The Old Lawnmower Club
Collection, Preservation and Display of Old Lawn Mowers
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Mower sharpening in Scotland

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hsu139 Sun, 01/05/2016

Hi folks,

Does anyone know of a mower sharpening service in the central belt of Scotland?

Additionally, how much should I expect to pay to have my cylinder mower sharpened?  I was quoted £150 from one place, which I thought was a bit steep (could buy a new cylinder and bottom blade for less!). 

I did consider doing it myself with a file or angle grinder, but reckon that could cause all sorts of problems with uneven blades.

Thanks. 

Forums

hortimech Sun, 01/05/2016

Not sure about who to get to do it, bit out of touch, but depending on just what you want to get reground and how you want it grinding, £150 might not be expensive.

If you want them to do all the work, then it isn't, if you just want them to grind a bare cylinder & bottom block and they normally 'insitu' grind, then it might be. If you want it 'insitu' ground and you are prepared to remove the bottom block assy and clean everything up, then it is expensive.

Do not attempt to grind the cylinder yourself, you will only make it worse, I have had to deal with a cylinder that somebody tried to sharpen with an angle grinder, it took a long time in the grinder to get all blades back to the same length and probably took about 5 years off the cylinder life.

wristpin Sun, 01/05/2016

I did reply to you earlier complete with an image but it seems to have disappeared from the forum!

Briefly, ask around for someone "in a shed" with an old but serviceable grinder doing it for beer money. Many of the big boys are set up for local authority and golf course work and having to pay off the thick end of 30k for modern all singing and dancing HSE compliant grinders and bottom blade re-facers. Add to that labour charge out rates of anything from 45 to £70ph plus replacement grinding wheels etc and you see where the charge is coming from .

hsu139 Mon, 02/05/2016

Thanks. 

Yes, the guy I spoke to said the machine cost 40k to buy, and there was a decent amount of labour to remove the cylinder etc. so perhaps £150 isn't too out of the question. 

I'll stick a request on gumtree in line with your suggestion and see if anything comes up. 

Thanks again. 

David Bouchard Mon, 02/05/2016

I saw EBay advert 272214580572 in Saltcoats - not very Central Belt but a nice run in the car.

I haven't any experience of them.

 

hsu139 Tue, 03/05/2016

Thanks David, much appreciated. The eBay number didn't link out to anything. What was the name of the company? Did they specify that they do mower sharpening?

Thanks. 

Edda Wed, 04/05/2016

I got my 10 bladed Atco sharpened a couple of years ago from my local machine shop in Newcastle, they were charging £1 per inch for cylinder and bottom blade. It might be worth looking at courier prices to Newcastle. I will give them a call to see what their prices are now.

hsu139 Thu, 05/05/2016

Thanks Edda, that's decent of you. Found a place nearby that will do it for £2.50 per inch, which I can't really argue with compared with £150! 

Thanks again, all.