Lawn Mower Maintenance

Here some advice on lawn mower maintenance. I realize this might be pretty simple stuff for some people, but I hope those who might be intimidated by mechanical things will find some help. Despite thinking that a new spark plug would fix my horsepower problem, that didn't do it so I'll be taking it to a small engine repair shop. The mower is about ten years old, so I might be at the far end of its life cycle.


I've been surprised in my research to see the recommendations for sharpening your mower blade. I read an article that suggested you do it after every three or four times you mow. Most articles recommend every month or two. I must admit that I used to change my blade once a summer at most. I think I'll start keeping two on hand so that I can take the dull one in for sharpening and have it ready when the other one goes bad. That's the plan anyway. More likely, I'll get a bunch of dings in the blade and realize I forgot to take the replacement in for a sharpening.

Here's a link to an article on how to sharpen a mower blade yourself. I remember doing this in Shop class at Bowman (N.D.) High School. Having a blade balancer to check to make sure the blade is still balanced makes the job easier and could save you from ruining your engine. If you aren't that handy one of my sponsors, Hardware Hank in East Grand Forks, sharpens blades. I don't think they charge all too much. A new blade will set you back $12 to $20 or so.