I wonder if any of you use the commerical blade grinders . I now use 7" sears hand held grinder but think a commerical blade grinder would be faster, better, and less mess. Maybe you could tell me which one is the best. I change blades each day. I use 3 60" dixie's, so it's a lot of blades
Wow, you are a smart man using Dixie Choppers. I also have 2 of them now, 4 over the years. I use a RBG dedicated blade grinder. It sure does save a lot of time when doing lots of blades. Here is a link to posts on this subject. http://www.lawnsite.com/search.php?...ctname=yes&action=dosearch&getdaily=&pagenum= There is a whole page of threads on this subject with several posts on each thread.
I use a Brandelein Machine Co. Fireball Jr. It's a 3/4 hp 3600 RPM 8" grinder with built in diamond wheel dresser and vacuum grit collector. Forget how much it was, something like $500.00 but was the best thing I ever bought. Dont buy a 1750 RPM grinder unless its 1+ hp and turning a 10-12" wheel. Before that I had a Neary 1/2 hp 1750 RPM 8" grinder that all I could sharpen was thin push mower blades. That was when I had my F935 JD with .310" thick blades with a 7.5" cutting edge. Just didn't cut it...literally! I wish I had a 10-12" grinder with a 1 1/2 hp motor...MORE POWER is always good. Dont forget a good balancer! Magna-Matic makes an excellent one that is like $170.00 well worth it.
hey blue grass, Try this. See if you can find an old stationary grinder. Set it up on your work bench. Place a 2x4 on the one end and shim it up to the right height, and grind your blades by simply sliding your blades on the wood under the grinding wheel. It works for me and saved me alot of money. I found my bench grinder at a flea market and got my idea from a friend.
Do you have this set up so the wheel is turning up when it hits the blade, or is it on the other end of the grinder so the wheel is turning down and pulling the blade into the wheel? I tryed using my buddys setup like the later of the two above and it worked, but it just wasn't the same as a dedicated grinder. I worked on one blade for a long time and never did get it sharp like I would with my grinder in 3 passes. It could have been his grinding wheel too, but it was a new Sears bench grinder. All it seemed to do was get the blade hot. One thing about the slower RPM grinders from what I've read, they are not supposed to get a blade as hot as the higher RPM grinders. One secret to getting them to cut good is keep the wheel clean with the diamond dresser. That is a must have item when getting a blade grinder. BTW, I could just read some members lips when they saw this thread, "Oh No, Not another Blade sharpening thread".
Well this may help.. We purchased from http://www.mowmore.com a really nice commerical grinder. The RBG-3410-C Commerial Blade Grinder. We have notice a huge difference in the amount of grinding. This grinder has 10" premium grade ceramic wheel. Has a 3/4 H.P bell motor. The blade life is longer. Also a better cut. It ran $479.99 plus $41.94 on shipping. They charge shipping on all their grinders. Quick service. They also carry a wide variety of accessories like mulching plates for mulching blades. etc. Check it out. Oh here is the phone number (800) 866-9667. They are located out of NY.
