Mower Maintenance; Servicing The Cutting Blades - Toro 74390 Operator's Manual

Mower Maintenance

Servicing the Cutting Blades

Maintain sharp blades throughout the cutting season because
sharp blades cut cleanly without tearing or shredding the grass
blades. Tearing and shredding turns grass brown at the edges,
which slows growth and increases the chance of disease.
Check the cutter blades daily for sharpness, and for any
wear or damage. File down any nicks and sharpen the
blades as necessary. If a blade is damaged or worn, replace
it immediately with a genuine Toro replacement blade. For
convenient sharpening and replacement, you may want to
keep extra blades on hand.
WARNING
A worn or damaged blade can break, and a piece
of the blade could be thrown into the operator's
or bystander's area, resulting in serious personal
injury or death.
• Inspect the blade periodically for wear or
damage.
• Replace a worn or damaged blade.
Before Inspecting or Servicing the
Blades
Park the machine on a level surface, disengage the blade
control switch, and move the motion control levers outward
to the park position. Stop the engine and remove the key.
Inspecting the Blades
Service Interval: Before each use or daily—Check the
cutting blades.
1. Inspect the cutting edges (). If the edges are not sharp
or have nicks, remove and sharpen the blades; refer
to Sharpening the Blades.
2. Inspect the blades, especially the curved area (). If you
notice any damage, wear, or a slot forming in this area
(item 3 in ), immediately install a new blade.
Figure 44
1. Cutting edge
2. Curved area
3. Wear/slot forming
4. Damage
Checking for Bent Blades
Note: The machine must be on a level surface for the
following procedure.
1. Raise the mower deck to the highest height-of-cut
position; also considered the 'transport' position.
2. While wearing thickly padded gloves or other adequate
hand protection slowly rotate blade to be measured
into a position that allows effective measurement of
the distance between the cutting edge and the level
surface the machine is on.
1
2
3
1. Deck
2. Spindle housing
35
G014972
Figure 45
3. Blade