Welding mower blade edges okay?

[BP in KS]

Any problem with welding excess material on mower blade gouges to then grind down while sharpening? Just thought I would ask around as I repaired a gouge on the rider last week and have some other bigger blades for a finish mower to sharpen with much bigger gouges.

Never hurts to ask. Sometimes.

 

[Rob Holz]

The only issue that I see is that you might have to harden and temper the blade again.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Mower blades are hardened/high carbon steel. If they get damaged beyond what can be ground off, replace them! You certainly don't want to have stress risers in the blades that would make them a serious accident waiting to happen. If you wanted to hard surface/build up something like rototiller blades would be a whole lot safer than mower blades because they aren't spinning nearly as fast. Only around 200 RPM instead of a few thousand RPM like a mower. Just not worth the the risk or the trouble to weld on a mower blade.

 

[36 Coupe]

Dont do it, just sharpen the gouges.A mower blade that is too hard will break in stead of bending.

 

[Brian Jasper co. Ia]

I really can"t say for sure about welding on mower blades. About 20 years ago, I made my own high lift blades for a 44" Cub Cadet. I just welded some pieces of metal the same thickness as the blade. I made 2 sets of blades. They have mowed alot of grass, Still have them.

 

[old]

Doing that would be like welding spring steel you are looking to make a missile out of the area you weld. Do not try it or you may find that the blade brakes off and ends up in your house or car or what would be real bad is the guy walking buy on the side walk

 

[Bspauld]

I have welded the outside edge for many years and never had a problem. Once the tip gets rounded off it will start leaving a strip of grass, I weld it up and grind it down,

 

[Jerry/MT]

I"m no metalurgist but have have seen blade failures on rotating machinery and the results aren"t pretty!

Figure out how much you are saving by not buying replacement blades and then figure out what a day spent running to the emergency room and getting yourself or a loved one fixed up (if you/they are still alive) costs. New blades will be cheaper every time. Why take the risk?

 

[36 Coupe]

Few have the skill to do that.A fellow here lost his foot when the blade on a rotary push mower broke.He hit a small stump.The blade broke.When I did mower service I used new blades from a company that had a million dollar insurance coverage.A good blade will bend if it srikes a hard object.Blade balance has to be checked when they are sharpened.I found many mowers with the wrong knife bolt.

 

[JDseller]

I WOULD never weld a mower blade. I saw a enough shrapnel wounds in Vietnam. Mower blades are case hardened steel. When you weld them you are putting a stress point in the blade. Yes some may do it for years with out any problem, but it would only take one time to wipe out any savings you might make.

I have a busted up left knee cap due to a broken bush hog blade that hit me. I was mowing and the cutter started to make noise. I shut the tractor off and the blades where just coasting. I stepped off the step just as the blade broke completely. I guess that I was lucky it had slowed down or I might have lost the leg.

So is a $50-100 set of blades worth the risk to your health/safety???? Not to me.

 

[Anonymous-0]

You can do it. My dad use to do it. He would hard surface weld them & than grind an edge on them , He than balanced them and than tempered the blades. After he did this they lasted twice as long as new blades.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Can you? Yes, just as you can jump off the Empire State Building. But SHOULD you? Not in my opinion...

You MAY save a few bucks, but at the risk of tragic outcome. At the very best, that would be a job I'd leave to a real cracker jack welder, not your average Joe.... Even at that, you're risking a lot for very little return.

 

[buickanddeere]

You could ask the guys who weld rust pin holes in air compressor tanks. Tough to find those fellows hower. They are either dead, crippled, sued or in jail for negligence.