The Best of Two Worldscontinued from page 9

one that contained a bit moresoluble nitrogen rather than afull-blown slow-release prod-uct.

"It's young field," remindsChapman, "and as in sand-based situations, the microbio-logical activity needed forbreakdown of slow-releasematerials isn't there yet. Sowe're using more of quick-re-lease fertilizer for now.They'll be able to use a blendof nitrogen that has more slow-release as the field ages.

Optimum playing height forSportsGrass is one-and-one-half inches.

[Reproduced from LandscapeManagement, October, 1995, pp8G&G]

Reel Grinding for Turf Health, Beautyby Don LindenfelserJohn Deere Ltd., Golf & Turf Division

Reel mowers are precision machines that need dailymaintenance to retain the turfgrass's well-groomedappearance. The scissor-like shearing action of areel mower is only possible if the reel and bedknifeare sharp and the proper reel-to-bedknife clearanceis maintained.

Cutting action begins as the bedknife positions thegrass to be cut at the cutting edge. The reel thenpulls the grass toward the bedknife where it issheared by the cutting edges as they pass oneanother.

For the grass to be cut at the proper height, it mustcontact a bed knife with the proper angle at thecutting edge, so you should grind a 5 percent reliefangle on the front face of the bedknife. Without arelief angle, the blade of grass will contact the loweredge of the bedknife and bend over at too much ofan angle prior to being cut. When mowing greens,where very small cuts are being taken, an improp-erly aligned bedknife may not capture the grass atall, and no grass will be cut.

Close examination of the reel-to-bedknife relation-ship reveals two square edges passing one anotherwith approximately .002 of an inch clearance. Thisclearance is necessary because:• If the reel contacts the bedknife, the square

(sharp) edge of the reel and bedknife will rollover, becoming dull.

• Contact between the reel and bedknife gener-

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ates heat which can distort the shape of the bed-knife, and cause the bedknife to draw closer tothe reel, resulting in the cutting surfaces rollingover more, and more heat being generated inthe bed knife.

• Drag produced by an improperly adjusted cut-ting unit may result in an unacceptable clip ra-tio, undue strain on drive mechanism andpremature wear of the cutting unit.

Reel and bedknife grinding - Reel and bedknifegrinding are used to:• restore the cylindrical shape of a reel that has

become cone-shaped due to improper adjust-ment of the reel-to-bedknife clearance or due toworn reel bearings;

• restore the edge when the grass is not beingcut across the entire length of the bedknife dueto nicked blades;

• restore the edge when the lack of frequent back-lapping allowed the edge to be rounded beyondthe capability of the backlapping procedure torestore the edge; and

• restore the edge when the reel-to-bedknifeclearance has been improperly adjusted allow-ing the reel to contact the bed knife.

Relief grinding - Relief grinding restores the factoryrelief angle to prolong cutting unit life and promotefast between grind sharpening (lapping). To grind acutting unit without relief is doing half the job, andmaintenance costs will increase due to the constantmetal-to-metal contact of the ''flat'' ground reelblade.

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John Deere recommends relief grinding the reels before spin-grindingto:• Reduce the blade contact area, resulting in less friction, thus requir-

ing less horsepower to drive the reel;• Ensure longer wear life;• Cut time required to backlap;• Reduce pulling and tearing of the grass as the unit becomes dull

from use;• Provide an area for backlapping compound to be trapped to back-

lap reels more effectively;• Remove metal from the trailing edge of the blade forming an angle

(the relief angle) to reduce the contact area of the cutting edge; and• allow the operator to true a reel (make it round), when backlapping,

if a blade is .001 inch to .002 inch too high.Backlapping - Backlapping is used to sharpen the cutting edges whengrinding is not necessary. Backlapping, as compared to grinding,removes a very small amount of metal and requires less time.

The backlapping procedure is accomplished by spinning the reelbackwards while applying special abrasive compounds to the reel.Usually, coarse compounds are used initially, followed by a finer abra-sive for final honing.

John Deere recommends backlapping after spin grinding to removeburrs and rough edges left from the spin grinding procedure. Backlap-ping produces a honed edge that will cut the grass evenly and leavethe tops of the grass with clean, straight edges.

The cutting unit should be inspected, backlapped, adjusted andchecked daily for a uniform cut along the complete length of thebed knife. The adjustment should allow the reel to turn freely withoutdragging against the bedknife. Metal-to-metal contact will generateheat, causing the reel to expand, intensify the dragging and producemore heat. This vicious cycle will quickly "shut-down" the mower.Reel and bed knife sharpening - Sharpening is necessary when thegrass is not being cut cleanly due to dull bedknife and/or reel bladeedges, or when turf streaking is apparent, caused by the bedknife andreel not cutting the full width of the blade due to nicks, bends or unevenwear.

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Lap when the relief angle remains and edges are rounded only slightly.Grind when no, or very little, relief angle remains on the reel blade and/orthe bedknife relief angle is minimal or non-existent.Precision grinders - Many grinders on the market today provide anacceptable quality reel and bedknife grind, but this is not equivalent toa ''factory'' precision grind. At the John Deere, Horicon, Wis., factory,the reels and bedknives are ground on very precise industrial grindersthat are mounted to an independent concrete bed over 12 feet deep toeliminate vibration. Though a grinder of this quality is too expensive formost golf course budgets, superintendents are demanding as close toa ''factory grind" as possible to provide the highest quality turf for theirplayers. Therefore, it's important the reel and bedknife grinders be setup properly!

The grinders should be kept as clean as possible to prevent prematurewear and maintain their precision design. A separate grinding room inthe equipment maintenance building helps to protect the reel andbedknife grinder. Level the grinder on a flat concrete floor and bolt itdown securely.

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The capability of the reel grinder to perform relief andspin grinding operations is paramount to provide thehighest quality cut and longest possible interval be-tween grinding periods. Look for a precision grinderthat has coolant to prevent overheating the metal,which could cause brittleness. The coolant also re-duces the grinding dust. Among other key features toconsider are plexiglass shields, machine "shutdown"capabilities, and cutting unit lift attachments.

To provide the best possible quality oHurf, it's impera-tive that reel and bed knife maintenance operations beperformed routinely with well maintained precisionequipment and highly skilled operators. With toler-ances of .001 to .002 of an inch between the reel andthe bedknife, precision is a must.Reel Grinding tips1) "Dress" the grinding stone (per the manufacturer's

recommendation) and replace it regularly to ensureprecision grinding.

2) Make sure the grinding stone is entering from theback side of the reel blades to obtain the propergrind.

3) Inspect and/or replace the reel bearings and sealsbefore grinding.

4) Perform the relief grinding operation first and thenspin grind. Follow the manufacturer's specificationswhen performing these grinds. John Deere recom-mends 20 degrees relief on the reel blades and 5degrees relief on the bed knifes' top face and frontedge.

5) Avoid rapid, quick grinding as this procedure maynot provide a sharp edge (square corner).

6) If the metal becomes discoloured as you are grind-ing, too much material is being removed at one time.

7) After grinding, wash the cutting unit reel thoroughlyto remove the grinding dust. It's essential the grind-ing dust be removed in the reel bearing journal areasto prevent premature reel bearing wear.

[Reproduced from Landscape Management, May, 1995, pp 36,38.·]

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