Draining the fuel and oil before fighting with the bolt frees you to position the mower in the most comfortable and efficient position. 3. Clean The Bolt A dulled lawn mower blade can cause a range of issues in your garden, even putting your grass at risk of disease. It’s essential then to ensure the consistent upkeep of your lawn mower, sharpening its blade regularly. In this guide from Sims Garden Machinery, we’ll take a look through the reasons you need to sharpen a lawn mower, the frequency with which you should look to sharpen, and the techniques for sharpening the blades of various lawn mower designs. This can help you to maintain an effective lawn mower, and a clean, healthy garden. Why Do You Need to Sharpen Your Lawn Mower Blades? For example, my lawnmower doesn’t like being tilted on its side because it allows for fuel to flow freely through the system and mix with the oil. Once the fuel has mixed with the oil, you run the risk of running the engine permanently.

There are different schools of thought on how often you should be sharpening lawn mowers blades, but a good rule of thumb is to sharpen them roughly every 25 hours of use. If you are merely maintaining a small lawn every few weeks, then this would mean you won’t need to sharpen your blades very often at all, but those working with larger gardens, or looking to have the perfect lawn may hit that number far more regularly. How Many Times Can You Sharpen Your Lawn Mower Blades? However, I advise that you care for your lawnmower in such a way that you prevent corrosion around the blade bolt, making it easy to remove the next time you need to swap out the blade. You’ll have to turn your rotary mower onto its side to access the blade. While this won’t be an issue in an electric model, in petrol models you will have to be a bit more careful. Before tipping your mower, determine the location of the fuel tank (or gas tank for Americans), tipping the lawn mower at such an angle that the fuel tank faces up. This will reduce the risk of fuel spilling onto the rest of the mower. Next, you will need leverage to get that bolt off, and the standard length of a wrench handle is unlikely to cut.Spares and accessories for gardening machinery -- EGO Batteries & Chargers -- EGO Power+ Spares And Accessories -- Cobra Spares And Accessories -- Flymo Lawnmower And Trimmer Spares -- Ryobi Spares -- Husqvarna Spares and Accessories -- Stihl Spares and Accessories -- Briggs & Stratton Spares -- Bosch Spares -- Allett, Qualcast, Atco & Suffolk Punch Spares -- Mountfield Spares -- Hayter Spares Mower Express| Spares and accessories for gardening machinery Cobra Spares And Accessories Cobra Lawnmowers Spare Blades Remove the blade. You’ll need to use a long-handled wrench or a spanner to loosen the blade. Depending on the model of your lawn mower, the method may be slightly different. It can be a good idea to leave a mark on the underside of the blade, using tape or a permanent marker, to ensure you re-install it the correct way round.

If the bolt is slightly stripped, or if you can’t find a pipe for leverage, the vice grip option may be the best for you. If you own an impact wrench of just about any type, your fight will likely be a short one. Provided that the bolt is not stripped, that is. Simply slap on the right-sized adapter, and you’re good to go. Along with any of the above options, you can also use a blow torch to heat up the bolt, which will help a great deal to get it to loosen up.Almost all lawnmowers will come with specifications on how tight a blade bolt must be.That being said, most blade bolts are over-tightened. With the preparation out the way, you are ready to work through the list of options to get the bolt free. Option 1: Use An Impact Wrench An easy way to search for the right part for your lawnmower / mower is to enter the model number of your machine, or part number of the replacement part, in our search box or try our Advanced Search facility.