bedknife facing Cancel The title field is required!

1. Joe Todaro

   

   0 posts
   
   7/15/2013 3:07 PM

   I'd like some thoughts and/or explanation on bedknife facing. Is it necessary? What are symptons observed if you don't? How often should you? What's your preferred method of facing them? In conjunction with other practices such as grinding or backlapping, or by iteself?
   
   Thanks as always for your input!!

   
   
   
   
2. Dinger Greg

   
   7/15/2013 6:07 PM

   It's by far my favorite reel maintenance practice. I prefer to do greens knives on the bedknife grinder for more heat control and to keep the angle perfect. I've been known to do both faces too. My fairway SPA's I would prefer to do on the grinder but this is prohibitive, so I use a Rapidfacer. People have a love hate with this thing. Me, I wish I had invented it, aka I love it.
   
   All that said, I'm in cool season and probably get away with a little more than you warm grass guys, but it works for me.

   
   
   
   
3. Hector Velazquez

   

   0 posts
   
   7/16/2013 4:07 AM

   I myself have been using the Simplex Bedknife Facer. Here is a Hector's Shop video we did on the daily setting of a TrueSet cutting unit. Here you will see the Simplex Facer in action.
   Been using it for the last 13 some years now. I have tried many brands out there and this one is very easy and light weight to use with a very easy learning curve. All it takes is a pass or two.
   
   Maintaining your Bedknife is a very important practice. Once you start facing your Bedknife you will wonder how in sams hill you did with out it.
   
   Here below is the link to the video
   http://www.hectorsshop.com/trueset-cutting-unit.html
   
   Here below is a link to the break down of the Bedknife facer. Might have to scroll down a bit to find it.
   http://www.hectorsshop.com/tools-of-the-trade.html

   
   
   
   
4. Henry Heinz

   

   0 posts
   
   7/16/2013 5:07 AM

   I use to use a mechanical facer, however with a number of different techs facing, pressures and angles become harder to maintain. As Greg mentioned, the best choice is using your bedknife grinder. Here we all use the bedknife buddy. After a fresh ground reel you use it daily and make four to six very fast and light passes accross the front face. If your facing the reel, you would start on your right, as the bedknife buddy has guides that push on the top blade allowing consitant contact with the file and face of the knife. The only reason I mention this is, I noticed someone working it left to right, and it's from your right to left as you face the cutting unit. It will make things much easier when going in the correct direction. It is also not made to restore an edge, but to maintain the edge after it's been correctly ground. The paper will always tell you what you need to do. If it's not a clean crisp cut all the was accross then you need to do something. Facing is a very important part of reel maintenance, and like some of my friends here, we do it everyday. We may have different ways of doing it, but we face our units all the time. For us, every reel unit, no matter how big or small, if it mow's today it will get faced.
   
   Regards,

   
   
   
   
5. Ashton Alan W

   
   7/16/2013 10:07 AM

   Joe,
   
   As stated above, it's the most important part of the equation to me... on Bermuda, we use the Rapid Facer as needed to maintain the front edge between grinds. That, and daily real to bedknife adjustments are all we need.

   
   
   
   
6. Joe Todaro

   

   0 posts
   
   7/16/2013 12:07 PM

   Gentlemen, thank you so much for your input! I really appreciate you taking the time out of your day to help me out!
   
   Thanks again.

   
   
   
   
7. Johnson Aaron M

   
   8/17/2014 3:08 PM

   Hey all:
   I know this has been asked many times here, but I thought I'd ask again for my situation. I feel like im grinding too often, and my reels seem to dull quickly. I try to maintain .002 gap across the reel to bedknife. It doesnt always cut paper, so should I be backlapping, face grinding the knife, or putting a new grind into it. I have an older foley 610 and a 600 for my reels and bedknives, and cant seem to figure out a easy way to resurface the bedknives. It seems like its a lot of trial and error on every single knife, wondering if there is any easier way to do this.
   I know there are a lot of variable is how often to backlap/grind, but as a rule of thumb, what is usually the case?
   Will I be able to produce a cleaner cut by face grinding the bedknife ( I have the face grinder attachment on a angle grinder) or do I have to resurface the bedknife and grind the reel more often. We try to change out reels every two to three weeks, depending on topdressing and verti.
   thank you for your input!!!

   
   
   
   
8. Henry Heinz

   

   0 posts
   
   8/18/2014 6:08 AM

   I'll give you my opinion. Foley ran test years ago with relief, no relief, light contact and no contact. If I remember correctly, the best results for cutting turf were with a relief grind and very light contact. The biblical saying, iron sharpens iron holds truth. I always address my light contact by referencing a wornout pair of scissors, just a light whisper. We can set our units with .001 feel gauge, so it fits snug between the reel and knife, and spin slowly with no contact, and then spin with a little speed and this is where we will hear a very, very light contact between the reel and knife. We do not lap, grind fairways every 3 to 4 weeks, greens every 2 weeks and about 3 for tee and approaches. Depending on the season will bring the grinds in, or move them farther apart. We also run a hand file, or a bedknife buddy across each knife, 3 to 6 passes every time a machine comes in from mowing. This system has left us with few issues, and very happy supers.
   
   
   Regards,

   
   
   
   
9. Roland McPhearson

   

   9 posts
   
   8/18/2014 7:08 AM

   I think Skip summed it up. I agree 100%. He may have been referring to the Iowa State study in the June 2001 issue of GCM. I will add that re-grinding the top face of the bedknife is not worth the time in my opinion. Facing (grinding the face) the bedknife often is critical to a clean cut. There are several different methods/tools for facing.

   
   
   
   
10. Johnson Aaron M

    
    8/19/2014 8:08 PM

    thank you both so much. I was under the assumption that the top angle makes contact with the reel and will accelerate the dull. I thought that the front face would be critical for a clean cut, so thank you. I tried to just do light contact with a touch up of the face, and we did get a great cut!

    
    
    
    
11. Melvin Waldron

    

    43 posts
    
    8/20/2014 7:08 AM

    We learned at Lake City to fold paper in half and cut one and crimp one for our reel settings. Of course this was in the 80's.
    
    Mel

    
    Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
    
    
12. Roland McPhearson

    

    9 posts
    
    8/20/2014 10:08 AM

    John Deere's position is that contact accellerates the dulling. Toro's position is that contact prolongs the sharp edges. I go with the latter theory. You may get more contact when the reel is down and the turf pushing up on the b/k.

    
    
    
    
13. Henry Heinz

    

    0 posts
    
    8/20/2014 11:08 AM

    My dad would use phone book and newspaper, single piece, if it cut clean then the turf was going to be in good shape. While I may not use his choice of paper, I do following the practices he tought me over 30 years ago. Heavey contact is bad, very bad, and will cause you damage. Light contact as I mentioned in an earlier post will do you good. Deere, Toro, and now Jac knives all move due to design changes, so light contact is very important, as Roland mentioned, the turf will push up the knife into the reel. I will also look at my weather and mowing patterns. Wet, early morning mows, maybe a little more contact. Afternoon, dry cuts, dry morning, none to a very light whisper of contact. Some will depend on how much turf we're cutting too. It's almost like hunting, you track it, you set it, look at it a say, oh yeah we killed it today with an awesome cut!!
    
    Regards,