Craftsman 900.37051 manual To Remove Blade, Mulching

waitforthebladetocometoacomplete stopThenunplugthepowercordand. turnmoweronitssideUsinganobject.

suchasa stick, wipe out any

accumulation of grass in the blade area. Be careful of the sharp edges of the blade.

• If a grasscatcher is used during the fast

growing season, the grass may tend to

clog up at the discharge opening. Turn

the mower "OFF" and disconnect the

power cord plug. Remove the catcher

and shake the grass down to the back

end of the bag. Also clean out any grass

or debris which may be packed around

the discharge opening. Replace the

grass catcher. Clean often in wet, spring

grass.

• If mower should stari to vibrate

abnormally, turn mower "OFF" and

increase the cutting height to reduce the pushing effect and reduce overloading the motor. For extremely heavy mulching make narrower cuts and mow slowly.

•Certain types of grass and grass conditions may require that an area be mulched a second time to completely hide the clippings. When doing a second cut, mow across or perpendicular to the first cut pafh. DO NOT mow perpendicular to the first path if it would require you to mow across a hill.

•Change your cutting pattern from week to week, Mow north to south one week and east to west the next week. This will

help prevent matting and graining of the lawn.

TO REMOVE MULCH INSEaT

TO REMOVE BLADE

•Release Operator Presence Control Switch to turn mower off, wait for the blade to stop, and unplug mower!

•Cut a two foot length of 2x4 wood and use it to keep blade from turning while removing blade nut.

•Wear gloves, position wood, and loosen nut counterclockwise as shown. Remove

fit over the edges of the blade.

•Place square steel washer on shaft so that flat sides of hole in washer are parallel with flat sides of shaft.

•Place blade nut on shaft, Make sure all paris stay aligned. Position wood to keep shaft from turning. Securely tighten blade nut clockwise to 20-30 ft. Ibs.

unplug power cord. Check immediately

for cause. Vibration is a warning of

trouble. Do not operate mower until a

service check has been made.

• ALWAYS turn the mower "OFF" and

unplug the mower when leaving it

unattended even for a short period of

time.

MULCHING

•Your new mower is designed to re-cut the grass clippings many times and reduce them in size so that, as they fall into the lawn, they will disperse into the grass and not be noticed. Also, the

mulched grass will biodegrade quickly to provide nutrients to the lawn,

•Your mower was shipped with the Mulch Insert installed.

MULCHING MOWING TIPS

•Shut the mower off, wait until the blade stops and unplug the mower.

•Raise the rear door and hold it up.

•Locate your hand in the handle pocket of the mulch insert, lift and pull out the mulch insed.completely.

•The rear discharge door is spring

loaded. When you release it the door will return to the closed position.

TO INSTALL MULCH INSERT

•Shut the mower off.

•Raise the rear door and slide the mulch insert into the discharge opening until it is firmly in contact with the deck.

•Release the rear door.

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•Remove square steel washer, plastic insu(ator washer and blade.

Blade Nut

Square

Sleel

Washer_

TO SHARPEN BLADE

• Keep blade sharp for best mower

performance. A duff blade does not cut

grass evenly.

• Wear proper eye protection.

• Sharpening the blade twice during a

mowing season is usually sufficient

under normal circumstances Sand

causes the blade to dull fast. If your lawn

has sandy soil, more frequent sharpen-

ings are required.

• Replace bent or damaged blade

immediately.

• To sharpen blade:

•For best performance, keep the mower housing free of built-up grass and trash. Clean after each use See CLEANING in the maintenance section of this manual.

•Avoid cutting the lawn when it is wet. Wet grass tends to form dumps which interfere with the mulching action. The best time to mow your lawn is in the

early afternoon. At this time the grass is dried and the newly cut area will not be exposed to the direct sun. For best results, adjust the mower cutting height

so that the mower cuts off only the top

one third of the grass blades. If the lawnInsert is overgrown it will be necessary to

TO REPLACE BLADE

•Place blade on shaft so that the blade edges are parallel with the flat sides of

the shaft. Make sure you place the blade so that its cutting edges will face the

ground when the mower is running.

•Place plastic insulator washer on shaft so that two of the washer's raised edges

• Make sure blade remains balanced.

• Sharpen blade at the original cutting

angle.

• Sharpen cutting edges on both ends of

blade, removing equal amounts of

material from both ends.

• Secure blade in a vise as shown in

figure below,

• Wear safety glasses and be carefut not

to cut yourself,

• Carefully file the cutting edges of the

blade wilh a fine tooth file or

sharpening stone