy to maintain a precise bevel, which I can find by painting the original bevel with a felt-tip pen. The ink also makes it easy to see when I've ground an edge sharp. I have a wide assortment of grits, and changing a belt is much cheaper than buying a file.View attachment 211314

Belt sander still heats the edge of the blade. I have a bench grinder and angle grinder so no advantage to the belt. I will never wear the file out on the soft blade.

 

[kevinmccune]

Belt sander still heats the edge of the blade. I have a bench grinder and angle grinder so no advantage to the belt. I will never wear the file out on the soft blade.

the overpriced "grubcadet" blades are wearing better then I expected,for the money I have wondered why they couldn't have put a little toolbox and hour meter on the zt series,I have the one with the steering wheel it really does good on hills.one thing I didn't like was those stupid "s" center section quills( what the "wide world of sports" was wrong with the star arbors?

 

[PCeBiker]

I kinda like the serrated edge that my grinder leaves on my lawnmower blade.
It does a better job of mulching stumps, sticks, stones, walnut shells, and ground hits back into the soil.

A sharp blade wouldn't stay sharp for more that 10 minutes anyway.

Maybe I should invest in a carbide mulching mower blade.


I think that you guys are being Way Too Fussy?
I wonder if Specialized makes a mower for people like you.


A dull chainsaw chain is different.
It just don't work at all.
Especially if it's only dull on one side after you hit a nail.

 

[PCeBiker]

,.. For that, it works quite well and is one less gas engine to maintain.

I bought my last mower from a friend for $20 (turned out that he borrowed it from a friend and sold it to me, then told his friend that it was stolen )

The mower lasted 15 years with No Maintenance at all except for a single oil change, and I had to replace the rubber primer fuel bulb after it started leaking.
(And a few 10 minute "sharpenings" with the grinder)

I'd run it hard and put it away wet.
Literally.

The caked up grass mulch would turn moldy, and the metal frame was rusting.

I only got rid of it cuz I didn't want to push it anymore.
Then I realized that I didn't wanna walk along with my self-propelled mower either, so I hired someone to cut my grass.

If I had spent a grand on a Milwaukee mower, I'd feel obligated to cut my own grass.
When the novelty of the fancy new mower wore off, I'd begin resenting my expensive toy cuz cutting grass is still a chore.

I bought a fancy Dyson Vacuum thinking it would make cleaning Fun!!

It didn't work.
My house is still a fukin mess.
(I'm keeping my old washing machine for the same reason)

 

[RunForTheHills]

I bought my last lawn mower around 30 years ago. I haven't had a lawn for the last 25 years or so. One of the benefits of living in the mountains.

 

[PCeBiker]

I don't like the servitude to the property involved in grass growing regions.

I'd rather live in the forest where the instruments of servitude are more funner, cuz they're more dangerous.

 

[6zfshdb]

If I had spent a grand on a Milwaukee mower, I'd feel obligated to cut my own grass.
When the novelty of the fancy new mower wore off, I'd begin resenting my expensive toy cuz cutting grass is still a chore.

How about a robot mower?

Lymow One Plus Robotic Lawn Mower

- Lymow Tech

www.lymow.com

 

[PCeBiker]

How about a robot mower?

I HATE Robots!!

I'd rather have my mower be operated by a Dumb Ass than a Stupid Robot, so I should get one of these,...

And then modify it a bit so I could control it remotely with one of these FLIR headsets,..

Then I can just sit on my ass anywhere in the world and cut my grass.

I think that might actually make mowing fun ??

I don't mind wasting All Kinds of on Fun stuff like my ebike and all the tools I bought for it and have yet to use.

Maybe @Chargeride can help me out.
He knows how to build stuff like that.

I wanna do it on the cheap with no "Artificial" interference.

 

[spokewrench]

Belt sander still heats the edge of the blade. I have a bench grinder and angle grinder so no advantage to the belt. I will never wear the file out on the soft blade.

Some consumer mower blades are soft enough to file. The first mower I bought was a commercial Lawnboy. Commercial mowers and many consumer mowers have blades tempered to HRC 38 to 45. Using a file to sharpen the blade was like trying to file a knife. I ended up using a stone.

A 5" angle grinder probably scrapes at 150 mph. A bench grinder could be 45 to 125 mph, depending on the motor speed and the wheel size. My belt turns at 10 mph. That slow speed is a big advantage, and I have control suitable for sharpening a knife. I'll finish up with a diamond hone. After I mow half an acre, the edge will still feel sharp enough to peel a potato. Keeping the temper makes a difference.

 

[spokewrench]

I think that you guys are being Way Too Fussy?
I wonder if Specialized makes a mower for people like you.

A sharp blade cuts cleaner. That reduces my downtime scraping sappy pulp from under the deck. In the autumn, a sharp blade can cut leaves into bits small enough to disappear between the grass leaves. That saves raking.