OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Question On Scott Bonnar Cylinder Mowers Cylinder blade and bed knife sharpening

Hello all,

First post here. I'm in the processing of restoring my dad's old SB. I've got the engine sorted but the blades and knife has dulled over the years and will need a good grinding.

I rang my local mower repair shop and was quoted $200 to sharpen the things - is this reasonable? I was expecting at most maybe around 90~100. If not, can anyone recommend a good place somewhere in Sydney?

PS I tried calling Sydney Roller Mower Centre at Seven Hills but it seems it has closed shop.

Hi DanLee, and a warm welcome to the forum. It's always great to welcome another Scott Bonnar owner.
Re your questions, I would agree that $200 is a bit steep for a re-grind; you don't state what model your machine is, so I'm presuming it would be a Model 45, and in which case it would be a 6 blade reel for the 14" and 17" and 8 blade reel for the 20". The engineer I use charges around $70 for my 17" reel and bedknife.

My suggestion would be to contact the greens keeper at the nearest Bowling Club in your area, and ask him where he gets his reels sharpened, they are usually very friendly fellows and will steer you in the right direction.
This means you will be able to take your reel and soleplate assy direct to the engineer, thus saving the money that the mower shop would have charged for the service....they would have to send it out anyway!
Please let us know how you get on.
Once again,

Does the $200.00 include pulling the reel/ blade from the mower & placing back on & adjusting accordingly?? If not, you should only pay around $70.00 as Deejay suggests.

Ross

Yes, I forgot to mention it's a 17 inch 45 (that "can't be more than 35 years old" according to the old man) with 6 blades.

Not sure what exactly the $200 quote covers - they did mention they don't do it themselves.

I'll drive around this weekend and try to find some bowling clubs - don't recall seeing any near where I live (hills district) and the ones i do remember, have all shut down from memory.

Will let you people know how I go.

HI DanLee

I live in the Hills District too.
I also got a quote on the weekend form a place in Rouse HIll
and it was $200. They said they send it down to Melbourne to get sharpened.
$200 includes new bearings, Reel and Bedknife sharpening and they also set the new blades up.
I used to go to the Sydney Roller Mower centre too. They are closed down now.
The bowling club at Baulkam Hills could be a good place to start. IF I egt a chance on the weekend I will ask them.

Cheers
Skyscraper

Hi Davo 70 and DanLee, If the deal includes remove and replace the reel and soleplate, grinding both, new bearings, set-up etc, with labour costs and freight of the parts to and from Melbourne, I can see $200.00 spent easily....
Surely someone in Sydney can spin-grind reels...

Hi

I was quoted $200 in Brisbane last week but this was for the grind of the cylinder and the bed knife only. I thought a little expensive really. I have a Model 45 - 17" and have purchased a new cylinder. I have been messing around with an Alroh which needs more love than I have time for at the moment, so I bit the bullet and purchased the Rover a few weeks ago. It will known as Red which is what its doing to my bank account ! When the new cylinder and bottom assembly arrive I plan to do the changeover myself.

I am very familiar with the Alroh now after one unsiccesful grind and umpteen attempts to align but not so with the Rover.

Any tips in relation to the change out would be greatly appreciated. I am particularly concerned about removing the sprocket and chain.

All help greatly appreciated.

Well after calling around some engineers who weren't sure whether they could do what I was asking and with no luck tracking down a green keeper, I've decided to buy a new set of blades. There's less then 8mm left on the one I have now and couple of then are warped quite badly, and I reckon buying a new set is better in the long run. Still, if anyone tracks down a machinist in Sydney, I'd be very interested.

Dan, you usually have to finish grind even a new reel, and the bed knife, to get them to match properly. It is up to you of course, but unless the individual blades are significantly bent, throwing a way a reel with 8mm left on it is extravagance way beyond my tastes. On top of that, you need a machinist anyway: your mower will require sharpening from time to time, especially if you use it commercially (customers have no reason to care if they scatter metal objects around on their lawns, but any one of them will have a nasty effect on your reel and bedknife).

Hi DanLee, Re: Reel Sharpening, see the post by Aussie Blue...
Click HERE He has found an engineer in Ipswich....

Hi Grumpy, Just for interest mate, the retailer that sells cylinder reels and bedknives, that we would recommend, sends them to the purchaser ready to install...ie finish sharpened and lapped ready to go.
That's the way to go!!

So you buy the bedknife already mounted on its holder, not as a separate (much cheaper) simple piece of spring steel? Sounds extravagant (my forebears came from Scotland).

Rob, could you post a picture or two, including a close-up of the reel sprocket, and the joining link in the chain, if there is one? That will show us how it works on your mower (24" versions do not seem all that common) and will also make this thread more useful when it is in the Outdoorking archives.

There is a good chance the sprocket is held on by an axial setscrew in the end of the reel's axle, and there is probably a joining link in the chain, which should be undone to remove the chain, before sliding the sprocket off the reel axle. If it works that way there will probably be a key between sprocket and axle, and it would be a good idea not to lose it.

HI Guys

I just called Marcarthur Mowers in Camden.
They sharpen blades onsite for $160 which includes set up as well.
Hope this helps Dan Lee

Thanks Grumpy

Mines a standard Red Rover 45 - 17" and I thought Deejay would be all over this post but I will get a picture happening. I too am purchasing a new cylinder (extravagent yes) but I want a special finish on my dwarf Tif grass!!! In order to allow me the benefit of keeping my mowing schedule going I will end up with two cylinders and two mountted bedknives but at almost 50 yrs of age, raising two kids to their late teens I deserve it. I am dearly hoping they want independence soon and actually leave home freeing up finance for further extravagences. I have used my latest addition to my credit card collection to pay for it.

Regards

Rob

Sorry Rob, wrong thread. I agree it is no bad thing to have spares when you have another 30 years of mowing ahead of you. My father was still timing himself each time he cut his lawn when he was 77 years old - had to be sure he wasn't slowing down.

Reel Facts Information and Helpful Hints.

http://www.foleyunited.com/reel_facts/reelinfo.htm

Hi grumpy, No mate, you send your soleplate complete with the worn bedknife to him; he removes and replaces the bedknife, and laps it accordingly to the new reel. In that case you only pay for the new bedknife.
However in this case, Rob also purchased a new soleplate together with the 10 blade reel.

Hi Rob, Sorry for the delay in replying, I have been away gigging in north-east Victoria.
Removing the reel is not difficult. Here's how:
1. Remove the joining link and cutter chain
2. Remove the nut that holds the cutter sprocket
3. Using a gear-puller remove the sprocket and the half-moon key from its key-way (keep it safe for replacement later)
4. Remove the upper halves of the cutter bearing holders by undoing the 2 screws on each.
5. Now looking at the cutter reel from the front....lift the reel from left hand side and slide up and out of the machine.
6. Remove the soleplate with bottom blade attached.
Your done!

Replacement is the reverse of the above procedure.

However, before replacement, don't forget to loosen all nuts on the adjusters and wind both up so that the new reel doesn't contact the bottom blade during replacement.
Please let us know how you get on Rob, and best of luck.

Hi Deejay and thanks

I will not be changing the cylinder over until I have my water tanks installed (3 weeks) and my recent aeration/coring and top dressing are well settled. I want to go over the lawn once all iof the work is done and make sure there are no bloody rocks or small pieces of gravel. In the meantime I will use the old cylinder. Its still cutting well !

I bought my stainless steel tube (65NB Schedule 10 316L) for the front roller and its at the chroming shop now. Should be ready this week !! I will replace my rusty old one when I change the cylinder out. I am thinking it may be a New Years job as I will have a little more time and hopefully my turf will have grown. I will send a photo regardless. Jeez the cylinder is razor sharp. I am thinking I may have to wear gloves to change it.

Nothing else happening as I have been too busy at work. I will try and get the Alroh blades sharpened before Xmas in Ballarat. If that doesn't work I may have to get the fitter and turner on the job!!!

I do seek your opinion on the colour of the cylinder though. Its is just painted black at the moment. I am not sure that red paint with red mower body will look as good as the Green and red of the Scotties. Any thoughts as its new and will paint up easily now before I do any work with it.


Cheers

Rob

Hi Rob, In my opinion, If you are not happy with the colour of the machine, now would be the perfect time to re-paint it. I personally prefer(as you do) the mower chassis in green with a fire engine cylinder reel. When I was in Brissy, I saw a guy mowing with a Rover/Scotty he had just repainted in a solid colour (Mid- Brunswick Green with a bright red reel) it really looked fantastic. He explained he did the job with aerosol cans and the finish was as good as any spray job I have seen. He couldn't get a hammertone colour he liked, so solid green it was!

I just got charged $38 to get my 14in cylinder sharpened in Adelaide

Can anyone recommend a good place (and price) to get a 17" 45 sharpened in Melbourne? I'm happy to remove the reel and plate myself.

Hi Paul, Hopefully one of our members will help you with an engineering workshop in the Melbourne area....In the meantime, why not contact your nearest Bowling Club; ask to speak to the greens-keeper and ask where they get their reels sharpened. They are a great bunch of blokes and will help you where they can. Take both your reel and the soleplate complete to the engineer when getting them sharpened.

Thanks Deejay, good suggestion, I'll follow up on this.

No probs Paul. please let us know how you get on.