How to Sharpen Snapper Riding Mower Blades

Snapper riding lawn mowers are made with the ability to remove the blades and sharpen them yourself. You can have them professionally sharpened at your nearby home and garden store, but if you have the tools, it's cost- and time-effective to do them at home. The process begins once you've removed the blades from the mower and are ready to sharpen them individually.

• 1

  Elevate your mower, using a car jack to lift each end so you can place blocks underneath on a flat surface like a driveway or garage floor. Position yourself underneath the mower. Pull the safety pin on the middle of the blade. Loosen the nut holding the blade to the mowing deck using a wrench. Remove the blade.

• 2

  Put the mower blade in the bench vise. Placing it horizontally in the vise lets you grind the blades back and forth, not up and down.

• 3

  Plug in the grinder, Put on your safety glasses. Turn on the grinder and begin taking light passes at the blade.You'll be able to tell where to grind because the blade will obviously be a sharper area, but will most likely be a lighter shade of metal. Press hard enough on the passes to brighten the blade edge and metal. This will create a few sparks, but don't press too hard. Otherwise, you may ruin the blade. Sharpen both sides of the blade.

• 4

  Put the blade back on the mower deck. Secure the blade with the nut. Place the safety pin back in to ensure the blade will always stay put.

• 5

  Use the car jack to slightly lift the mower off from the blocks, one end at a time, to remove the blocks until the mower is back on the garage floor or driveway.