roto tiller tine question

[jniolon]

Hi guys... not sure if this is the right forum... but I know you guys know a bunch...

I've got an old (1977) Sears roto tiller... hasn't run in a few years but with a few new parts it's purring again... the transmission and all works fine... it's been sitting in the yard for years with a plastic tub over the engine and the rest exposed to the weather... the tines look a little rough and next chore is cleaning them up...

my question is.... can or should the tines be sharpened... got the tools to do it... just wondering if they are hardened or is there some reason to put a good clean sharp edge on them ???

thanks
John

 

[ILENGINE]

Some companies claimed their tines were self sharpening. I myself have taken the rounded worn edge off of times to make them cut better in hard ground. You don't want a knife edge, but leaving 30-50 thousands blunt edge would be fine.

 

[motoman]

I do what IL ENG said with my TroyBilt . The tines on mine come off easily and I use a pedestal grinder, but I think a file would do in a pinch, with lots of sweat.:laughing:

 

[DaveTN]

My neighbor was a sharp-edge guy on "front tine tillers"...yet he was a "dull
edge" guy on his big Troybilt. Go figure. If they're really blunt I'll put a bit
of an edge on them but just enough to break the rough, packed-down clay we
have here in East TN. Some spots of earth here are lucky and have good soil,
usually in the creek and river bottoms. Forget the ridges! More rock than not!