I had a similar idea and was thrilled to see someone did it. My reason was a little different. I’m into restoring and using old tractors on the farm and the blade manufacturers have stopped producing blades. You could easily make a business out of this project for this use case alone. There is a lot of old equipment out there - because they don’t die like the disposable stuff made today. Amazing work! If you decide to start making blades - be sure to let me know because I’ll be placing orders.
Nice video! I would like to mention that there are factory blades made specifically for sandy conditions. They have the uplift part cut off even with the blade about 1" back from the end of the blade. The idea is the sand gets thrown out from under the deck much quicker than if the uplift part is intact. Would not add much to fabrication to do the same thing. Might be something to try side by side in the future. I think it would make a great video! Thanks for your upbeat enthusiasm with the fabrication!
Jim, you're very easy to root for. This was/is a great idea and fun to watch. A zero compromise alternative at 1/10 the price, and probably pretty fun to make too. You definitely checked all the boxes on this one.
Nice Videos. I love your shop and creative skills. Standard mower blades are made from heat treatable alloys and they are heat treated to Rockwell C 40-45. Years ago, some were made from spring steel, but for safety reasons, none are today. Any hobby blacksmith making knives would tell you that to make the material tough, it needs to be hardened then tempered to increase the toughness. The best mower blades are austempered in a salt bath to prevent distortion and eliminate the possibility for quench cracking during heat treatment. For an oil quench process, if the blade is hardened and not tempered, it will be brittle and will very likely shatter (depending on the alloy). You can drill standard mower blade material, but it would wear a drill quickly. Some premium steel mower blades are Rockwell C 48-52 (these would dull a drill even faster). This harder material is called Marbain by the manufacturer. Mild steel is not acceptable for bend, dent, wear and fatigue resistance. Keep your loved ones and prized possessions away from the area you are mowing with these unheat treated blades. You are right, the amount of airlift height improves the grass lift and cut quality. It also picks up more soil/sand and will wear the edge and airlift over time. $3 of material and $50-100 of your time (not sure of your shop rate) does not make a quality mower blade in my opinion.
The one factor I didn't hear was balance. Balancing will prolong your spindles and perhaps help with some of those hanger blades of grass. Gerat video series as usual.
I watched all three videos. I am actually going to try and make a 3 point pull behind offset mower and pull it with a 1984 John Deer 430 Diesel lawn tractor that I restored. No reason, I like them and needed something to do. Turns out I use it more than I thought. I move trailers and things around on my property and recently I cut 29 trees out of a tree line. Anywhere from 6" to maybe 9" base. I didn't use tongs or even lift the trees with the 3 point. Chain around the tree and around the ball and drug them whole up to my burn pile/firewood area. It was damp and I only had to step on the diff lock a time or two. I was pretty amazed. I use a 60" Commercial Gravel zero turn to cut about 4 acres. I have a lagoon that terrifys me to get close to on a zero turn! also about 1200' of ditch. Anyone the has used a ZTR on a grade sideways knows what I'm talking about. My plan is to make a square with a top, mount an engine to it, put wheels and a hitch on it and go. I know I can buy a 33 inch blade but after seeing this I want to make a blade, maybe 40" maybe more with no pitch. It will only cut the pond bank and under a lot of cedar bushes so I don't mind a swirl or two. I am thinking 3/16 for the deck with bracing, two 12" pneumatic tires up front and two on the rear in casters. I will leave the back open or maybe put a rubber flap on it. Any suggestions are appreciated.
I used to run some hard face rods along the face before I sharpened them, lasted for 4 years. Now I tig weld some stainless rod across the cutting edge, it's doing well but won't know for a few more years yet.
Thank you so much for this video series on blades. I deal with smaller garden tractors from the late 50's to the early 70's. My GT are mostly for just putting round on, but I do like to cut grass with them. My project this month is fabrication of a 1968 Sears 48" Flattop deck and the blades for these decks are not available at any online stores. Thanks to you, I believe I now have a source for new blades. My self and my local Maker center. New subscriber for life.
Thanks very much for the video it answered questions I had. I have a 1950s mower and need blades. I will be making some now, as I can't find them. Cheers and thanks again.
I've just subscribed today and watched your 3 part series on mower blades. Nice to see your boy on the tractor. I'm 57 this year and as I look back my best memories are on the farm doing the gardening, haying, raising animals, milking etc. Some long hard days doing fencing in the heat of summer, cutting wood and doing hundreds of bales of hay each day... but I wouldn't give up those days for anything. (I don't miss the blackfies, mosquitoes, horse and deer flies though) Excellent video
One of my ideas was making disk with the wings cut in them for the lift . Then attaching the disposable hay cutting tips on them. Or even using mild steel like you have have for inserts.
I can tell you what my neighbor does. He makes his blades from spring steel from a car spring shackles. He softens them with heat using his oven. Then does all the machining, bending and then heat treats them to about 40-45 rockwell hardness. This is still able to be abused without cracking. They last for years. That would be right up your alley fella. I can understand the cost of stuff is just going through the roof. I have do not have that problem, but can feel your pain.
thanks jim, for your hands-on efforts that REALLY help people understand things. I watched all 3 highly entertaining vids cover to cover, because i operate a 18" lawnmower that needs blades, and as a metalman cant stop fiddling, tinkering, improving, diy-ing things. YES, im from the place your osborne disk is from ...Thumbs up !
Awesome video. I have been tempted to make my own blades. 10 hours is all I can get out of my $100 Toro blades. Sand kills the blades pretty quick. Your video appears to address all the key issues and I now might give it a crack. Thanks again for your video.
I thanks for showing the making of the blades, and I will try to make my own blades from now on, As you say the blades are expensive and anytime a retired Guy can save a buck it worth doing.
Jim, Thanks for this series. I have a finish mower for a 1942 Farmall Super A to refurbish this winter for a neighbor. The blades are not something over the counter any longer, so it looks like I will make some. Also, I was at the mower shop last month and they let me rummage around the stock of new mower blades looking for something that would fit this, and I did find one interesting set. They were a brand new set of blades that had flame hardened edges. I was quite surprised to see that. I never got any part number or anything from them, but I thought that was an interesting design. Keep up the good work. R.J.
Gday Jim, thanks for sharing this, I’ve now watched all three videos and you have answered my thoughts, I just wasn’t sure if I made blades for my mower that It would be successful, now I quite sure it will be, here in Australia blades for my 52” Toro cost me around $80 and there the cheap ones, I think I can do it a hell of a lot cheaper then that, Thanks again Jim it’s much appreciated and thanks for sharing, Cheers mate Matty in Australia 🇦🇺
I agree that nothing else is needed on the blades. I grew up in Zephyrhills and my family owned a welding and machine shop. We would put Stellite on the cutting edge of Bushhog blades to maintain sharpness but nothing will keep sand from eating up the lifts / turned up edges of lawn mower blades. It’s just not practice or cost efficient to do so. However moving to the north GA mountains stopped that problem, but rocks still tearup the cutting edges.
You are very correct. I owned a house on Cape Cod and could not believe how fast I wore thru the turned up part of the blades. Same as yours. I run a small engine shop now in upper state N.Y. and mow about 3 acres and get one or two years out of blades and only have to sharpen them about two times a year. Thanks for the great video's.
Jim, I asked Google what they were made of. Heres what it said:Lawn mower blades by standard are made of extremely soft steel. They have to bend and dent when hitting rocks and other hard debris. If they were made of tool grade steels, they would shatter and become missiles. I really enjoy watching you , Uncle Keith and Adam. Keep up the great content
Yes, they are not made from tool grade steels. Those materials are wear resistant, but not tough enough. Blades are not made from mild soft steel, they are made from heat treated steel alloys that are chosen for strength, toughness, wear and fatigue resistance.
like it I am a bit of a magyver. I have one large blade as in 30 in hard to come by anymore so looking to do something like that. don't have the toys to play with like you though. only real challenge I see is making the lift.
1 Thing we do when sharpening a blade is---(my dad 30 years a go was trying to balance a blade he looked . over a 6" 1/4 bolt on the bench, he grab it and drove into a 2X4 above the grinder. It is still their and I throw a blade on the bolt every time I sharpen a blade)
A long time ago my Mom almost lost her foot to a thrown mower blade. It was a weird mower set-up that had a big disk with 4 sickle bar sections riveted on. Thing cut good but the rivets wore and out came a blade. I recall that after things settled down she took a sledgehammer to that mower....
Looking at your shop you didnt just get all the tooling and stuff in there in a few days no doubt it took time but sure is a nice looking well organized shop
Really liked this series man. Only comment that I have (completely constructive) in case you want to play with it...hard facing rod isn't nearly that expensive. I just bought 5 lbs on Amazon for about $33 shipped. (Blue Demon HARDCOVER 470 X 1/8" X 5LB Carton) -- At 3$ a piece for blades though...not sure it is worth it given that you would have to hard face...grinding the edge would take you 5 times a long (or more) but I bet you could use them for a month without sharpening them if you hard faced the edges. Thanks for the videos!!
Watched all 3 of these vids, the one thing I kept thinking about was balancing the blades. It's a big deal if you're using a regular push mower, because the vibration is not only unpleasant on your hands, but causes wear and tear on the motor itself. The balancing of the factory blades no doubt goes into the high cost of them. I guess with a pull behind 3-blade system like yours vibration might not be a problem, don't know. But vibration is definitely something to think about.
A misbalanced blade can make a lot of vibration on a tractor mounted twin blade deck. I quit after only a couple minutes and went and reground the chipped blade. Only a quarter inch chipped away but it made the whole machine shake
I have ordered some that I drilled to adapt to fit an antique rider. They're some sort of spring steel. To drill them them I use a carbide endmill to drill the mounting holes for them. It was for the old Sears Suburban. When it made it to it's 50th anniversary I retired it and bought a new zero turn. Now I will be using your idea of making my own blades. Unlike you I have lots of rocks. I'm wandering how 1018 will hold up batting rocks?????
I was just wondering the other day how the new blades went. I got quite interested in how it turned out. Appreciate the follow up. Oh that lawn mowing scene was action packed ;-) but seriously I was wondering how your lawn was doung and what it was like.
I'm with you mate. How long does it take to buy these new blades. Ill bet its longer than 45 minutes. That's how long it takes for you to make them. Very informative, thanks.
Blades are a consumable item, I always keep 2 set of blades for my mower. That way I change blades, then sharpen and balance the old set. I presume your doing that since your sharpening weekly. I understand the need to find a way to make blades in your environment so I thought that’s a great job
Great video I’m going to try that but have you thought about using a harden able material with good wear resistance such as 4140 but not hardening it? And see how much longer the last and if you can skip some of the sharpening cycles? I think you would be surprised at how much longer they would last just in an annealed state
I had hoped you would mention what I have observed and that is that factory blade ends are tapered so that each time they are sharpened they get a bit shorter and start leaving strips of uncut grass when you take a sharp turn. This is a gimmick to sell more blades. I've enjoyed learning from your videos and am going to give making my own a try. $100+ for my Massey Ferguson 60" Deck is a bit much.
great now i can give it a try with my odd sized blades i wondered what made the top edge ware out no i know sand will do it every time it didnt show up when you were mowing thanks for showing the hardness also i was so sure they were tempered or something to make them so expensive i guess its how much you are willing to pay for them great video
From what I can tell, Quite a bit of difference when it comes to wear. I am guessing that these blades will outlast 2 to 1 the higher lift blades. as far as cutting goes, I really haven't been able to tell any difference in the type of grass I cut.
Logically, If your hourly rate was $90 an hour that you could be making from your shop and you spent 15 minutes per blade, that's $22.50 + material = $25.50 per blade. Of course, that is only true if you value your time. I used to make or do just about everything myself because my time was "free" and that was the only way I could afford to do stuff, but as I get older, I have learned to value my time a little more and find myself debating to make, or just buy. Good video series.
15 minutes per set to fab. 15 minutes per set to sharpen. 30 minutes total. Plus, I got to make a good RUclips video out of it. I consider it a winner all around. My time is valuable, my shop time is precious, my shop time with my kids, priceless. Thanks for watching.
Sorry, it wasn't meant to come across as derogatory at all. I'm like you, I like doing most things myself, but as I get older I just find myself debating which way to go more often, but I also find I have less time available as well so that figures into it all. Again, always enjoy the videos and I totally agree with you. If you're having fun then heck yeah !
Check out this link on blade alloy from john Deere. It does seem that some manufactures use 1045 1085 or 5160 alloy. John Deere uses 1085? heat treated to RC 40-45 c scale. jdparts.deere.com/partsmkt/document/english/pmac/4382_fb_Lawn_Mower_Blades.htm
Did you consider a hardox product? It would raise the cost of a blade. But I wonder if it would extend the life enough to make it worth the price increase.
And if it really is only $3 of material then you could set up a little assembly line and bend out and drill 3 whole sets of blades at once to be more efficient with your time and all it costs you is what _one_ store bought blade sells for.
There are some blades available now with carbide cutting edges! Not sure I want to see what happens when you tag a rock with those. So what is your price for a 3 blade set?
It is a matter of economics, your time and material of $3 per blade or spend $27 per blade for someone else to made. At that rate you can make 9 sets for the cost of 1 bought blade; sounds like a good choice to me.
didn't look like you were cutting much grass... I'd like to hear what they cut like cutting taller grass. But then hey, $3 is $3. If I could make them for $3 I would do it also.
So, the stated purpose of making the blades is to save money and you managed to make functioning blades and reduce the cost by a factor of 9 and people want you to mess with that? I wouldn't even paint them personally.
Cost analysis doesn't include the value of your time, the additional time changing blades and any investment into equipment that makes producing or changing the blades more efficient. The point is still, how do we find a blade or blade alternative that cuts efficiently and permanently? Weed whips run out of cord, so people try saw blades. Robot mowers use 'tiny' sharp and thin blades that cause no lift, but are intended to cut small increments of grass leaves. There is a version of this available for riding mowers in the US, but it's over $200 for a set. They claim a full season without sharpening or replacing. So, at $3 a blade x 3 blades, it's $9 every time plus maintenance and replacement of the equipment used to produce them. Replacing them 10 times a year only beats the $200 price tag if the saw blades, dies, hydraulic pumps and periphery, cutting fluid, and more are excluded. I have a cheap drill press, but the tradeoff would definitely be my time, and the thought of increasing my time dedicated to just cutting grass isn't very appealing. I was kinda wondering if a fan grille from a tube style air mover could be used as a guard under the blades to absolutely prevent rocks and other hard objects from entering the cutting area, or basically creating a larger version of a rotary shaving razor. Grass goes in, gets cut off efficiently, while minimizing or eliminating the potential for damage. and if the grill was actually part of the cutting process, the overall speed of the blade could be a fraction of current rpm's used, which would greatly reduce explosive failures and ejections. Most likely some form of pass through fan would be needed to get rid of the clippings and to dry things out. And of course, finding a durable way to do it cheap would be nice. :)
DIY re-engineering is fun to watch... great job on those blades! If I'm hot and sweaty, I take my t-shirt off.😎
I had a similar idea and was thrilled to see someone did it. My reason was a little different. I’m into restoring and using old tractors on the farm and the blade manufacturers have stopped producing blades. You could easily make a business out of this project for this use case alone. There is a lot of old equipment out there - because they don’t die like the disposable stuff made today. Amazing work! If you decide to start making blades - be sure to let me know because I’ll be placing orders.
Nice video! I would like to mention that there are factory blades made specifically for sandy conditions. They have the uplift part cut off even with the blade about 1" back from the end of the blade. The idea is the sand gets thrown out from under the deck much quicker than if the uplift part is intact. Would not add much to fabrication to do the same thing. Might be something to try side by side in the future. I think it would make a great video! Thanks for your upbeat enthusiasm with the fabrication!
Jim, you're very easy to root for. This was/is a great idea and fun to watch. A zero compromise alternative at 1/10 the price, and probably pretty fun to make too. You definitely checked all the boxes on this one.
Nice Videos. I love your shop and creative skills.
Standard mower blades are made from heat treatable alloys and they are heat treated to Rockwell C 40-45. Years ago, some were made from spring steel, but for safety reasons, none are today. Any hobby blacksmith making knives would tell you that to make the material tough, it needs to be hardened then tempered to increase the toughness. The best mower blades are austempered in a salt bath to prevent distortion and eliminate the possibility for quench cracking during heat treatment. For an oil quench process, if the blade is hardened and not tempered, it will be brittle and will very likely shatter (depending on the alloy). You can drill standard mower blade material, but it would wear a drill quickly. Some premium steel mower blades are Rockwell C 48-52 (these would dull a drill even faster). This harder material is called Marbain by the manufacturer. Mild steel is not acceptable for bend, dent, wear and fatigue resistance. Keep your loved ones and prized possessions away from the area you are mowing with these unheat treated blades. You are right, the amount of airlift height improves the grass lift and cut quality. It also picks up more soil/sand and will wear the edge and airlift over time. $3 of material and $50-100 of your time (not sure of your shop rate) does not make a quality mower blade in my opinion.
This series is a good example of what a company goes thru to create a product. From research and development all the way to production. Great job!
The one factor I didn't hear was balance. Balancing will prolong your spindles and perhaps help with some of those hanger blades of grass. Gerat video series as usual.
Agree! With this manufacturing method of trimming the ends and hand working bevels, without fixtures, balancing is a must!
I watched all three videos. I am actually going to try and make a 3 point pull behind offset mower and pull it with a 1984 John Deer 430 Diesel lawn tractor that I restored. No reason, I like them and needed something to do. Turns out I use it more than I thought. I move trailers and things around on my property and recently I cut 29 trees out of a tree line. Anywhere from 6" to maybe 9" base. I didn't use tongs or even lift the trees with the 3 point. Chain around the tree and around the ball and drug them whole up to my burn pile/firewood area. It was damp and I only had to step on the diff lock a time or two. I was pretty amazed. I use a 60" Commercial Gravel zero turn to cut about 4 acres. I have a lagoon that terrifys me to get close to on a zero turn! also about 1200' of ditch. Anyone the has used a ZTR on a grade sideways knows what I'm talking about. My plan is to make a square with a top, mount an engine to it, put wheels and a hitch on it and go. I know I can buy a 33 inch blade but after seeing this I want to make a blade, maybe 40" maybe more with no pitch. It will only cut the pond bank and under a lot of cedar bushes so I don't mind a swirl or two. I am thinking 3/16 for the deck with bracing, two 12" pneumatic tires up front and two on the rear in casters. I will leave the back open or maybe put a rubber flap on it. Any suggestions are appreciated.
I used to run some hard face rods along the face before I sharpened them, lasted for 4 years. Now I tig weld some stainless rod across the cutting edge, it's doing well but won't know for a few more years yet.
Thank you so much for this video series on blades. I deal with smaller garden tractors from the late 50's to the early 70's. My GT are mostly for just putting round on, but I do like to cut grass with them. My project this month is fabrication of a 1968 Sears 48" Flattop deck and the blades for these decks are not available at any online stores. Thanks to you, I believe I now have a source for new blades. My self and my local Maker center. New subscriber for life.
Thanks very much for the video it answered questions I had. I have a 1950s mower and need blades. I will be making some now, as I can't find them. Cheers and thanks again.
I've just subscribed today and watched your 3 part series on mower blades. Nice to see your boy on the tractor. I'm 57 this year and as I look back my best memories are on the farm doing the gardening, haying, raising animals, milking etc. Some long hard days doing fencing in the heat of summer, cutting wood and doing hundreds of bales of hay each day... but I wouldn't give up those days for anything.
(I don't miss the blackfies, mosquitoes, horse and deer flies though)
Excellent video
One of my ideas was making disk with the wings cut in them for the lift . Then attaching the disposable hay cutting tips on them. Or even using mild steel like you have have for inserts.
Thanks Jim for teaching me more about lawn mower blades than I ever realized I wanted to know. It was a really interesting series!
I can tell you what my neighbor does. He makes his blades from spring steel from a car spring shackles. He softens them with heat using his oven. Then does all the machining, bending and then heat treats them to about 40-45 rockwell hardness. This is still able to be abused without cracking. They last for years. That would be right up your alley fella. I can understand the cost of stuff is just going through the roof. I have do not have that problem, but can feel your pain.
thanks jim, for your hands-on efforts that REALLY help people understand things. I watched all 3 highly entertaining vids cover to cover, because i operate a 18" lawnmower that needs blades, and as a metalman cant stop fiddling, tinkering, improving, diy-ing things. YES, im from the place your osborne disk is from ...Thumbs up !
Awesome video. I have been tempted to make my own blades. 10 hours is all I can get out of my $100 Toro blades. Sand kills the blades pretty quick. Your video appears to address all the key issues and I now might give it a crack. Thanks again for your video.
Enjoyed watching
Great description of your methodology picking material for the blades.
That's awesome that you've been able to get the cost down to $3. Great job.
I thanks for showing the making of the blades, and I will try to make my own blades from now on, As you say the blades are expensive and anytime a retired Guy can save a buck it worth doing.
This was 100% what I was looking for. Thank you for sharing.
My brother used to make blades for his push mower. I am talking at least 55 years ago.
Great project, awesome results! Now I gotta get me a metal shear and brake setup.
Enjoyed watching the project, nice job on your editing and putting the video together. This is where RUclips excels.
Thanks for stopping by!
Jim, Thanks for this series. I have a finish mower for a 1942 Farmall Super A to refurbish this winter for a neighbor. The blades are not something over the counter any longer, so it looks like I will make some. Also, I was at the mower shop last month and they let me rummage around the stock of new mower blades looking for something that would fit this, and I did find one interesting set. They were a brand new set of blades that had flame hardened edges. I was quite surprised to see that. I never got any part number or anything from them, but I thought that was an interesting design. Keep up the good work. R.J.
Gotta start making my blades! Awesome!
Thanks for the kind words.
@@DoRiteFabrication Thanks for saving me a ton of cash!
Gday Jim, thanks for sharing this, I’ve now watched all three videos and you have answered my thoughts, I just wasn’t sure if I made blades for my mower that It would be successful, now I quite sure it will be, here in Australia blades for my 52” Toro cost me around $80 and there the cheap ones, I think I can do it a hell of a lot cheaper then that, Thanks again Jim it’s much appreciated and thanks for sharing, Cheers mate Matty in Australia 🇦🇺
Jim, you know a lot of people gave some good ideas but you're right, $3 per blade makes them a consumable items.
Here in Fl they are very consumable
To be fair, the real ones are also consumable. For $27 a blade.
I agree that nothing else is needed on the blades. I grew up in Zephyrhills and my family owned a welding and machine shop. We would put Stellite on the cutting edge of Bushhog blades to maintain sharpness but nothing will keep sand from eating up the lifts / turned up edges of lawn mower blades. It’s just not practice or cost efficient to do so. However moving to the north GA mountains stopped that problem, but rocks still tearup the cutting edges.
Great project my friend! I’m a electrician here in Texas. I have been interested in machine work for yrs. thank you for sharing your videos
Thanks for watching. Glad you enjoyed the video.
You are very correct. I owned a house on Cape Cod and could not believe how fast I wore thru the turned up part of the blades. Same as yours. I run a small engine shop now in upper state N.Y. and mow about 3 acres and get one or two years out of blades and only have to sharpen them about two times a year. Thanks for the great video's.
Where (generally) in NY, Always looking for small engine places to send folks. (I'm in the middle of the state myself)
I worked my way through college as a small engine/tractor mec. Thanks for watching.
Hi: North of Utica. I am a one man shop and do lots of engines for the Amish. Thanks
Were almost neighbors then.. I'm NE of Cooperstown. Also do a lot of repairs for the Amish around me.
Great job man, it's making me think of making my own blades when I need them
Nice that you shared your thought process on this.
Thank you for watching.
Jim, I asked Google what they were made of. Heres what it said:Lawn mower blades by standard are made of extremely soft steel. They have to bend and dent when hitting rocks and other hard debris. If they were made of tool grade steels, they would shatter and become missiles. I really enjoy watching you , Uncle Keith and Adam. Keep up the great content
Thanks for the info. Keep your eye out the middle of next week, starting Monday, the three Amigos will be together at Fab tech.
Yes, they are not made from tool grade steels. Those materials are wear resistant, but not tough enough. Blades are not made from mild soft steel, they are made from heat treated steel alloys that are chosen for strength, toughness, wear and fatigue resistance.
like it I am a bit of a magyver. I have one large blade as in 30 in hard to come by anymore so looking to do something like that. don't have the toys to play with like you though. only real challenge I see is making the lift.
Great videos on DIY blades...thanks for posting them!
1 Thing we do when sharpening a blade is---(my dad 30 years a go was trying to balance a blade he looked
. over a 6" 1/4 bolt on the bench, he grab it and drove into a 2X4 above the grinder. It is still their and I throw
a blade on the bolt every time I sharpen a blade)
I ENJOYED all 3 Jim , I agree it's no matter what ya do to it it's still just a lawn mower blade ..LOL.. 3 Buck .. AWESOME ..
Good job on the blades Jim. I think you solved your problem. A broken blade thru a kitchen wall really pisses mama off.
Happy wife, happy life!
A long time ago my Mom almost lost her foot to a thrown mower blade. It was a weird mower set-up that had a big disk with 4 sickle bar sections riveted on. Thing cut good but the rivets wore and out came a blade. I recall that after things settled down she took a sledgehammer to that mower....
Looking at your shop you didnt just get all the tooling and stuff in there in a few days no doubt it took time but sure is a nice looking well organized shop
Thank you. 48 years worth of collecting. Since I dont drink, my beer money went to tools.
Great video series, Thanks
Really liked this series man. Only comment that I have (completely constructive) in case you want to play with it...hard facing rod isn't nearly that expensive. I just bought 5 lbs on Amazon for about $33 shipped. (Blue Demon HARDCOVER 470 X 1/8" X 5LB Carton) -- At 3$ a piece for blades though...not sure it is worth it given that you would have to hard face...grinding the edge would take you 5 times a long (or more) but I bet you could use them for a month without sharpening them if you hard faced the edges. Thanks for the videos!!
Sounds like a winner, good series!
Watched all 3 of these vids, the one thing I kept thinking about was balancing the blades. It's a big deal if you're using a regular push mower, because the vibration is not only unpleasant on your hands, but causes wear and tear on the motor itself. The balancing of the factory blades no doubt goes into the high cost of them. I guess with a pull behind 3-blade system like yours vibration might not be a problem, don't know. But vibration is definitely something to think about.
A misbalanced blade can make a lot of vibration on a tractor mounted twin blade deck. I quit after only a couple minutes and went and reground the chipped blade. Only a quarter inch chipped away but it made the whole machine shake
I have ordered some that I drilled to adapt to fit an antique rider. They're some sort of spring steel. To drill them them I use a carbide endmill to drill the mounting holes for them. It was for the old Sears Suburban. When it made it to it's 50th anniversary I retired it and bought a new zero turn.
Now I will be using your idea of making my own blades. Unlike you I have lots of rocks. I'm wandering how 1018 will hold up batting rocks?????
Alternative for bending with a press? Welding a wing?
Awesome, thank you for sharing the knowledge.
Love Drill Hog products. Great video, thanks for the update.
These are my first set, so far I really like them.
Good video set. I have enjoyed it. Tom
Thanks for watching them all.
I was just wondering the other day how the new blades went. I got quite interested in how it turned out. Appreciate the follow up. Oh that lawn mowing scene was action packed ;-) but seriously I was wondering how your lawn was doung and what it was like.
I see a few comment s on balancing that is realitivly simple to do with the grinder no big deal
I'm with you mate. How long does it take to buy these new blades. Ill bet its longer than 45 minutes. That's how long it takes for you to make them. Very informative, thanks.
Nice videos i will try to make my own blades because set for my stiga cost near 200€ every season thats too much money for me...
Thanks
I will make my next set of blades
Blades are a consumable item, I always keep 2 set of blades for my mower. That way I change blades, then sharpen and balance the old set. I presume your doing that since your sharpening weekly. I understand the need to find a way to make blades in your environment so I thought that’s a great job
Great video I’m going to try that but have you thought about using a harden able material with good wear resistance such as 4140 but not hardening it? And see how much longer the last and if you can skip some of the sharpening cycles? I think you would be surprised at how much longer they would last just in an annealed state
How about brazing some HSS bits to the blade. That would be pretty cool.
Everyone should've known from the start they're not hardened.. you couldn't file sharpen them if it was hard. Thumbs up video.
I've worked on some bush hogs where the flails had hard facing on the cutting edge of them, they were a bugger to sharpen.
I had hoped you would mention what I have observed and that is that factory blade ends are tapered so that each time they are sharpened they get a bit shorter and start leaving strips of uncut grass when you take a sharp turn. This is a gimmick to sell more blades. I've enjoyed learning from your videos and am going to give making my own a try. $100+ for my Massey Ferguson 60" Deck is a bit much.
10 months late but a great idea
great now i can give it a try with my odd sized blades i wondered what made the top edge ware out no i know sand will do it every time it didnt show up when you were mowing thanks for showing the hardness also i was so sure they were tempered or something to make them so expensive i guess its how much you are willing to pay for them great video
WE have lots and lots of sand here. The camera just didn't pick it up well. Thanks for stopping by the Channel.
Cool video
Thanks.
Thank you for sharing all you learned and how it turned out. One last question... how much of a difference did reducing the lift make? Thanks again.
From what I can tell, Quite a bit of difference when it comes to wear. I am guessing that these blades will outlast 2 to 1 the higher lift blades. as far as cutting goes, I really haven't been able to tell any difference in the type of grass I cut.
Logically, If your hourly rate was $90 an hour that you could be making from your shop and you spent 15 minutes per blade, that's $22.50 + material = $25.50 per blade. Of course, that is only true if you value your time. I used to make or do just about everything myself because my time was "free" and that was the only way I could afford to do stuff, but as I get older, I have learned to value my time a little more and find myself debating to make, or just buy. Good video series.
15 minutes per set to fab. 15 minutes per set to sharpen. 30 minutes total. Plus, I got to make a good RUclips video out of it. I consider it a winner all around. My time is valuable, my shop time is precious, my shop time with my kids, priceless. Thanks for watching.
Sorry, it wasn't meant to come across as derogatory at all. I'm like you, I like doing most things myself, but as I get older I just find myself debating which way to go more often, but I also find I have less time available as well so that figures into it all. Again, always enjoy the videos and I totally agree with you. If you're having fun then heck yeah !
Great videos my friend. Does the spray harfacing still cost prohibitive?
Thank you!
Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!
36" aluminum pipe wrench, I use one to change the oil in my car... and truck!!!
It's a very persuasive tool!
Some blades are 1018... Some blades are made with A2, expensive blades are 17-4.
But you didn't mention how the different lift angles you tried ended up working out! :-)
How many hours of use out of them before you have to make a brand new set?
Check out this link on blade alloy from john Deere. It does seem that some manufactures use 1045 1085 or 5160 alloy. John Deere uses 1085? heat treated to RC 40-45 c scale.
jdparts.deere.com/partsmkt/document/english/pmac/4382_fb_Lawn_Mower_Blades.htm
Did you consider a hardox product? It would raise the cost of a blade. But I wonder if it would extend the life enough to make it worth the price increase.
It's really hard to argue with a $3 blade....
And if it really is only $3 of material then you could set up a little assembly line and bend out and drill 3 whole sets of blades at once to be more efficient with your time and all it costs you is what _one_ store bought blade sells for.
Everyone should do a cost analysis when they are making something. At $3 thats 1/9th of the cost of the store bought ones. So what if they wear.
Don't pay any attention to the negative ppl hiding behind a screen, most of those ppl... Nevermind.Just don't worry about them. They're everywhere
There are some blades available now with carbide cutting edges! Not sure I want to see what happens when you tag a rock with those. So what is your price for a 3 blade set?
Three blades cost me about $9
So when are you going to start production ???
Can’t beat $3.
That's only a little wrench. I have used one that is taller than I am and that's 6'2". How about making the blades from old leaf springs.
I bet the lawnmower dealers are hating you 😂
Making dealerships hate me one dealer at a time.:) Goal achieved !
hard face it with welding rod heck any of them even 6013 but i ant expert but i know it work
It is a matter of economics, your time and material of $3 per blade or spend $27 per blade for someone else to made. At that rate you can make 9 sets for the cost of 1 bought blade; sounds like a good choice to me.
I agree.
👍👍👍
You DIDN'T show the bending process.
2nd video.
Why not take a spare blade to a junk yard and get it Xrayed to find out a general idea what They are made of?
You can mow grass before it is a foot tall? lol
didn't look like you were cutting much grass... I'd like to hear what they cut like cutting taller grass. But then hey, $3 is $3. If I could make them for $3 I would do it also.
So, the stated purpose of making the blades is to save money and you managed to make functioning blades and reduce the cost by a factor of 9 and people want you to mess with that? I wouldn't even paint them personally.
You may be cutting too low. I cut my grass at 3 inches with gator blades. I have had th em for 3 year s and still going.
Cost analysis doesn't include the value of your time, the additional time changing blades and any investment into equipment that makes producing or changing the blades more efficient. The point is still, how do we find a blade or blade alternative that cuts efficiently and permanently? Weed whips run out of cord, so people try saw blades. Robot mowers use 'tiny' sharp and thin blades that cause no lift, but are intended to cut small increments of grass leaves. There is a version of this available for riding mowers in the US, but it's over $200 for a set. They claim a full season without sharpening or replacing. So, at $3 a blade x 3 blades, it's $9 every time plus maintenance and replacement of the equipment used to produce them. Replacing them 10 times a year only beats the $200 price tag if the saw blades, dies, hydraulic pumps and periphery, cutting fluid, and more are excluded. I have a cheap drill press, but the tradeoff would definitely be my time, and the thought of increasing my time dedicated to just cutting grass isn't very appealing. I was kinda wondering if a fan grille from a tube style air mover could be used as a guard under the blades to absolutely prevent rocks and other hard objects from entering the cutting area, or basically creating a larger version of a rotary shaving razor. Grass goes in, gets cut off efficiently, while minimizing or eliminating the potential for damage. and if the grill was actually part of the cutting process, the overall speed of the blade could be a fraction of current rpm's used, which would greatly reduce explosive failures and ejections. Most likely some form of pass through fan would be needed to get rid of the clippings and to dry things out. And of course, finding a durable way to do it cheap would be nice. :)
Why would anyone do drugs when they could just mow a lawn?
........ Hank Hill
Get some sheep??
Sorry, it's not that kind of channel! Lol ;) Thanks for watching.