Ever have a hard time getting your blades off?

[dpld]

Originally Posted by wandfsmall Try using anti-seize on your blade bolts, and I am not sure if that impact will get the blades tight enough... I would tighten them with a breaker bar or ratchet afterwards. exactly, and you can use a impact to take them off but never to put them back on. that's a big no no.

[mark123]

Lawn care business tips

Originally Posted by wandfsmall that could also damage the spindle though. I have seen it strip the threads before. yeah. I'd never do that again. I just wasn't thinking and started the blade when moving the mower to a better angle for tightening the blades.

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Boughter's Lawn Care Services Mowing and Fertilizing in New Castle, PA

[mark123]

Originally Posted by dpld

exactly, and you can use a impact to take them off but never to put them back on.

that's a big no no.

Why's that? Every other lawn care operation around here uses air powered impact wrenches to put the blades on. Local repair shops, too.

I'm not saying you're wrong, just to explain your position.

[Hedgemaster]

Should a torque wrench be used to put it on, or isn't that necessary?

[wandfsmall]

Originally Posted by Hedgemaster

Should a torque wrench be used to put it on, or isn't that necessary?

no in fact I am not against an impact as long as you do not let it hammer. I know shops that have done that for 20 years and never had a problem. I also know of shops that use a really heavy impact and have lots of problems though.

[dpld]

Originally Posted by mark123

Why's that? Every other lawn care operation around here uses air powered impact wrenches to put the blades on. Local repair shops, too.

I'm not saying you're wrong, just to explain your position.

you have no means of knowing if you are over tightening the bolt or if it is not tight enough as well as most spindle houseings are aluminium.
take a piece of cast aluminium and hit it with a hammer hard and see what happens or even a peice of cast iron, it will break.
to some extent that is how a impact gun operates and the excessive tightness and hundreds of impacts per second will give you the same result.

even car and truck tires are supposed to be torqued by hand to a specific ft lb of tightness, so why would you do that to a little rinky dink spindle?

if everyone were jumping off of a cliff would that mean you will follow.

just because everyone does something does not mean it is right, i think the reason why you see so many people doing it is because they are lazy, afterall we live in the society of lazyness and everyone wants the quickest easiest way to do things.

depending on the size of your mower what will you have, 1 to 4 bolts to remove by hand? if you put ant sieze on the bolts prior to replaceing them which you are supposed to do anyway, you will never have to fight a bolt again.
you can't expect power equipment to make up for the improper techniques applied during maintenence regimines

[mark123]

Originally Posted by dpld

... if everyone were jumping off of a cliff would that mean you will follow. ...

No, but let's go ahead with this. Why don't you tell me how many mowers you've serviced for people over the past 35 years.

What I'm saying is I don't just follow the crowd but if everyone, everywhere is using something there is probably a reason and the fact that they are highly successful with a backlog of customers year around, tell me why I should ignore it. Tell me why they're wrong. Then tell me if you're advice is based on experience or speculation.

[mark123]

I don't know. That came out wrong. Re-reading it sounds, umm, hostile? Maybe? Apologies.

Just looking for real world information. This tool can literally save the day in the field by changing blades in 30 seconds instead of having to take the mower back to home base.

[Hedgemaster]

Needed or not, I picked up a torque wrench at Harbor Freight today for $9 w/coupon.

"Quality", Chinese tools for minimal US dollahs.

[mark123]

Originally Posted by Hedgemaster

Needed or not, I picked up a torque wrench at Harbor Freight today for $9 w/coupon.

"Quality", Chinese tools for minimal US dollahs.

You could buy 22 of them for the price I paid and just keep throwing them out as they break.