What causes an uneven cut?
1 - 14 of 14 Posts
I would like to know the anwser to that question also. After I installed new blades I notice I too miss a few blades. I thought I read somewhere, even with good equipment you will miss a blade and have to go back.
I have a Honda mower with new blades and it miss cutting sometimes, and it's less than a year old.
I have a Honda mower with new blades and it miss cutting sometimes, and it's less than a year old.
speed is a factor as well....the faster you go or the slower the engine turns the better chance of missing spots.... Ideally you'd want to go slow with the blades turring as fast as they can....but no one wants to walk behind a mower all day long creeping along.
Mulching mowers can sometimes miss things as they are double and triple cutting the grass it coudl very easily miss a spot or two...
Mulching mowers can sometimes miss things as they are double and triple cutting the grass it coudl very easily miss a spot or two...
Joined
·
653 Posts
I think this time of year its easy to see if your mower is cutting uneven. The grass is growing very thick where your blades are cutting it. If the blade is slightly off then you will see it. In grass that isn't growing as thick, you wont notice as much. The middle blade on my mower was slightly bent and I noticed a lot on some lawns. Others I barley noticed.
MarcSmith is correct.
I my experience the most common cause of uneven mowing is a bent mower deck. It will be, most likely, lower in the front than the back. It is caused by the attachment points becoming bent forward on the upper part of the deck. Take the deck off and use a heavy hammer to pound them back in to the proper position. It may take several tries. Use a bigger hammer if you must. Keep a welder handy. Work on a flat surface and measure the blade height at several positions, but mainly front and aft. If you have adjustable front supports you don't need the hammer for the first few bends.
Decks get bent when something hard is hit and stops the whole machine from moving forward. In other words, the deck stops the machine from driving forward.
Bent blades are perhaps the second cause of the problem. Make sure you get the correct blade for the mower and balance them.
Dull blades will just cut ragged and push the longer grass/weeds over.
Missed grass blades between two blades is common. Sharp and newer blades help. The best mowers are single blade mowers but they don't have the width. As with everything it is a compromise between speed and quality.
I my experience the most common cause of uneven mowing is a bent mower deck. It will be, most likely, lower in the front than the back. It is caused by the attachment points becoming bent forward on the upper part of the deck. Take the deck off and use a heavy hammer to pound them back in to the proper position. It may take several tries. Use a bigger hammer if you must. Keep a welder handy. Work on a flat surface and measure the blade height at several positions, but mainly front and aft. If you have adjustable front supports you don't need the hammer for the first few bends.
Decks get bent when something hard is hit and stops the whole machine from moving forward. In other words, the deck stops the machine from driving forward.
Bent blades are perhaps the second cause of the problem. Make sure you get the correct blade for the mower and balance them.
Dull blades will just cut ragged and push the longer grass/weeds over.
Missed grass blades between two blades is common. Sharp and newer blades help. The best mowers are single blade mowers but they don't have the width. As with everything it is a compromise between speed and quality.
Joined
·
2,206 Posts
Around here the main cause for an uneven cut is uneven ground. We use 60" mowers and some places we mow are so uneven that those big decks just wont fit in there and they don't do a good job.
Joined
·
21,630 Posts
Yes LOL!Mo Green said:
Actually uneven terrain could do it too but I agree with the first guy:
Bent or blades worn past critical (you'd be surprised the slivers I seen people still call blades), bad deck adjustment (check and double-check this REAL good) and it can also be a worn / broken / missing part on a deck (like one them cotter pins or hitch clips or the steel pins), low tires / air pressure and worn bearings / spindles. Also check the connection(s) between deck and frame, that could get loose where the bolts hook up AND I just realized: Your deck could be missing or have a really worn caster / deck wheel - Also check the bearings on all your riding wheels.
Something is likely loose or worn beyond a certain point - Put your mower on a flat paved surface and take a good look around it all - See if you can see a sag or one side lower than the other.
Last but not least IF you are bagging with a side-discharge, as the bag gets full of wet / rich heavy grass it will add weight to that one side - Empty bag more often.
Good luck.
Joined
·
653 Posts
My center blades has been cutting funny for a wile now. But it got worse last week. To the point of not wanting to use the mower. I took the belt off and wiggled the spindle. Sure enough it was loose. Ones I tightened it up I spun the spindle with out anything on it I noticed it was bent. Wallah! now I know why my mower was cutting like crap no matter what I did. The center blade has been wobbling. It also explains why theres so much vibration no matter how balanced the blades were.
Joined
·
18 Posts
I'm not sure what kind of mower you're using, but I've never seen a Scag, Exmark, or Encore deck bend. Now as for Craftsman, or all your other Wal-Mart mowers, they bend at first use. As for missed grass between two blades, that goes for the same. Blades are staggered so that doesn't happen, on high end commercial mowers. In fourteen years of mowing I've only seen missed grass between blades once, the spindle came loose and the blades wore against each other, and noone bothered to say anything about a strange noise.?Nobody said:
Joined
·
607 Posts
My biggest problem causing uneven cuts is tire pressures. If you don't run the same psi in both, whether they be both fronts or both rears, the mower (mine) won't cut level. Check them often. Use factory recommended pressures from your book.
Other LS members taught me that....Thanks guys (& gals)
jim
Other LS members taught me that....Thanks guys (& gals)
jim
1 - 14 of 14 Posts
Join the discussion
