# Reel and Bedknife Replacement



## crussell (Mar 12, 2018)

Happy New Year!

I have a small technical question - I just replaced the reel and bedknife on my JD 220B. I went with the R&R 9 Blade Reel to suit my HOC better.

I completely replaced all bearings, seals, chains, everything is fresh. Once everything was buttoned back up, I gave it a good 10 minute backlap with 120 grit compound, keeping the contact fairly light.

The reel cuts paper along about 90% of the bedknife, and I've also noticed that of the 9 blades, maybe 6 made consistent contact with the bedknife while the other 3 do not quite make contact.

What is the proper remedy to wear these in? Should I continue with more backlapping and tighten the clearance? I don't want to put unnecessary wear on a brand new reel, so I have been hesitant to over-backlap.

I have another reel and bedknife to replace on my new to me JD 260B that arrives this week, hoping to get this kink worked out in advance.

Thanks!
Casey


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

You need a finer grit compound to lap in a greens mower. For me, I keep 120 for the large diameter landscaper/homeowner reels. 180-220 is what I use on a greens mower.


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## TonyC (May 17, 2018)

Make sure that you have not over torqued the bedknife screws, they can flex some bedknifes as you describe.

is the contact only on one side? Both ends? Center only? Basically wondering if the contact is linear.

Have you used a feeler gauge?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

^+1 to feeler gauge

There should not be contact between the reel and the bedknife per the QA5 manual. It should have 2 thousand clearance for fairways applications.


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## crussell (Mar 12, 2018)

I did torque the bedknife screws (which was surprisingly lighter than I would have guessed).

A small attempt was made with feeler gauges, but the process was frustrating so I gave up. I just re-read the 220B manual and saw the .002" spec, as well as what to do when the reel makes contact on one area when spinning backwards by hand. Sounds like I need to set the closest blade to .002", backlap again, and re-adjust clearance...


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## ABC123 (Jul 14, 2017)

I've found if you don't removed the burr on the bedknife after backlapping with some type of bedknife buddy it's more frustrating to cut paper all the way across.


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