Operator's Manual

BladeMaintenance
MaintainingtheBlade
Alwaysmowwithasharpblade.Asharpbladecutscleanly
andwithouttearingorshreddingthegrassblades.
1.Stoptheengineandwaitforallmovingpartstostop.
2.Disconnectthewirefromthesparkplug.
3.Drainthegasolinefromthefueltank.
4.Tipthemowerontoitsleftside(aircleanerup)
(Figure28).
Figure28
1.Blade3.Bladeboltandlockwasher
2.Accelerator
InspectingtheBlade
ServiceInterval:Beforeeachuseordaily—Inspectthe
mowerbladesforwearordamage.
Carefullyexaminethebladeforsharpnessandwear,especially
wheretheatandthecurvedpartsmeet(Figure29A).
Becausesandandabrasivematerialcanwearawaythemetal
thatconnectstheatandcurvedpartsoftheblade,checkthe
bladebeforeusingthemower.Ifyounoticeaslotorwear
(Figure29BandC),replacetheblade;refertoRemoving
theBlade.
Figure29
1.Sail
3.Wear
2.Flatpartoftheblade4.Slotformed
Note:Forthebestperformance,installanewbladebefore
thecuttingseasonbegins.Duringtheyear,ledownany
smallnickstomaintainthecuttingedge.
DANGER
Awornordamagedbladecanbreak,andapiece
ofthebladecouldbethrownintotheoperator's
orbystander'sarea,resultinginseriouspersonal
injuryordeath.
•Inspectthebladeperiodicallyforwearor
damage.
•Replaceawornordamagedblade.
RemovingtheBlade
1.Grasptheendofthebladeusingaragorathickly
paddedglove.
2.Removethebladebolt,thelockwasher,theaccelerator,
andtheblade(
Figure29).
SharpeningtheBlade
ServiceInterval:Every50hours—Sharpenorreplacethe
blade.Maintainitmorefrequentlyifthe
edgedullsquicklyinroughorinsandy
conditions.
Filethetopsideofthebladetomaintainitsoriginalcutting
angle(Figure30A)andinnercuttingedgeradius(Figure30B).
Thebladewillremainbalancedifyouremovethesame
amountofmaterialfrombothcuttingedges.
Figure30
1.Sharpenatthisangleonly.
2.Maintaintheoriginalradius
here.
BalancingtheBlade
1.Checkthebalanceofthebladebyplacingthecenter
holeofthebladeoveranailorscrewdrivershank
clampedhorizontallyinavise(Figure31).
Figure31
Note:Youcanalsocheckthebalanceusinga
commerciallymanufacturedbladebalancer.
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