Rotary Lawn Mower Sharpener

[JimW1949]

A few years ago I built myself a lawnmower blade sharpener. The design is my own and building it was kind of fun. I like to invent stuff and I have designed and built all sorts of stuff over the years.

Anyway, I sharpen mower blades for people. When I built the machine I didn't intend on sharpening blades for other people, I built it just to sharpen my own blades. But the next door neighbor saw me working in my garage and saw I was sharpening my lawnmower blades and asked me if I would sharpen his. I said OK and took his blade off and brought it over. I sharpened it an he liked the job I did so much that he told his buddies about it. His buddies brought their blades over, and they liked the job I did and the crowd of people wanting their blades sharpened has continued to grow. I am retired now and I would like to put an end to this, but I have doing it for so long that I am not sure how to tell people I don't want to sharpen their blades anymore.

I took some pictures of the sharpener so I could show it to you, but it won't let me attach them. It says I am not allowed to post attachments.

 

[deadlyapp]

upload the picture to a website like photobucket.com

Do you charge them to sharpen blades?

 

[JimW1949]

I charge $3 for one blade, if they have a rider mower with 2 blades I charge $5 for the two blades. Sometimes someone will have a rider mower with three blades and then I charge $6 for the three.

I was thinking I was doing something wrong and that is why I couldn't attach a picture. Is there some sort of a wait to post attachments, like you have to have been a member for certain length of time before you can attach a file? I looked at the FAQ's but I didn't see any kind of waiting period or anything like that. Maybe I just missed it, I will go look again.

 

[KK]

If I ship you my blades will you sharpen them and send them back?

 

[JimW1949]

If I ship you my blades will you sharpen them and send them back?

Where do you live? Maybe you can bring them over and we can have a couple beers.

 

[Specop 007]

I would really like to see pics. Right now I have to haul mine to the shop and throw them on the surface grinder which is a real pain in the ass.

 

[deadlyapp]

the forums don't allow attachments.

You need to upload them somewhere else and then use the img tags by doing

[img]imgurlhere[/img]

 

[Jeff7]

http://pics.bbzzdd.com

 

[JimW1949]

Here are the pictures. I uploaded them to another website. I hope this works OK.

http://webpages.charter.net/jwintermute/Pictures/1742.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/jwintermute/Pictures/1743.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/jwintermute/Pictures/1744.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/jwintermute/Pictures/1745.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/jwintermute/Pictures/1746.jpg
http://webpages.charter.net/jwintermute/Pictures/1742.jpg

 

[Nik]

Here are the pictures. I uploaded them to another website. I hope this works OK.

http://webpages.charter.net/jwintermute/Pictures/1742.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/jwintermute/Pictures/1743.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/jwintermute/Pictures/1744.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/jwintermute/Pictures/1745.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/jwintermute/Pictures/1746.jpg
http://webpages.charter.net/jwintermute/Pictures/1742.jpg

the forums don't allow attachments.

You need to upload them somewhere else and then use the img tags by doing

[img]imgurlhere[/img]

uh...

 

[JimW1949]

The motor on the right side is mounted on a piece of channel iron and by turning the crank the motor slide back or forward. This allows you to get the right angle on the blade.

There is a metal stop on the machine so you can only grind so far into the blade, and the piece of wood on the left acts as a stop so when you sharpen the opposite side of the blade it will be sharpened the same distance on both ends.

As you slide the blade back and forth across the grinding stone, it keeps the exact same angle so the job looks really professional. I have a little blade balancer that I use, or sometimes I just use a nail, it depends on whether I can find the balancer. I have a lot of projects going on all the time and my garage is rather messy.

 

[JimW1949]

Doesn't this work? I can see the pictures by clicking on the links.

 

[deadlyapp]

 

[mryellow]

Tell those lazy fucks to buy a file and sharpen their blades themselves.

 

[JimW1949]

Thanks "deadlyapp" for posting those pictures for me. Much appreciated.

Tell those lazy fucks to buy a file and sharpen their blades themselves.

I don't want to insult them. Over the years I have sharpened their blades and made a few bucks doing it. I am just not sure how to tell them I don't really want to do it anymore. It's not like they are total strangers, they have been stopping over to the house with their blades for several years now.

I just sharpened 8 blades, 4 sets of 2 blades, this afternoon. It took me a just little less than half an hour to sharpen them. So I made $20 in 30 minutes, not a bad deal. Yes, there is a cost for the electricity and wear and tear on the grinding wheel, but that is pretty minor. The money is good, but I have arthritis in my hands and it is getting more difficult for me to do it.

I also made a machine for sharpening chipper knives. Those are the knives used for those machines called "Chipper Shredders" that chop up small branches. I don't get a lot of those to sharpen, just guessing, maybe a dozen sets per year. For those knives I charge $5 per set.

I take the money and put it into an old popcorn can and whenever I need to buy a tool, I use the money from the can. Right now there is a little over $300 in the can.

 

[IronWing]

Raise your price. If folks stop coming to you, you get to be retired and enjoy life. If they still come to you, at least it is worth your time.

 

[GeekDrew]

So... you have arthritis in your hands, and it's getting difficult for you to do it. Why don't you just tell a couple of customers that? Most people are understanding, it's not like they'll be mad at you or anything.

Or, are any of your customers bright enough to do this on their own, if you taught them how? Perhaps they could buy your equipment from you? Or, perhaps you should tell them what they need, help them build it, etc.

Depends on your motivation. I'd personally just tell them that your hands are hurting more and more, and you aren't sure how much longer you'll be able to continue sharpening blades.

 

[fatpat268]

So... you have arthritis in your hands, and it's getting difficult for you to do it. Why don't you just tell a couple of customers that? Most people are understanding, it's not like they'll be mad at you or anything.

Yea, if you're pretty friendly with most of these people, I don't think they'll fault you for wanting to stop. I certainly wouldn't stop overnight, but the next time you sharpen someone's blades, just mention that due to your arthritis that you won't be sharpening anymore.

 

[JimW1949]

What you guys are suggesting is kind of what I am thinking too. I am going to start telling people this will be my last Summer of sharpening their blades. Next year they will need to find someone else to do it for them. That way they will have a little time to find somebody who can sharpen their blades the way they like them sharpened.

They can take their blades to the local hardware store, and someone at the hardware store will sharpen the blade for them. But for some reason a lot of people don't care for the way the hardware store sharpens their blades. Besides that, I have a wire wheel and I clean the blades up before I sharpen them, the hardware store doesn't do that. I don't normally do that with my own blades, but I do it for others. It doesn't make the blade cut any better, but it certainly looks better and looks are important because it shows that you took the time to do the job right.

Sometimes I will get a blade to sharpen that is really coated with crud and the wire wheel doesn't work as good as I would like it to work on a really heavily crudded up blade. When that happens I take the blade to a buddy of mine who has a small sandblaster and he sandblasts the blade for me. That gets everything off the blade and when you look at it you would think is a brand new blade. Then I sharpen it and the customer thinks it is a different blade than the one he brought to me. I have to explain what I did before they believe me. My buddy doesn't charge me anything to sandblast a blade, but I do him favors from time to time so it all comes out about even in the end.

 

[chusteczka]

You are doing more work than you are getting paid for, causing you to lose interest. Among other reasons. Maybe you can teach a neighborhood kid how to do it. You get company when he comes over and a franchise fee off the top while he learns a skill and earns a little on his own.

There comes a time when the older generation needs to pass off their knowledge to the younger generation.

Edit:
Found this Foley Lawn Mower Blade Sharpener.
http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/atq/2389089956.html

 

[JimW1949]

You are doing more work than you are getting paid for, causing you to lose interest. Among other reasons. Maybe you can teach a neighborhood kid how to do it. You get company when he comes over and a franchise fee off the top while he learns a skill and earns a little on his own.

There comes a time when the older generation needs to pass off their knowledge to the younger generation.

Edit:
Found this Foley Lawn Mower Blade Sharpener.
http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/atq/2389089956.html

That was a very expensive piece of equipment when it was new. It is used to sharpen "reel type" mowers and there isn't very many places around that can sharpen a reel mower, at least not professionally. If I were younger I would consider buying it, although very reel mowers are around anymore. Golf courses use them and there are still a few people who have a push type reel lawnmower. They actually do a better job than the normal rotary mowers that are so commonplace these days.

I was hoping to one day give all my tools to my grandson, but he is 16 now and has turned into a real jerk. Right now I am pretty upset with him and I wouldn't give him the time of day. Not sure why, but he started hanging around the wrong crowd and has become a worthless piece of dog flop. He is a real disappointment to me, he used to be a really good kid and then suddenly he turned into somebody I don't even know.

There aren't any neighborhood kids that I would really trust to sharpen something, at least not right now. There are a couple kids that maybe in a few years would be pretty good at sharpening things. Right now the ones that are in their mid-teens are pretty goofy kids, and the two that I think would be good at it are too young. I have a nephew that I suppose I could consider, but I don't really like him all that much. He's alright I guess, he means well, but he just doesn't have any common sense.

There is one guy who I really think would be good at sharpening stuff. He is the son of a woman I used to work with. But he is in the Navy right now. Smart kid, hard worker, and is the kind of person you really want to help. He gets out of the Navy this coming August. Only problem is, he wants to go to college. Not that going to college is bad, it's just that if he is going to college he won't want to be sharpening stuff around here. When he isn't in class or studying he will want to be having fun, and I can't say that I would be any different if I were in his shoes.

 

[chusteczka]

...

The honesty within this message has me laughing.

 

[lxskllr]

Don't write your grandson off too soon. Kids are assholes. Some of them come out of it, and some don't, but it takes time to tell.

For the immediate problem, maybe you could build a new setup for one of your neighbors, and have him take the project over. Otherwise, maybe do it on a "feel like it basis". If you don't feel like it, they can take it to someone else. You can also make it a winter only project. Tell people if they want their blades sharpened, it'll have to be off season. That way, you can take it slow, and it'll give you something to do when there isn't as much going on.