Rotary chopper blade experience from 1970

[Eric in IL]

Dad needed new blades for his 3pt. five foot chopper. Someone advised him to take the old blades to the local blacksmith.

The blacksmith did a beautiful job forging new metal on to the old blades. The cutting edge extended further forward than a new set would have. He told us he used metal from car leaf springs to build up the cutting edge.

I don't know if he did any quenching or tempering for his final treatment. Also don't remember his price, but highly doubt dad would have paid much more than a new set cost at the time.

I do remember those blades lasting longer than OEM blades.

The blacksmith would also sharpen blades, but not by grinding. He just reshaped the edge to sharp condition.

I miss those days of using what you had to make things better than new. Being able to offer a service that required some sweat from your brow and you could still compete on price.

 

[38 Sears Roebuck]

My Dad had our bush hog blades redone by a local welder. The welder took steel from a road grader cutting edge and welded nice new blades up for us. He did a great job, they lasted for years.

 

[504]

For a while we lived in town and my tricycle would go down the sidewalk and ended at the blacksmith shop next door. He always had a stack of throw away plow parts with the farmers name on them by the door. They were a lot bigger when he got done with them. Side note I was in tall cotton when we lived there. Two straight blocks of concrete for my wheels and out on the rented farm house there was none.

 

[wh]

Took a worn set of blades and cut off enough to create a new cutting edge on another mower. “v”the edges on both and welded with 11018. Weighed them and ground them until they were the same. Guy that wanted them was very happy. Lasted him as long as he used the mower. It was some odd brand mower and he could not find blades for it new.

 

[rrlund]

How is it that we didn't know the good old days were so great when we were living them? Like Dad used to say, the only thing good about the good old days is that we were younger.