# Blade roation direction



## Annabat313s (Jun 26, 2021)

Hello all. I inherited a 1967 (?) Simplicity 725 garden tractor from my dad. I got it fixed up and running. One day I went to cut the grass and it didn't seem like the grass was getting cut, just being flattened by the rollers. So I figured the blades needed sharpening (which they did). Got them sharpened up and put them back on (blade edge turning up towards the tractor). I tried mowing the grass again and the same issue occurred. I hopped off the tractor after turning it off and it seems the sharp edge of the blade is not rotating against the grass. I know the correct side of the blade was sharpened and i know i put the blades back on properly. Is there a way to change the direction of the blade rotation so the sharp side is cutting the grass? I don't know why all of a sudden this happened. Please help! Thanks!


----------



## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

Annabat313s said:


> Hello all. I inherited a 1967 (?) Simplicity 725 garden tractor from my dad. I got it fixed up and running. One day I went to cut the grass and it didn't seem like the grass was getting cut, just being flattened by the rollers. So I figured the blades needed sharpening (which they did). Got them sharpened up and put them back on (blade edge turning up towards the tractor). I tried mowing the grass again and the same issue occurred. I hopped off the tractor after turning it off and it seems the sharp edge of the blade is not rotating against the grass. I know the correct side of the blade was sharpened and i know i put the blades back on properly. Is there a way to change the direction of the blade rotation so the sharp side is cutting the grass? I don't know why all of a sudden this happened. Please help! Thanks!


Hello Annabat313s, welcome to the tractor forum.

You have your blades upside down. The blade edge goes down toward the grass.


----------



## Annabat313s (Jun 26, 2021)

sixbales said:


> Hello Annabat313s, welcome to the tractor forum.
> 
> You have your blades upside down. The blade edge goes down toward the grass.


Oh shoot, really? The picture in the manual has the curve part of the blade going up towards the deck of the tractor. Also, why would it just stop cutting when I hadn't removed the blades yet? Is there a lever or something that changes the direction of the blades?


----------



## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

The picture in your manual may be an optical illusion. Look at it closely, and see if it translated visually both ways. 

The blades turn only one way...


----------



## Annabat313s (Jun 26, 2021)

sixbales said:


> The picture in your manual may be an optical illusion. Look at it closely, and see if it translated visually both ways.
> 
> The blades turn only one way...


Ok good to know. Thank you for your help! I hope I didn't do too much damage to the tractor by putting the blades on wrong.


----------



## HarveyW (Sep 15, 2014)

There will be no damage whatsoever.


----------



## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

The shape of a mower deck creates a vacuum (just like a vacuum cleaner) in order to stand the grass up for the blade to cut. The "Wing" on the blade creates/determines how much lift (vacuum). There are high lift, medium lift, and low lift blades. The wing always goes UP. There are right hand and left hand rotation blades. Discharge chute on the right --- Right hand blades ....... Discharge chute on the left --- Left hand blades. Right hand blades use right hand threaded blade bolts. Left hand blades use left hand thread bolts

Scags are know for their beautiful cut and that's why you see professional landscape people use them so much. Notice the sloped edge in the picture of the Scag deck below and compare it to a vacuum cleaner. That design produces way more vacuum than most mower decks. You can actually hear the difference in sound (and vacuum) when a Scag deck engages, compared to most other mower brands


----------



## Annabat313s (Jun 26, 2021)

Ok, so I have gotten mixed suggestions here. I have heard the wing goes up towards the mower and the wing goes down towards the ground. Putting the blades on with the wing going down will make the blade cut towards the grass, however that is not how I took them off. Please help. If anyone knows specifically with the year and model of this mower. Thank you!


----------



## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

Goes just like this...... 










Wonder why they're calling it "lift" in this article if you're supposed to point the wing down?????
Let’s Talk About Lift - USA Mower Blades


----------



## Annabat313s (Jun 26, 2021)

Right. That's what I thought....but the sharp edge is not cutting the grass. The dull edge is being turned towards the grass so it isn't getting cut. What am I doing wrong?


----------



## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)




----------



## Annabat313s (Jun 26, 2021)

The wing edge is what is hitting the grass


----------



## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

The blade is *UPSIDE DOWN *if the wing is pointing toward the grass. Don't know how to explain it to you any other way..... Same way on all mower blades there is no other way they mount. If it was like that when you took it off, then they were mounted *UPSIDE DOWN.* How old are the blades on this 54 year old mower? If the cutting tips aren't square, they're worn out and will never cut right.


----------



## Annabat313s (Jun 26, 2021)

Bob Driver said:


> The blade is *UPSIDE DOWN *if the wing is pointing toward the grass. Don't know how to explain it to you any other way..... Same way on all mower blades there is no other way they mount. If it was like that when you took it off, then they were mounted *UPSIDE DOWN.* How old are the blades on this 54 year old mower? If the cutting tips aren't square, they're worn out and will never cut right.



View attachment 73357

This is how I have the blades mounted. My finger is pointing to the side of the blade that has the wing up towards the mower. When the blades rotate, the wing side is what is hitting the grass. Are these pictures showing the blades mounted incorrectly?


----------



## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

I'm not sure what else Bob can tell you! 








The shinny edge cuts the grass. The wing follows behind, lifting the air and the grass upwards.... like a fan blade. Therefore, it has to be on the top of the blade pointing towards the deck. It lifts the grass to be cut, then up and out the discharge chute. If the wing hits the grass first, then as Bob mentioned, you have the incorrect blade for the rotation of mower.
Clean the blade off with a wire wheel or brush. Some, if not all blades, have a stamped message on them indication which way goes up.


----------



## HarveyW (Sep 15, 2014)

Is your mower deck discharge chute on the left or right side (as observed when seated on tractor)? Normally, right side. When you are mowing, is the blade rotating cutting edge first or wing first? I'm thinking you may have the wrong blades on your mower?


----------



## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

HarveyW said:


> Is your mower deck discharge chute on the left or right side (as observed when seated on tractor)? Normally, right side. When you are mowing, is the blade rotating cutting edge first or wing first? I'm thinking you may have the wrong blades on your mower?


Those are Left-Hand blades...... Discharge chute on the left (as you're sitting on the mower) uses Left hand blades. Discharge chute on the right, uses right hand blades. When you took them off, was it lefty loosey/righty tighty? Left hand blades mount with left hand bolts. Right hand blades mount with right hand bolts


----------



## Annabat313s (Jun 26, 2021)

Hey all. Thank you for all the input. Turns out they are the correct blades and they are put on properly. However I put the belt on incorrectly which was causing the blades to turn in the wrong direction. I flipped the belt and now the blades are going in the correct direction. Thanks again!


----------

