How to Balance Lawn Mower Blades? (5 Easy Steps)
Your lawn mower is vibrating too much, and isn’t mowing the grass properly? We know your issue and have an idea that it’s pretty annoying. It happens 90% of the time because of unbalanced blades.
Surprisingly this isn’t a big problem; you only need to know about how to balance lawn mower blades, and that’s it. Believe us; it’s not difficult to balance the lawn mower blades; anyone can do it at home with the proper equipment.
Below we’ll help you by answering the question of why the balance of lawn mower blades is important. Then we’ll proceed with the five steps easy guide to balance the lawn mower blades. Let’s dive into the details of blades!
Why is the Balance of Lawn Mower Blades Important?
If you’re listening to the term balancing the lawn mower blades for the first time, you must be thinking of why it is important. What difference does it make if the lawn mower blades aren’t balanced?
The answer to this simple question is that unbalanced blades cause vibration and make mowing the grass difficult. In addition, unbalanced blades put pressure on the engine and the blade shaft, which mostly results in structural damage to lawn mowers.
In short, if you don’t want to face the damage, this is the perfect guide. You only have to follow the steps we’ve written below but before that get all the necessary equipment you’ll need.
Also Read: What Is a Brushless Lawn Mower? Everything You Need to Know!
Balance the Lawn Mower Blades in Five Easy Steps
Here’s the step-by-step guide about how to balance lawn mower blades.
Step 1 – Gather All Necessary Items
The first step is to have all the necessary items to help balance the lawn mower blades. Otherwise, you likely have to stop the work in the middle. Most of the items would be at home, but if you don’t have, make sure to get them before starting work.
- Balancer to check the balance of the blades.
- Belt sander (you can substitute it with a sharpening stone or grinder).
- Glasses for safety.
- L-type wrench
- Safety gloves.
Step 2 – Remove the Blade from the Lawn Mower
Wear your safety gloves and glasses. It’s the first thing you should do because safety always comes first. Afterward, take an L-type wrench, or you can go with an impact driver. The choice is yours; with a wrench, you’ve to put in more effort, while the impact drivers make things easy.
- Ensure that the lawn mower isn’t connected to the electric cord.
- Afterward, remove the blade with the help of an impact driver or wrench.
For a better understanding, watch the video below:
Step 3 – Check the Balance
Once you removed the blade from the lawn mower. It’s time to use the balancer. Some prefer using household items like pliers to check the balance, but we always suggest a balancer. The reason is that it gives accurate results, which sometimes household items don’t.
- Put the balancer on a stable surface and place the blade on it.
- Check which side is more heavy than the other side.
- The side that’s heavy needs to be sharpened more.
Step 4 – Balance The Blade
You can easily find several options in the market to balance your blade. As per our research, a belt sander works best and fast, but if you don’t have one, you can use any other thing that’s available for you.
- Put the blade on a stable surface.
- Sharpen the blade from the side that’s heavy to balance the blade.
Step 5 – Check the Balance And Reinstall Blade
After sharpening the blade again, use the balancer and check whether the blade is stable or not. If not, then again, sharpen the blade from the heavy side but not too much.
Repeat the process until both sides of the blades are balanced. Lastly, reinstall the blade again to lawn mowers.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What’s the difference between sharpening and balancing lawn mower blades?
The process for sharpening and balancing the lawn mower blades is the same. In both situations, you need a sharpener like a belt sander, stone, and so on. First, check the blade’s balance, then sharpen the heavy side to balance the blades.
When should you balance your lawn mower blades?
You should balance your lawn mower blade in two situations first, wherever you feel the vibration and find difficulty in mowing. Second, you should balance the blades after every time you sharpen them.
How sharp should you sharpen a lawn mower blade?
Some individuals think a lawn mower blade should be sharp enough to cut anything it touches. While it’s a wrong misconception, you don’t need sharp edges that can cut anyone’s hand, nor you need a blade that can’t cut anything. The sharpness level should be in the medium zone.
Conclusion
If seen from a third-person point of view, the process of sharpening and balancing the blade is pretty similar. The only difference we’ve found while writing this guide on how to balance lawn mower blades is while balancing; you have to check the balance of the blade first.
Then you have to sharpen the side that’s heavy so that the weight is equal on both sides of the blades. We repeat the process of sharpening on the heavy side until we get a balanced blade. That’s the entire balancing process in brief.
