Balancing blades made of metal, that will be rotating at high speeds, is Not only No nonsense, but IS necessary, and this was an informative and NO Nonsense Video! 👍
If it's not a propeller on an aircraft, I'm not gonna worry about it too to much unless there is vibration? Why? Because your gonna be swinging these blades at over 70 miles an hour 2 to 5 inches off the ground hoping to impact grass if your lucky... roots and rocks if your not....one ding, one indent to your blades and guess what....
It's definitely not a life or death situation. The main benefit is the longevity of what that blade is attached to. For riding mowers that is the spindle bearings, and for push mowers that's the crank bearings. And well I 100% agree with you that blade balance is not something that is sustained very long I do believe it is still worth keeping an eye on and keeping in check. There is a very wide spectrum when it comes to being balanced and keeping it towards the balanced stand is much better than ignoring it and keeping it in a state of badly unbalanced.
How often is necessary to balance? I suspect it is out of balance after one mowing. Can spindles be out of balance and contribute to vibration? It seems there are more variables that could affect blade balance subsequent to initial balancing.
All great questions. So what we are going for here is to get it close and keep it close. In other words make sure it is not dramatically unbalanced. If a spindle is causing vibration it would be due to bad bearings or the spindle itself being bent. But keep in mind the closer you come to the center of the circle the less you are going to notice anything being out of balance due to centrifugal force. So at the end of the day it's more about making sure the blade is evenly sharpened and not bent then it is about making sure the blade is perfectly balanced at all times 👍🏻
I've been balancing on a nail for years and thought I was the greatest blade sharpener of all time to have perfectly balanced blades every time. After receiving a magnetic balancer my sharpened blades did what your red blades did, OMG I had to re shave one side about 6 times to get a good balance. The kicker is after each re shave I also tested on the nail and it kept showing a good balance, so the nail method is a big time liar. Great presentation
Great video. i Always balance new blades. if you do Not balance the blades either used or new they will wear out the mower parts and sometimes vibrate the mowing deck/whole machine. :)
Take your blades off after just one week and you will see that this super sensitive balancer will show that they are unbalanced again. That’s all it takes. I’m not even talking about grass clippings or pieces of dirt sticking to the blades and changing the balancing as you mow. So the question is, unless blades are way out of balance (that a simple nail test would show anyway), are there any real benefits of micro-balancing them? I believe a good practice is a practice that is both sound technically and easy for most people to follow. And a practice that people would ignore because it is too much hustle, is not a good practice no matter how sound it is.
We can definitely agree that when it comes to balancing there is good and good enough. However, a nail will not work because it can’t hold the blade in the center. A regular (horizontal style) balancer is more than enough to get a blade balanced within acceptable tolerance. The balancer that I have is more for a mower shop that sees dozens of blades a day, but it is also quite useful for seeing if a blade is bent.
Well done, I'm a little tired of seeing this nail trick. It's very inaccurate. I don't understand why anyone think balancing wouldn't matter. What piece of machinery spinning at high-speed can continue to do that indefinitely without blowing apart at some point if it's not balanced.
Agreed! It’s such a simple concept to understand. I don’t know why it gets so much pushback from people in the small engine repair community. Maybe it’s just me, but I like going the extra distance.
Some cone types don't fit some blade holes or opening very well. Oregon products is another company that makes a quality magnetic tool with an arm to check straightness.
First off once again congratulations on hitting 1K Subscribers.... There are only a few channels that I get excited about a new upload and Hester781 is one of them... This was a great test, it is obvious that the surface friction of the screwdriver is not giving you an accurate test result. I wonder if you lubricated the screwdriver shaft with a very slippery oil if you might obtain better results. I don't think anything will duplicate your precision bearing balancer but it would be interesting for the do-it-yourselfer to see how we can get the best results. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks Scout! So you have the same idea as I did when I started out. I had an aluminum rod that I polished to a mirror finish and slid on an oiled bronze bushing that I would balance the blade on to “eliminate” friction messing with my results. But an old timer (who taught me much of what I know today) pointed out that the flaw in my design was the blades center of gravity. You need to make the pivot point the exact center of the blade in order to get an accurate reading.
Balancing blades made of metal, that will be rotating at high speeds, is Not only No nonsense, but IS necessary, and this was an informative and NO Nonsense Video! 👍
Couldn’t agree more, Glad you enjoyed it 👍🏻
i own one of those balancers,i think its a good thing to reduce vibration.
I agree 100% it made a huge difference on my riding mowers
Do you have the MAG 1000
If it's not a propeller on an aircraft, I'm not gonna worry about it too to much unless there is vibration? Why? Because your gonna be swinging these blades at over 70 miles an hour 2 to 5 inches off the ground hoping to impact grass if your lucky... roots and rocks if your not....one ding, one indent to your blades and guess what....
It's definitely not a life or death situation. The main benefit is the longevity of what that blade is attached to. For riding mowers that is the spindle bearings, and for push mowers that's the crank bearings. And well I 100% agree with you that blade balance is not something that is sustained very long I do believe it is still worth keeping an eye on and keeping in check. There is a very wide spectrum when it comes to being balanced and keeping it towards the balanced stand is much better than ignoring it and keeping it in a state of badly unbalanced.
How often is necessary to balance? I suspect it is out of balance after one mowing. Can spindles be out of balance and contribute to vibration? It seems there are more variables that could affect blade balance subsequent to initial balancing.
All great questions. So what we are going for here is to get it close and keep it close. In other words make sure it is not dramatically unbalanced. If a spindle is causing vibration it would be due to bad bearings or the spindle itself being bent. But keep in mind the closer you come to the center of the circle the less you are going to notice anything being out of balance due to centrifugal force. So at the end of the day it's more about making sure the blade is evenly sharpened and not bent then it is about making sure the blade is perfectly balanced at all times 👍🏻
I watched this video AND LEARNED NOTHING! 😂
I can explain it to you but I cannot however, understand it for you 🤷🏻♂️👍🏻
My owners manual for the star hole blades say do not use a nail to balance since the star pattern is not centered for balancing.
You hit the nail right on the head! (no pun intended) and that's the entire point of this video 👍🏻
I've been balancing on a nail for years and thought I was the greatest blade sharpener of all time to have perfectly balanced blades every time. After receiving a magnetic balancer my sharpened blades did what your red blades did, OMG I had to re shave one side about 6 times to get a good balance. The kicker is after each re shave I also tested on the nail and it kept showing a good balance, so the nail method is a big time liar. Great presentation
I was in the same boat my friend! The magnetic balancer is a game changer 👍🏻
Add some grease to the nail. Should make it more accurate.
It has nothing to do with friction, the problem is the nail is above the center of the blade, so you are never going to get an accurate reading 👍🏻
Remove the sticker, then check it
It’s common for new blades to be out of balance
I use the Orgen balancer
Love it 😊
Yes, I’ve found many new blades out of balance, always good to double check 👍🏻
So take a old spindle hang it on the wall n you got yourself a balancer
That’s actually a brilliant idea! 👍🏻
You sir are a genius, I NEVER would have thought of that!👍✌
Great video. i Always balance new blades. if you do Not balance the blades either used or new they will wear out the mower parts and sometimes vibrate the mowing deck/whole machine. :)
You couldn’t be more right my friend 👍🏻👍🏻
Take your blades off after just one week and you will see that this super sensitive balancer will show that they are unbalanced again. That’s all it takes. I’m not even talking about grass clippings or pieces of dirt sticking to the blades and changing the balancing as you mow. So the question is, unless blades are way out of balance (that a simple nail test would show anyway), are there any real benefits of micro-balancing them? I believe a good practice is a practice that is both sound technically and easy for most people to follow. And a practice that people would ignore because it is too much hustle, is not a good practice no matter how sound it is.
We can definitely agree that when it comes to balancing there is good and good enough. However, a nail will not work because it can’t hold the blade in the center. A regular (horizontal style) balancer is more than enough to get a blade balanced within acceptable tolerance. The balancer that I have is more for a mower shop that sees dozens of blades a day, but it is also quite useful for seeing if a blade is bent.
Buy it, install it, cut grass, buy another one in 2-3 years. Your deck is probably out of whack before the blade ever will be
Too each their own 👍🏻
My question is where can I get one of those blade balancing Mounts that you have Do you have a link to where I could buy one
I believe this is an older version of the Stens
750-087 balancer 👍🏻
I love that balancer. I must procure one for myself. Thanks for the video Sir!
It’s very cool! I bought this one used at an estate sale and I love it
Well done, I'm a little tired of seeing this nail trick. It's very inaccurate. I don't understand why anyone think balancing wouldn't matter. What piece of machinery spinning at high-speed can continue to do that indefinitely without blowing apart at some point if it's not balanced.
Agreed! It’s such a simple concept to understand. I don’t know why it gets so much pushback from people in the small engine repair community. Maybe it’s just me, but I like going the extra distance.
I agree Hester, unbalanced the slightest will wear a deck out for sure. Nice video brother. 👍
Thank you John! 👍🏻
Anytime brother 🙂
good video brother!
Thanks buddy! 👍🏻
A Lawnmower is not a PRESICION machine far from it, the flex in the deck and belts worn is more of a problem than anything
They are definitely far from a precision machine. However that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put some care and effort into proper maintenance 👍🏻
Could you post which balancer you have there?
I believe this is an older version of the Stens 750-087 balancer 👍🏻
Nice demo! I figured the screwdriver in the vise would work better than that. You said the cone balancers were better? Thanks.
Yes the cone style is way more accurate and works well. However it doesn’t tell you if the blade is bent
Some cone types don't fit some blade holes or opening very well.
Oregon products is another company that makes a quality magnetic tool with an arm to check straightness.
Can you show us show us how you sharpen them.
I can definitely do that 👍🏻
Great informative video! 👍
Thank you!👍🏻
You are right on.
Thank you!👍🏻
Thanks, i did not know that!!
No problem! 👍🏻
First off once again congratulations on hitting 1K Subscribers.... There are only a few channels that I get excited about a new upload and Hester781 is one of them... This was a great test, it is obvious that the surface friction of the screwdriver is not giving you an accurate test result. I wonder if you lubricated the screwdriver shaft with a very slippery oil if you might obtain better results. I don't think anything will duplicate your precision bearing balancer but it would be interesting for the do-it-yourselfer to see how we can get the best results. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks Scout! So you have the same idea as I did when I started out. I had an aluminum rod that I polished to a mirror finish and slid on an oiled bronze bushing that I would balance the blade on to “eliminate” friction messing with my results. But an old timer (who taught me much of what I know today) pointed out that the flaw in my design was the blades center of gravity. You need to make the pivot point the exact center of the blade in order to get an accurate reading.