Lawn Mower, Hand
Rattles, stiff. Tighten all bolts. Lubricate at oiling points regularly.Blades stick. Lower the front edge of the underknife by loosening bottom screws at the side of the knife and tightening top screws. Turn reel by hand to make sure contact is even along the entire blade. Some mower underknives are adjusted by thumb screws.
Doesn't cut. Reverse above procedure: raise the underknife.
Dull. You can touch up edges of blades with a fine metal file, but it's better to take mower to a shop where blades can be sharpened properly.
Wheels spin, reel doesn't. If you loosen the bolts that hold the wheels and remove the wheels, you will find inside a cogged gear. Pull this off its shaft and you will then find a short piece of steel inserted through the shaft. This is beveled on the ends and positioned so that when you push the mower forward it catches in slots inside the gear and turns the reel, but when you pull the mower backward, the gear does not catch. When this metal piece becomes worn (as it does in time), it no longer catches properly in the gear when you move forward. Then it needs to be replaced. Take it to a lawn-mower dealer and buy a new piece, or have a metal-working shop make one.
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May 23, 2012