To keep your lawn manicured and looking lush is quite a science. The essential component of the formula is using a well-adjusted lawnmower with a sharp, balanced blade adjusted to the correct height.
The 3 best lawnmower blade balancers are the Precise Blade Balancer by Oregon, MAG-1000 Professional Blade Balancing Instrument, and the LAVIZO Lawn Mower Blade balancer and Sharpening Kit. Two of these are wall-mounted units and a bench-mounted system.
Lawnmower blades spin under the cutting deck at speeds of 2900 revolutions per minute. That translates into a spinning blade running at a speed of 200mph in front of your legs!
If the blades are not properly balanced, they will produce bad vibrations and even more alarming noises in extreme cases.
If your lawnmower is not starting without stater fluid, check our post Why Does Lawnmower Not Start Without Starter Fluid?
Comparing The Best Lawn Mower Blade Balancers
| Lawn Mower Blade Sharpener | Type of Mount | Our Overall Impression |
| Oregon 42-047 Precision Lawn Mower Blade Balancer | Wall Mount | For accurate readings magnets are used to balance and hold the blade steady. |
| MAG-1000 Professional Blade Balancing Instrument | Wall Mount | If you are a regular user for sharpening lawn mower blades, this could be the perfect fit for you. |
| LAVIZO Lawn Mower Blade Balancer and Sharpening Kit | Bench Mount | This mower blade balancer is a good kit for those who are starting off and haven’t regularly sharpened and balanced the blade. |
The 3 Best Lawn Mower Blade Balancers
If you sharpen your lawnmower blades or even install new blades yourself, a lawnmower blade balancer is a very handy tool to keep at hand in your workshop.
To keep the lawn looking healthy, cut it at the right time and to the right height. The sharper the lawnmower blade, the prettier the cut produced and, in turn, imposes less stress on the grass plant.
Therefore, keeping your lawnmower’s blade sharp is an essential part of the chain of duties you need to carry out when looking after your lawn.
If you sharpen your blade yourself, you must rebalance it; this is not a difficult job, and any competent handyman can carry it out equipped with the right tools.
We have chosen three-blade balancers, which work efficiently and quickly.
LAVIZO Lawn Mower Sharpening and Balancing Kit
The LAVIZO balancing kit is an entire blade sharpening and balancing solution in one.
The kit consists of:
- 3 grinding bits
- A balancer
The grinding bits are made from corundum and have metal baffles. Corundum withstands higher heat, so there will be less damage and degradation to the grinding bits irrespective of the temperature at which they run.
To sharpen the blade, secure it in a vice. The grinding bits fit onto a hand drill, and the operator runs the blade along the cutting edge until it is suitably sharpened.
To balance the blade, set up the balancer on a flat level surface and put the blade onto the cone until it sits on the appropriate diameter step.
When the blade has settled, check on how it is sitting in the balancer. If it is an angle, carefully grind a small amount off the back of the side of the blade, which is sitting low.
Place the blade back on the balancer and check how it is sitting. Continue to make minimal adjustments until you are happy that the blade is level.
Once level, reinstall it on your lawnmower.
The ease of use of the LAVIZO Lawn Mower Blade Sharpening and Balancing Kit made it a safe buy, and used correctly will be able to balance your lawnmower blades into the future.
MAG – 1000 Professional Blade Balancing Instrument
The MAG-1000 is a slightly more complex and expensive tool but works very effectively.
The MAG-1000 blade balancer is first installed on a wall with sufficient room to allow the blade to be mounted and spun on the balancer.
To use the MAG-1000, all you do is place the blade on the wall-mounted spindle. Obeying the rules of gravity, the heaviest side of the blade drops to the bottom. Take the blade off and, using an angle grinder, cut a small piece off the non-cutting edge of the heaviest side. Repeat the process until both sides of the blade remain horizontal when mounted on the balancer.
Being mounted on the wall means that spinning the blade will show any distortions or bends in the blade’s metal.
Although expensive, the MAG-1000 Professional Blade Balancing Instrument is a worthwhile investment if you can afford it.
Oregon 42-047 Precision Lawn Mower Blade Balancer
This balancer is made by Oregon, which has a reputation for high-quality manufacturing tools. This Blade Balancer has several features that enhance its useability.
- The heavy-duty precision blade balancer provides very accurate balancing of the blade, which increases the life of your lawnmower and reduces vibrations while providing a smoother cut.
- It has a magnetic holding collar which holds the blade perfectly center
- The balancer is held by sealed bearings, which smooth the rotation and enable precision balancing.
- The balancing cone is aluminum, providing more durability than competing plastic cones.
- The shaped cone allows blades from all lawnmower manufacturers and blade sizes to be fitted and balanced.
- As with the MAG-1000, wall-mounted means you can spin the blade, and distortions (bends) in its left/right axis can be found.
The user follows the same procedure as the previous balancer to balance the blade.
The Oregon 42-047 Precision Lawn Mower Blade Balancer is the winner in our little comparison of three lawnmower blade balancers.
How Do You Know When Your Lawnmower Blade Is Not Balanced?
An unbalance lawnmower blade will make itself known in a few different ways.
- There is an uncomfortable vibration through the lawnmower handles when its engine is running, and the operator pushes it along.
- If you run the lawnmower in a straight line and look back, and you can see the height of the cut is uneven, the lawnmower blade is probably not balanced.
- If it takes longer to mow the lawn and the blade does not seem to cut correctly, your blades may be unbalanced.
- If you can see the circles in the paths where you cut the lawn, and these do not correspond to places where you stopped for whatever reason, your blades are probably unbalanced.
Lawnmower blades can become unbalanced very quickly. All it takes is a nick on a rock or sidewalk, which, often, will result in the blade becoming unbalanced.
An unbalanced lawnmower blade must be balanced as soon as possible as long-term use of a lawnmower in this condition will stress the blade shaft, spindle, and engine.
Conclusion
It is not common for gardeners to look after the condition of their lawnmower blades, whether they are balanced or not. Making it part of your regular gardening routine will ensure your lawnmower lasts longer and your grass stays looking great.
With the right equipment, both sharpening your blades and balancing them is a straightforward task to accomplish and will pay dividends with the life expectancy of your lawnmower.
References
https://www.vistaturf.com/fb/blade-balancing
