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Tractor Talk Discussion Forum

rebuilding edge of mower blades with weld

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ironhoarder

04-26-2006 07:48:32




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I was sharpening a neighbor's bush hog blades last night. These things were worn down to the point where the "edge" was essentially about 3/16" radius.

Rather than grind all that metal away on the top in order to get back to an edge (which would have taken hours), I decided to build up the edge with my MIG welder.

I laid a bead down along the edge, reduced current and laid another bead, reduced current really low, laid another bead. I ground it all back, and patched missing spots.

It came out extremely well, but I wonder if this is common practice and if there is a down side? Did I destroy the hardness of the edge in the process of all that heating?

Further, are mower blades ever hardened to make the edge last longer? If they were hardened and not annealed, I could see that being dangerous if you hit a rock and the blade shatters.

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TomTX

04-26-2006 21:04:35




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 Re: rebuilding edge of mower blades with weld in reply to ironhoarder, 04-26-2006 07:48:32  
I hope you don't have to face your neighbor while he explains what happened to one of his children when that blade cracks. This is a liability case waiting to happen. Do yourself a favor, remove those blades and cut them up with your torch. You would be better off to buy the neighbor a new set out of your pocket. Tom



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skipper

04-26-2006 19:40:06




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 Re: rebuilding edge of mower blades with weld in reply to ironhoarder, 04-26-2006 07:48:32  
I gotta agree with Jerry on this. Was wondering if I was the only person thinking this way, but no way would I weld on a blade taking a chance of it cracking and going through someones foot or possibly worse. Gives me chills thinking about it and I am a cheap person on a lot of things! Please consider the risks.
Skipper



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Jerry/MT

04-26-2006 18:49:57




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 Re: rebuilding edge of mower blades with weld in reply to ironhoarder, 04-26-2006 07:48:32  
There is probably a real good way to repair a $20 brush hog blade but it won't be developed by some guy in his garge with a mig welder and will cost 20 times what a replacement blade costs. Those blades are forged I believe, and welding something to them will change the properties of the material and not likely for the better. If they weaken the blade and cause a crack to propagate, a blade failure is the likely result. The blade will not be contained by the housing and the result can be a serious injury or a fatality. If I were you I'd be worried about hurting somebody and the subsequent liability.
I don't normally come out this strongly about any issues on these forums, but I saw enough failures of rotating machinery in my engineering carreer on high value devices that were highly engineered and seriously tested. Follow the manufacturer's instructions on sharpening the brush hog blades or better yet, replace them. They are not that expensive especially when the cost of emergency trauma care is considered. Please don't do something that might get you or somebody else seriously injured or worse.

A former aircraft propulsion engineer for 34 + years.

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Bus Driver

04-26-2006 13:39:24




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 Re: rebuilding edge of mower blades with weld in reply to ironhoarder, 04-26-2006 07:48:32  
I had an original blade on a Howse 6' rough cut mower to break. It went through the side of the mower housing, 11 gauge steel, and then traveled 40 feet more. I would not dare to weld on those blades at any time for any reason. I found that Fred Cain blades also would fit my mower and now use them.



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mjbrown

04-26-2006 12:14:57




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 Re: rebuilding edge of mower blades with weld in reply to ironhoarder, 04-26-2006 07:48:32  
The blades on my three point finish mower have hard facing on the bottom side.



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jeffcat

04-26-2006 12:14:09




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 Re: rebuilding edge of mower blades with weld in reply to ironhoarder, 04-26-2006 07:48:32  
A little off the mark but very close. About 1983 I made a set of "Hard" blades for my Dad's John Deere 110. Bought that blue color rod from the local weld supply. Comes in a pack of maybe 10 rods and it is VERY hard after it cools. I ground the edge square and matched both blades with a mechanic ruller and by weight on a blade balance. Do like you did with several layers till you get a nice layer on the edge. Found the stuff is so hard that the 4 1/2 inch grinder will not make sparks! What a pain-but what an edge! It will stay razor sharp for several mowings and your grass looks real good. If you hit a stone "driveway stuff" you will make a chip in the edge. Just reweld when you finally get around to it. With "brush hog" type units you must be very careful as how you balance them. I did some very careful measures and ground them to the same dimensions. Weigh them with a balance you can make. Piece of 2x4 with the blade on the end and a fulcrum. Use the other blade as the weight. If you can change them side to side you got it. Keep it simple stupid-KISS and it is no sweat. I was very happy with those blades but boy do they take a lot of work!. Have fun. Jeffcat PS You can get a lot of new blades from Tractor supply Etc. Might be cheeper?

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IBorange in TX

04-26-2006 10:54:22




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 Re: rebuilding edge of mower blades with weld in reply to ironhoarder, 04-26-2006 07:48:32  
I just heat the blade in the forge to a dull red and then use the trip hammer to flatten out the edge. It takes about 20mins to do one blade, but you don't loose anything in the balance of the blade. The repaired edge will last for one season. We do not have rocks in this part of TX, so don't know how they would work w/rocks.



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Glen in TX

04-26-2006 11:37:54




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 Re: rebuilding edge of mower blades with weld in reply to IBorange in TX, 04-26-2006 10:54:22  
Yep, that's why we took them to the welding shop because they had the forge and trip hammer to use on them. Those use to be common in every welding shop but not anymore.



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jc

04-26-2006 09:18:53




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 Re: rebuilding edge of mower blades with weld in reply to ironhoarder, 04-26-2006 07:48:32  
Did you make the blades ballance? Could be some vibration. Let us know how well they stay sharp/wear ect. You just might be on to something.



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Glen in TX

04-26-2006 09:12:17




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 Re: rebuilding edge of mower blades with weld in reply to ironhoarder, 04-26-2006 07:48:32  
We never did the shredder blades ourselves but some local welding shops here use to rebuild and put hardsurface on shredder blades used on cotton stalks and we never had any shatter but don't have rocks bad either. A few small chips off the edges some but most just wore till dull again. No one does that anymore and just buys new blades now.



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