OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Question On Scott Bonnar Cylinder Mowers Cutter serviceability

Do you think there is enough meat left on this cutter to get it ground?
I also need a new bottomplate but the screws are so badly worn there is no slot left to unscrew and would need to be drilled out hence I would probably just get a complete replacement bottomplate and soleplate.
Obviously money is the big issue here if I have to get the cutter reconditioned, as I believe they can cut away the old blades and weld replacements, but that sounds labour intensive and expensive.
Could probably stretch financially to a grind and new soleplate and bottomplate.

kempe, that will probably take at least 2 regrinds, though it is pretty blunt now.

You haven't posted a picture of the screws, but normally drilling them out is not expensive or difficult. Just get new screws and sharpen the old bedknife, or get a new blade in the soleplate you have, unless there is something else wrong with it.

Hi grunpy and Kempe, the engineer that does the regrind will remove the screws and replace the bottom knife blade...apparently there is a method of getting the screws out, if it is done incorrectly, you can crack the cast iron sole plate which is expensive to replace...$$$.

id say you might get away with a regrind, but you would really have to take it into the shop and ask them.
Im sure that the heat up the bottom plate and use an impact screwdriver to remove the screws, but you do need to get them to do it, after all if they break it they owe you a new one.

Seeing as its over $300 for a brand new reel, it is worth a shot to get it ground, or even to see how much it is to cut out and put new blades in

I think I will try and get both reel and bottom plate ground and wait till the regrind after in a few years to possibly replace.
I'm learning a lot as I go forward with all this, mower shops in Adelaide have a very negative attitude to SB's and I've been told NO parts are available, so good to know you can buy new reels.
One last question, does anyone know how to remove the reel pulley?
I know it's on a left hand thread and have removed the bolt by jamming the reel and using the special tool I made for the clutch replacement, but the pulley is still attached and cant see how, and dont want to force it.
I need to remove the pulley to get to the bolts to remove the reel.

Dont think these bolts will be unscrewed to easily

Kempe, you need to unscrew the pulley from the axle of the reel. As you said, it is on a left hand thread, because otherwise it would unscrew itself just from the belt drive torque. You have to make a special tool for the job: two bolts of the right size and the right distance apart to fit the holes in the pulley, attached to a piece of flat steel maybe 1/4" to 3/8" thick, about 15" long, by means of two drilled holes. You will have to hold the reel from rotating while you unscrew the pulley, probably with a piece of wood pushed through it (don't use metal, obviously).

Have done that Grumpy and have the bolt removed and the pulley rotates in both directions independant of the reel.
When you restrain the reel and unscrew in a clockwise direction it unscrews the bolt, not the pulley.
Do you know if the pulley just pulls off?, I have tried to gently persuade it to no avail, but being a bit cautious till I know

Hey Kempe,

I think it should just pull off. I've attached a close up of the other side of the pulley you're trying to remove. I can't remember it being tricky at all. It looks like it's just a tight fit. There was a spacer ring between the pulley and bearing. As it can rotate I would say its just worn into a slight groove. Like yourself though I'm no expert and just learning as I go. I would wait from some advice from the experts but I suspect a gentle hit from the inside should push it out - if the reel is out of coarse. Be carefull, I would hate to think my advice could end up making things worse!

I wouldn't think it's appropriate to include snippets from the manuals section as it's a paid subscription but I had a look and it tends to reiterate my first comments. There's no surprise parts in there except for that ring spacer.

Kempe, it looks from Pauly80's photos and information, and from the illustrated parts list, as if the pulley is pulled slightly onto the end of the reel's axle. If so it should come off easily with two screwdrivers under opposite sides of the reel, levering from both sides simultaneously. Do not apply a lot of force, or you'll damage the aluminium pulley. If it doesn't come off with simple screwdriver pressure you will need to screw a longer bolt into the thread until it bottoms with its head clear of the pulley, and use a gear puller to pull it off. As Pauly80 said, it should come off quite easily, and once it's slid about 2 or 3 mm it will fall off.

If you find you are needing to use a puller and seem to be applying a fair amount of force stop and come back to us, because we will have missed something, but I doubt that will happen. The bolt is the retainer for that pulley, and with the bolt removed it is only held by a short fitted section intended to ensure it is centralised with the reel's axle.

Hi Kempe, yes mate, that bottom blade is well and truly shot, but the engineer will replace it for you with new screws.
The forward facing front edge will be perfectly square and flat, and he will also grind the top (horizontal) surface to
ensure that it is perfect flat also.
I also agree with grumpy that the reel has probably 2 re-grinds let in it, the tricky part will be the set-up adjustment
once it is all back together. I am not sure of the adjustment procedure on the Diplomat, but just remember the cylinder
reel and the bottom blade don't actually touch....there is a minute clearance between the two, but will cut paper along
its entire length.

Still can't get the pulley off but don't have access to a puller and back to work on Monday so no time to play with it.
On the back burner till spring unless I suddenly get a loan of a puller.

Kempe you can use a slide-hammer puller instead of a gear (screw-type) puller. It should come off so easily that it wouldn't matter which you used. From Pauly80's pictures and description your pulley may have developed a groove in the wrong place at some point: it seems it should be a push or light press fit, but it may have been run without the bolt fitted, and has spun on the mating component until it became a bit loose but won't come off because of the groove. Pauly80 suggested this possibility a few posts ago. If that has happened, the hub of the aluminium pulley will have to get reshaped slightly for it to come off at all, but it should only be a shallow groove in a soft, cast aluminium component so a bump or two with a slide hammer, or a light pull with a gear puller, should get it off.

If this diagnosis is correct, you will need to touch up one component or the other with a file before you put it back together, so it doesn't give this problem again. Be careful, though - it sounds as if it has already spun enough to have become slightly loose where it should be a fairly tight fit.