contact has produced significant savings on mowing equipment”
“Setting my equipment at no Cal Callaby, Equipment Manager, The Celtic Manor Resort
from the bottom blade and cylinder tip. The curve assumes the arc of the cylinder rotation. Unfortunately, these two mirrored surfaces act as a drum brake, with the rotating blades of the cylinder forming the drum and the bottom blade acting as the brake. To make a
comparison, it would be the same as driving your car with the hand brake on! This causes considerable wear to the bottom blade and cylinder, and also requires more power to rotate the cylinder due to the drag factors involved. Cal Callaby, Equipment Manager at The Celtic Manor Resort has over 15 years experience grinding on a spin grinder. Cal had this to say about the Express Dual 3000 and what it does for his mowing equipment: “Setting my equipment at no contact has produced significant savings on mowing equipment. There is less wear and tear on on all the drive line compo-nents, especially belts. I also notice that we use a lot less fuel and I change blades much more infrequently since I began regularly sharpening the blades and setting the mowers to no contact.” The definition of lapping can be broadened to be “any wearing process”, even that incurred by the wearing of cylinder blade and bottom blade during normal use of the mower. Normal wear and tear produces curved, mirrored surfaces just as intentional “paste” lapping
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does, but the surfaces are rounded and irregular - thus requiring greater and greater contact via tighter adjustment to maintain functionality. Paste lapping can restore some of the cutting ability of worn cylinder tips and bottom blade edges. A well- lapped blade certainly produces a far better finish than a rounded and dull blade, but is a temporary fix until the cylinder can be properly ground and adjusted again. Grinder technology exists today that can allow a complete regrind of a greensmower cylinder in less than fifteen minutes, floor-to-floor. When asked about lapping, Cal had this to say: “We do not lap at all at The Celtic Manor Resort. We have a regular sharpening regime that’s fast and produces the type of results that are required. The quality of cut is exceptional, the plant healing process is accelerated, less fertiliser is needed because of this and we mow less frequently because there is no accelerated growth caused by the healing process. Disease frequency is diminished because the plant is not so vulnerable and we irrigate less
because roots are stronger and longer and the plant is more drought
tolerant.” HOW does this scythe cut effect the health and appearance of turf?
We tend not to think very much about what is going on at the microscopic level where the grass is cut, except perhaps to acknowledge the difference between a rotary and cylinder mower cut. Plant pathology research demonstrates just how damaging the use of improperly sharpened cylinders can be. Poorly ground mowers tend to flail and tear at the grass, leaving bleeding rough edges. The plant demands more nutrients to sustain growth and is more susceptible to disease due to the torn cellular structure. More water is required to replace plant moisture lost by transpiration and bleeding at the tips. A microscopic inspection of the leaf tip area reveals that a clean, scything cut made by a properly sharpened, non- lapped cylinder results in less leaf surface area exposed to pathogenic infection, and lower evapotranspiration rates. The plant can use more of its nutrients for root growth rather than damage repair.
Substantial cost savings have been documented particularly in regard to the reduced needs of fertilizer, fungicide and
irrigation. The plant looks healthier because it is healthier. A further result is a noticeable improvement in the uniformity of surface. This gives rise to a more consistent ball speed and in general a better playing surface. Often greenkeepers have been able to raise the height of cut a little without the loss of speed on greens. This produces a definite stress reduction in the grass plant, which in itself can save the greenkeeper a great deal of time and stress to himself!
Summing up
There seems to be little doubt that regular grinding using very accurate machines does produce a matching surface to both blades that does not require any contact whatsoever. This clearly reduces the wear and tear on mowers that are expensive to replace. With the scythe cut the grass is cleanly severed with surgical precision causing much less damage to the plant and it remains healthier. Nutrient supplies are redirected to more important functions like root growth rather than performing emergency repairs to the damaged leaves. Leaf tips are cleaner, reducing the risk of disease. The surface tends to be smoother, providing better playing conditions and a more appealing appearance. And isn’t that what it’s all about?
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