Back lapping a mower

[Tims A]

In the past I have used silicon carbide and 90wt oil for lapping compound on a Locke reel mower. Worked nice. This time I used dish soap and silicon carbide (easier cleanup). It did not seem to produce the sharp edge as the oil did. Is it possible the soap would be that much different, all else being the same?

Thanks,
Tim

 

[Gene Davis (Ga.)]

When you back lap a mower reel. it is best to have it sitting so that the bedknife is on the front and that the lapping compound will fill the little groove in the bedknife and keep a constant amount of compound available to the reel blades. The better compounds are water soluble and are sold by golf course maintenance supply companies. Have you tried asking the local golf course to sell you some compound? If you are lapping for a greens mower type of finish cut you need a 180 grit. compound and for a fairway grade cut, you need a 100 grit grade compound. Be sure you wash away all compound before you begin to run in the forward direction because it will take the edge off just like it put it on

 

[Anonymous-0]

Back lapping can only work for so long before you need to have the reels sharpened. Clover is good lapping compound. When back lapping it is important to apply it as evenly as possible and also not to turn the reel too fast.

 

[Tims A]

Thanks for the comments. I do have a Foley portable back lapping setup. I think I will thin the soap/grit past so it moves around more. I'm gonna try to oil again just for comparison.

Tim

 

[Tims A]

Viscosity matters. I tried again and thinned the mix some. Results were better. The material has to be able to move to allow constant cutting.

 

[Anonymous-0]

My dad sharpened thousands of reels on a Foley and lapped even more with a Foley lapping machine. There is a real art to sharpening on a manual sharpener. He was the distributor for Foley and used to teach sharpening for the Turfgrass program at Fairview college where he was also on the board of directors. I don't think he was even paid. If he was it wasn't very much other than paying for his gas to drive up and back , about 5 1/2 hours one way. Many golf courses didn't trust anyone other than my dad to sharpen their reels. I remember him letting me help with lapping back in the 70's. You don't put too much on at a time and you apply it very evenly.