Mid-summer Lawn Mower Tune Up

Now that we are turning the corner in the summer it is time I raise the lawn mower frame on the big drive wheels up a notch to let the grass grow higher. This is an operation separate from the adjustment of the red tabs on the back wheels. This operation will raise the whole mower frame higher relative to the axle of the big drive wheels. I'm going from low to medium.
I examined a Scotts reel mower at Home Depot. I found that the Scotts mower is constructed similarly to my Craftsman mower.
To get to the wheel axle bolt the dark colored cap pops off. (This is the left wheel.)



After removing the axle bolt with two wrenches the wheel is easily removed and this is what's there. You can see that the big gear inside the wheel drives the little gear on the reel shaft. The little gear just slips off and there is a small pin going through the shaft. The big gear of the wheel turns the little gear which turns the reel.This pin in the shaft catches a notch inside the little gear when it is spinning in the drive direction and engages to spin the reel. In reverse the pin allows the gear to spin free so the wheel spins without engaging the reel. While I have the wheels off I am going to clean and grease the works. (This is the right wheel.)



Once the wheel and the little gear are removed, the round cover plate just lifts off exposing the frame and the end of the reel shaft. The wheel height is set by putting the axle through one of those three holes, the highest hole giving the lowest cut and the lowest hole the highest cut. It was set for the lowest cut and it will be re-set in the middle. (This is the left wheel.)






I wiped all this with a rag. I used a putty knife to push automotive grease into the bushing of the reel shaft. The small gear got a little grease, too. I wiped the rust with the grease rag to give it a thin, protective coat. I would expect that a more expensive model would have a heavy sealed ball bearing here and the gears of the works fabricated in a stout metal alloy that would not rust. The frame would be beefier and would support a stronger, more tempered reel.
It all goes back together like it came apart. Amazing functionality and simplicity. One bolt holds all the works of one wheel together. (This is the left wheel - reverse angle)


Reel and Blade Strike Adjustment
The blade edge pivots in and out from the reel to adjust for the "strike". Two machine screws on either side will locate the edge in precise alignment with the reel. Too much strike and the blade is too tight to the reel. Too tight and the wheels won't spin. Too little strike, the wheels turn freely but the reel does not contact the blade edge sufficiently to cut the grass. Adjustment is made between the blade and the reel to strike so that it slices paper and still spins smoothly with a firm push. In a more expensive model this could be done with a stronger blade and knobs on either side coming up the handle with a machine adjustment. Reel strike adjustment would be possible on the fly without a screw driver. I noticed an arrangement like this on a 7 mower array at the driving range the other day. That is a mowing apparatus a tractor drags around a fairway which is 7 independent reel mowers linked together. Each mower is about 4 times the size of my mower and arrayed in something of a "flying wedge", if you know what I mean.

With the works serviced, the wheels raised and the strike adjusted, the mower is now good to go. That is my mid summer mower tune up. Didn't have to change engine oil and have the waste oil to deal with. Didn't have to take a blade off and set up the grinder to sharpen the blade and then have to put the blade back on. No gas to worry about. No air filter to change. No spark plug to fool with cleaning and resetting. No heavy lifting. My little reel mower needs little maintenance and cuts grass like scissors. On top of that it gives an excellent physical workout free of charge every time it is used.