RBG owners

[Stonewall]

Have you found that your sharpened blades last longer when sharpened with a dedicated grinder than with a hand-held grinder?

[Edited by Stonewall on 05-04-2001 at 11:51 PM]

[Eric ELM]

I think they stay sharp longer and they are much easier to sharpen.

[CLARKE]

I WISH I HAD ONE, JUST A MATTER OF TIME CLARKE
CLARKE'S TOTAL LAWN CARE OF HAMPSHIRE ILL

[Jason Pallas]

I just switched to a dedicated grinder this year (after 20 years in the biz!) and I love it! I do think they seem to stay sharper longer - Anyone know why?

[Eric ELM]

I think it is because when you sharpen with a RBG, it doesn't turn as fast and doesn't get the metal as hot. I never get hot spots on the blade now, but I used to with the 9" hand held grinder. That Ruby wheel will cut without much speed, which is nice.

[AB Lawn Care]

And becouse it does a better job the first time you will spend less time the next sharpening.

I love my RBG.....and yes eric that ruby wheel is great!

[Eric ELM]

Adam, have you measured your wheel to see how much has worn off? That would be interesting. I know you have several years use on yours. I will measure mine too after a years use to see how much the ruby wore down.

[Jason Pallas]

Yeah - I was sort of thinking that it probably had to do with the speed/temp of the grinding. The RGB doesn't produce any hot spots whereas my bench grinder that I used before used to heat the blades up very easily. Thank god for this grinder. It's made life (mainentance) a lot easier. With a new baby due here any day, I really didn't want to spend all the time grinding blades that I've had to in the past.

[Ground Pounder]

Myself, like the rest of you, are trying to keep an eye on the bottom line. I have noticed that almost everything in this biz, with the exception of mowers, is around $300 or a bit more.

I would like to have an RBG, but at this time I am using a 4 1/2" angle grinder. How can I justify spending that kind of money? Does it increase productivity? Does it sharpen in less time than a hand-held?

I plan on being around for a long time, so I scrutinize everything. I have no experience with an RGB and that is why I come to the experts for advice. Take it away, you salty lawn sailors!

[Eric ELM]

Once you get all the blades to the same angle with the RBG and if you change blades each day like you should, you can sharpen a blade in less than 1 minute with the RBG. In other words, the amount of time it used to take me to just put the blade in the vise to sharpen it when I used an angle grinder, I could have the blade sharpened with my RBG.

If you let the blades get so dull they won't cut hot butter, like some LCO's around here do, I would think it would take a lot longer to sharpen them than 1 minute.

The blades seem to stay sharper long with a RBG grinder, as discussed above.

If you plan on doing this business for many years, it would be well worth your time to get a dedicated grinder like the RBG. Sliding that blade through the RBG is much easier than holding a hand held grinder. The biggest reason I got one is I have arthritus in my shoulders and it was getting so I could not sharpen blades with the 9" hand held grinder. The 4.5" took so long to do the job, but if you get a chance to get a RBG or equivalant, it would be a good investment. It should last you for many years and save you lots of time. I also feel the blades are lasting much longer using this. I don't have to take as much metal off to get them sharp.

[AB Lawn Care]

Hey eric,I measured my ruby wheel.

I measured from the bottom to the center hub(the aluminum disk in the center.

I have 4 inches of wheel left.

And I have not had it a "few" years now......its been 5!!!!

Eric is very right when he said it is a good investment.And eric dont you just love the power of that engine!!!!

Let me know how much is left on your wheel.

[Eric ELM]

I measured mine today and I measured from side to side and it is 7 7/8" and it is supposed to be a 8" wheel originally. That means in the past 14 months it has wore down 1/16th of an inch. So mine would be 3 - 15/16" to the center. I would guess that 1/16th of an inch mostly came from dressing the wheel with the diamond dresser. At this rate, it will take 16 years to wear it down one inch and you can use it until it gets real small. :)

Yes, that motor does have a lot of power for a 1/2 hp. I have pushed the blade against the wheel as hard as I can push it and not slow it down at all. Seems more like a full hp motor.

[awm]

I know me and i know ill end up with one sooner or later.
whats the best machine for a solo operator.
i average about 18 blades sharpened a wk with doubles.
thanks

[Mid Rivers]

I purchased a RBG off of Ebay a month or 2 ago. I love it. I would guess that the blades sharpen faster (after the initial sharpening) because the angle has been established by the RBG.

I have a question about sharpening. If you get a nick in a blade do you sharpen the blade until the nick is gone. I know, don't mow the rocks but sometimes you find a rock that wasn't there the week before. St. Louis (metro area) seems to have more rocks in yards than people on the freeway.

[AB Lawn Care]

I often will get 1/4 - 1/2 inch dents in my blades if it hits somthing hard.I personally just make sure to get any curling from the dent off the blade and sharpen it.I don't grind it down too much.If I did that my blades would not last half a season.The hard part is getting the blade balanced after you really have a hard wack.With the walker gear decks.When those shear pins fly you are in for ALOT of grinding and balancing.They really just tear into each other when the pins break.That's the only thing I really hate about the gear drive decks.

Ya eric that ruby wheel is going great!

[awm]

a b ive been curious about the blade tip speed on the
direct drives . are they faster slower or what.
later tm

[Ricky]

This is how I justified the expense of a RBG. I expect this grinder to last me the rest of my mowing career, It is a tax write off, and it will be worth something when you sell it. If it just lasts ten years the grinder, the diamond dresser, and the grit box just cost me less than $52 per year (not counting replacement wheels).

Mid Rivers, this is how I go about sharpening my blades. If I have very much metal that has been bent and rolled towards the grass side of the blade, I first take a 2 lb. hammer and an anvil or vice and beat the rolled edge down as much as I can. Then I take a large file and take off the rest until it is flat. This saves time and metal and also lets the blade move through the grinder smoother. If the blades aren't very bad you can skip the hammering and maybe the file. Cutting grass higher and reducing the engine speed around rocks, driveways, and etc. saves a lot sharpening time. (so does the RGB) :)

[TGCummings]

Finally got tired of my old, beat up, shieldless and dangerous bench grinder and ordered me an RBG (last Monday). Went through Leonard's and got the one Eric recommended on a previous post. It arrived yesterday evening, and I haven't removed it from the box just yet. I do all my maintenance for the week, including blade sharpening, on Mondays and already had completed that task when it arrived (darn it! :) ).

If time permits, though, you know dang well I'm going to pull it out, set it up, and 'play' with it before the next Monday rolls around. I'll let you know how it goes! ;)

-TGC

[AB Lawn Care]

awm-I'm not shure if direct/gear drive is any faster than belt.But I can tell you that gear provides a better cut than belt.Now shure if a MTD had gear drive,I don't think you would see much better results :).But as far as walkers go,the cut diffrence between the gear and belt deck are very well known.The reason I use the walker 54'' gear deck is that it has an awsome cut and makes great stripes.I also use it mainly on residential jobs.The big disadvantage is when you hit somthing hard and break a set of pins those blades really do damage.But that is what you pay for a really good cut.

The other disadvantage is that you can't double blade a gear deck.:(Becouse there are cups and shear pins attached to each blade.

If you are cutting rough areas then stay away from a gear deck,but if you doing nice lawns with little rocks,metal bars ect I can highly suggest a gear.

From what I have heard hydro decks are even better!Little noise and loads of power!

[scottb]

Is RBG a brand name or what I cant find one anywhere. Please share a photo and any info you have. Thanks in advance for any help.

[Eric ELM]

https://www.amleo.com/help-desk/item.php?bg218

That is a picture and info on the RBG 2181 P