Fix These 9 Lawn Mower Cutting Issues Right Away!
You take pride in the appearance of your lawn and work hard to maintain it. You should investigate the following things if your lawn mower is no longer giving you a nice cut:
When a wheel is broken, the cutting height is set differently, the mower blades are worn out or bent, the crankshaft is bent, the mower deck is clogged or broken, the engine speed is too low, or the ground speed is too high, the lawn mower cuts unevenly.
Working with your mower requires constant vigilance, especially while using the mower deck. Wearing thick gloves will safeguard your hands when you remove the spark plug wire. Observe all safety recommendations listed in the mower’s manual.
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Why Your Lawn Mower Cuts Unevenly: 9 Causes
Damaged Wheel or Incorrect Wheel Settings on Your Lawn Mower
Your mower may wobble and cut unevenly if a wheel is damaged or becomes loose. Verify the wheels to make sure they are solid and unharmed.
WORKAROUND: Tighten any loose hardware, then swap out any broken wheels for equivalent-sized ones.
Your Lawn Mower’s Cutting Height Adjustment Is Set To Various Heights
The majority of lawn mowers offer a variety of cutting heights. One side of the mower will sit lower than the other if the settings are not the same on both sides. The mower will have a taller cut on one side because the mower deck will rest unevenly.
SOLUTION: Verify that the mower’s height adjustment settings on the left and right sides are identical.
Bent Lawn Mower Blade
When a lawnmower strikes a hard item like a rock or stump, it may become bent. Uneven grass cutting will result from a blade that does not sit level and parallel to the ground.
Examine the hardware holding the blade to the mower while doing a blade inspection. A loose blade may sway and compromise the cut.
To inspect the blade, take the spark plug wire off. The best technique to determine whether a blade is bent is to actually take it out and set it on top of a fresh blade. Replace the blade if there are any gaps and obvious bends.
NEVER try to straighten a blade that is bent. This would put the metal at risk. It may weaken the metal, causing a chunk to break off the blade and launch itself out of the lawnmower.
Worn or Dull Lawn Mower Blade
Mower blades wear out over time. Sand and other material dragged into the mower deck will wear out the blade naturally, resulting in a poor cut.
The sail and the blade edge are two regions of wear on the blade that may have an impact on the cut. The sail of the blade, or its high sides, aids in generating air flow beneath the deck to support the grass tall.
To give it a lovely, exact cut, the blade passes. If the metal on the sail exhibits substantial wear, the mower blade needs to be changed.
The mower blade’s edge is the other region to inspect. The grass will be torn apart by a dull mower blade edge, leaving an uneven cut. Instead of mowing the grass, it winds up shredding and pounding the blades.
Your lawn turning brown a day or two after you mow it may also be due to this.
A mower blade with a severely worn cutting edge or gouges should be replaced. Remove the blade from the mower, sharpen it, balance it, and reinstall it if it’s in good shape.
When mowing in sandy circumstances, you should sharpen your mower blades more frequently and after every 25 hours of operation. For further details on maintaining and sharpening your mower blades, read this page.
Bent Push Mower Crankshaft
Your lawnmower will undoubtedly cut unevenly if the crankshaft is bent. To find out if the crankshaft is bent, you can run the following tests. Protect your hands from the razor-sharp blade by exercising caution.
Remove the spark plug, clamp the safety lever to the handle to release the flywheel brake, and then cautiously rotate the blade while keeping an eye on the center bolt. Your crankshaft is probably bent if the bolt is moving erratically.
Remove the blade and blade adapter before turning the blade if you’re unsure how to do it. Make sure the shaft is staying in the middle by measuring as you turn the crankshaft.
To determine whether the crankshaft is moving off-center, which would indicate that it is bent, you can use a dial indicator or another kind of stationary item.
Your lawn mower needs to be replaced if it slips to one side or fails to stay in the middle, indicating that the crankshaft is bent.
A lawn mower with a bent crankshaft needs to be replaced. The cost of buying a new mower is more than the cost of replacing the crankshaft.
The crankshaft can be bent back into position, but doing so creates a serious safety risk. I strongly advise investing in a new lawnmower.
Clogged Lawn Mower Deck
There should be no grass accumulation in the area under the mower deck. Your mower’s ability to produce suction is due to the air movement that the mower blades under the mower deck produce.
This suction holds your grass upright so that the blade can accurately cut it as it passes by. The space available to create this air movement and suction is constrained when the deck is crammed with debris, which results in an uneven cut.
SOLUTION: Regularly scrape the mower deck to keep it clean. Avoid cutting wet grass to reduce grass accumulation. Wet grass not only forms clumps in the yard but also adheres to the mower deck.
Lawn Mower Engine Speed is Too Slow
Engine power is necessary for the mower deck to function at its peak. Ensure that your mower’s throttle is set to the high position.
The blade speed slows down when your mower deck isn’t getting the power it needs, which may result in an uneven cut.
SOLUTION: Take your lawnmower to a qualified small engine repair to get the engine checked out if you discover that your engine isn’t providing you with as much power as it once did.
For a list of more things that can cause your mower to lose power, see my post.
Lawn Mower Ground Speed is Too Fast
You risk getting a poor cut if you move your lawn mower across your grass too quickly. Adapt your speed to the circumstances.
Your engine is put under more stress when cutting thick, damp, or tall grass. When mowing under these situations, slow down.
Mowing too quickly can potentially cause your mower to push over the grass and not cut the grass properly. When the mower is bouncing about on the uneven ground, the poor cut may get worse.
SOLUTION: Run your mower at a speed appropriate for the terrain you’re mowing.
Deck Of A Damaged Lawnmower
As was already said, the mower deck is made to maximize the airflow that the moving blades produce. The deck no longer functions as intended after it sustains damage.
RESOLUTION: Make an effort to fix a damaged deck so that it regains its former shape and is free of holes and punctures.
Have Issues With Your Lawn Mower Anymore?
Owning a lawn mower is not without its challenges. If you own a lawn mower long enough, you’ll inevitably encounter a variety of issues, including as starting, smoking, leaking, cutting, and overheating.
Check out my guide “Common Lawn Mower Problems: Solved” for a list of the most typical lawn mower issues and the things that can cause them.
