Cam, the sharpening of the reel is normally done with a special grinding machine set up for the job. It also has a facility built-in for sharpening the bedknife while still attached to the soleplate. In principle the jobs can be done with a toolpost grinder on a lathe, but the setting up would be prohibitively expensive. Hence you need to go to what used to be called an engineering workshop, and it has to be one that specialises in maintenance on reel mowers. Deejay always refers to the tradesman who operates the grinder as an engineer. Perhaps he does the same for locomotive enginemen.
Bear in mind that the troubled electric motor you have is only a half horsepower one, where the engine-driven version of the same mower had 2 horsepower, which was later increased. Also, that original motor was an Australian-made one that was by no means widely admired. Hence I do not expect you will find your Model 40 to be any great shakes as a lawnmower. In summary it looks to be quite restorable but once restored, it may not be able to climb an incline or mow thick grass. If you try, it will presumably burn out. For a collector's piece that need not matter, of course.
Wow, I'm in a critical mood this morning. Oh well, it suits my chosen nickname.
