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Back-lapping (sharpening) an old-fashioned reel mower

Kevin Olson

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posted 7 hours ago

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I have an old Craftsman Ball Bearing model reel mower. I'd guess this one is pushing 80 years old, at this point. I got it when a friend passed away; it had been her father's, and it (and some other of his hand tools) came to me. He knew good hand tools, and had plenty, of which this was one that came my way.

Some of the newer reel mowers have special sharpening kits, but for older mowers, you're kind of on your own.

Here's how I back-lap the reel and bed knife on my mower - usually once or twice a season is all that's needed. Eventually, I'll need to have the bed knife and reel ground properly to true them up, but so far, the back-lapping has been enough. Golf courses still use (power) reel mowers as finish mowers, so I may try pestering my local course about this when the time comes. I've seen a couple of reel grinding rigs on FB Marketplace, but too far away from me for an easy drive. I'd imagine a grinder could be cobbled up, as well, but haven't put too much thought into it.

Anyway, to the back-lapping...

Here's the mower:

IMG_0202.jpg

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what's a heaven for?"
Andrea del Sarto by Robert Browning

Kevin Olson

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Location: The Old Northwest, South of Superior

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posted 7 hours ago

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To back-lap the mower, the drive direction needs to be reversed, which necessitates removing the wheels.

If you look closely, you may be able to see that the wheels are held on with a carriage bolt (through a carriage washer), with a square nut on the inside. Loosening the square nut will permit the carriage bolt to be slid out, after which the wheel can be removed. Both will need to be off the machine at the same time to reverse the drive direction.

IMG_0203.jpg

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what's a heaven for?"
Andrea del Sarto by Robert Browning

Kevin Olson

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Location: The Old Northwest, South of Superior

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You can see that I also slipped off the pinion gear, which engages the reel shaft with a small ratchet pawl. The ratchets can be reverse by flipping them over about their long axes, but the drive pinions will need to be swapped between sides, since they are "handed" or mirror images of each other.

IMG_0204.jpg

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what's a heaven for?"
Andrea del Sarto by Robert Browning

Kevin Olson

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Location: The Old Northwest, South of Superior

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posted 7 hours ago

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Here's what the pawls on my machine look like (grimy fingers and all!).

IMG_0210.jpg

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what's a heaven for?"
Andrea del Sarto by Robert Browning

Kevin Olson

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Location: The Old Northwest, South of Superior

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posted 7 hours ago

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So, put the whole mess back together, and snug up the square nuts on the carriage bolts.

You'll also need to adjust the bed knife so that it contacts the reel firmly, but not too firmly, since you want the reel to be able to still rotate. You'll get the hang of it once you overshoot too much one way or the other a couple of times. My bed knife adjustment has a pair of opposed set screws on either end, which rock the bed knife on a pivot. Slack one off a fraction of a turn and snug the other to adjust the clearance of the knife relative to the reel.

IMG_0205.jpg

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what's a heaven for?"
Andrea del Sarto by Robert Browning

Kevin Olson

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Location: The Old Northwest, South of Superior

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posted 7 hours ago

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Now apply the lapping grit to the edges of the reel and to the bed knife. I bought two small tubs - 120 grit and 220 grit - from Pin High, a golf course supply company. I don't think I've ever needed to use the 120 grit stuff, though. Basically, this is silicon carbide valve grinding grit in a water-based gel carrier. I apply it with a cheap chip brush.

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IMG_0209.jpg

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what's a heaven for?"
Andrea del Sarto by Robert Browning

Kevin Olson

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Location: The Old Northwest, South of Superior

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Now, flip the mower over, so that the wheels are still on the ground, but the gauge roller is up the air. Push the mower around "a bunch". I push it on the street, up and down my short town block - probably 500-600 feet, or a couple of hundred meters. It should be difficult to push at first, but not impossible, but become progressively easier. The sound will change, too. I don't have a good photo of the pushing part of the operation.

Then, you can wash or wipe off the grit, and return the reel drive to the correct direction by removing the wheels, flipping the ratchet pawls back over, and putting the pinions back on the proper sides. A dab of grease on the gear teeth - I like the black moly stuff, but use what you have, some being better than none - before you bolt the wheels back on is a good idea.

Unfortunately, I managed to snap the "ears" off not one but two of the bed knife adjuster screws in the process, so I'll need to either cut new straight blade drive slots with a Dremel cutoff wheel or hacksaw blade, or replace them with (extra fine pitch) new screws (still TBD).

IMG_0211.jpg

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what's a heaven for?"
Andrea del Sarto by Robert Browning

Kevin Olson

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I mowed until about 10:20PM, after which it was getting too dusky to see what I was doing (we're getting on toward the solstice, so the evening light lasts fairly long, though not like truly high latitudes). After I hung out a load of wash this morning I took a photo of the results. Not too bad, though I missed a few blades here and there. This is a "mixed pasture" lawn - various grasses, clover, yarrow and the ubiquitous dandelions.

IMG_0212.jpg

IMG_0213.jpg

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what's a heaven for?"
Andrea del Sarto by Robert Browning

Kevin Olson

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Location: The Old Northwest, South of Superior

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posted 7 hours ago

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Anyway, that's how I keep an old reel mower cutting sweetly.

I haven't messed with any "modern" mowers, so I don't know how applicable this might be to something that's a mere 50 years old! However, I am happy to try to answer any questions you may have.

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what's a heaven for?"
Andrea del Sarto by Robert Browning

R Scott

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posted 2 hours ago

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The old order Amish near my old house used reel mowers, they had a guy that specialized in sharpening and repair. He had jig/machine that would keep the angle right and grinder even to get it true.

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Jeremy VanGelder

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posted 11 minutes ago

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Kevin Olson wrote:Now apply the lapping grit to the edges of the reel and to the bed knife. I bought two small tubs - 120 grit and 220 grit - from Pin High, a golf course supply company. I don't think I've ever needed to use the 120 grit stuff, though. Basically, this is silicon carbide valve grinding grit in a water-based gel carrier. I apply it with a cheap chip brush.

Valve grinding grit, you say? I've never sharpened my reel mower because I didn't want to buy compounds just for that purpose. But I think we have some valve-grinding grit around. Thanks for the tip!

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