Mulching; To Remove Mulch Insert; To Install Mulch Insert; Blade Care - Craftsman 900.370510 Operator's Manual

wait f ortheblade tocome t oa complete
stop. T hen unplug t hepower cord and
turn mower onitsside. U sing a nobject
such as
a stick, wipe out any
accumulation of grass in the blade area.
Be careful of the sharp edges of the
blade.
• If a grasscatcher is used during the fast
growing season, the grass may tend to
clog up at the discharge opening. Turn
the mower "OFF" and disconnect the
power cord plug. Remove the catcher
and shake the grass down to the back
end of the bag. Also clean out any grass
or debris which may be packed around
the discharge opening. Replace the
grass catcher. Clean often in wet, spring
grass.
• If mower should stari to vibrate
abnormally, turn mower "OFF" and
unplug power cord. Check immediately
for cause. Vibration is a warning of
trouble. Do not operate mower until a
service check has been made.
• ALWAYS turn the mower "OFF" and
unplug the mower when leaving it
unattended even for a short period of
time.
MULCHING
• Your new mower is designed to re-cut
the grass clippings many times and
reduce them in size so that, as they fall
into the lawn, they will disperse into the
grass and not be noticed. Also, the
mulched grass will biodegrade quickly to
provide nutrients to the lawn,
• Your mower was shipped with the Mulch
Insert installed.
MULCHING MOWING TIPS
• For best performance, keep the mower
housing free of built-up grass and trash.
Clean after each use See CLEANING in
the maintenance section of this manual.
• Avoid cutting the lawn when it is wet.
Wet grass tends to form dumps which
interfere with the mulching action. The
best time to mow your lawn is in the
early afternoon. At this time the grass is
dried and the newly cut area will not be
exposed to the direct sun. For best
results, adjust the mower cutting height
so that the mower cuts off only the top
one third of the grass blades. If the lawn
is overgrown it will be necessary to
increase the cutting height to reduce the
pushing effect and reduce overloading
the motor. For extremely heavy mulching
make narrower cuts and mow slowly.
• Certain types of grass and grass
conditions may require that an area be
mulched a second time to completely
hide the clippings. When doing a second
cut, mow across or perpendicular to the
first cut pafh. DO NOT mow
perpendicular to the first path if it
would require you to mow across a
hill.
• Change your cutting pattern from week
to week, Mow north to south one week
and east to west the next week. This will
help prevent matting and graining of the
lawn.
TO REMOVE MULCH INSEaT
• Shut the mower off, wait until the blade
stops and unplug the mower.
• Raise the rear door and hold it up.
• Locate your hand in the handle pocket of
the mulch insert, lift and pull out the
mulch insed.completely.
• The rear discharge door is spring
loaded. When you release it the door will
return to the closed position.
TO INSTALL MULCH INSERT
• Shut the mower off.
• Raise the rear door and slide the mulch
insert into the discharge opening until it
is firmly in contact with the deck.
• Release the rear door.
>'r II_W
,€
Insert
TO REMOVE BLADE
• Release Operator Presence Control
Switch to turn mower off, wait for the
blade to stop, and unplug mower!
• Cut a two foot length of 2x4 wood and
use it to keep blade from turning while
removing blade nut.
• Wear gloves, position wood, and loosen
nut counterclockwise as shown. Remove
• Remove square steel washer, plastic
insu(ator washer and blade.
Blade Nut
Square
Sleel
Washer_
TO REPLACE BLADE
• Place blade on shaft so that the blade
edges are parallel with the flat sides of
the shaft. Make sure you place the blade
so that its cutting edges will face the
ground when the mower is running.
• Place plastic insulator washer on shaft
so that two of the washer's raised edges
fit over the edges of the blade.
• Place square steel washer on shaft so
that flat sides of hole in washer are
parallel with flat sides of shaft.
• Place blade nut on shaft, Make sure all
paris stay aligned. Position wood to keep
shaft from turning. Securely tighten blade
nut clockwise to 20-30 ft. Ibs.
TO SHARPEN BLADE
• Keep blade sharp for best mower
performance. A duff blade does not cut
grass evenly.
• Wear proper eye protection.
• Sharpening the blade twice during a
mowing season is usually sufficient
under normal circumstances Sand
causes the blade to dull fast. If your lawn
has sandy soil, more frequent sharpen-
ings are required.
• Replace bent or damaged blade
immediately.
• To sharpen blade:
• Make sure blade remains balanced.
• Sharpen blade at the original cutting
angle.
• Sharpen cutting edges on both ends of
blade, removing equal amounts of
material from both ends.
• Secure blade in a vise as shown in
figure below,
• Wear safety glasses and be carefut not
to cut yourself,
• Carefully file the cutting edges of the
blade wilh a fine tooth file or
sharpening stone