On Cut

The cylinder and bottom blade on a cylinder mower are set correctly, to produce a sharp, clean cut along the entire length of the cutting mechanism. On traditional cylinder mowers the cylinder would just touch the bottom blade; on some newer machines with high speed cylinder revolutions and fine blades there is often a small gap left between the bottom blade and cylinder because as the cylinder revolves it generates heat which expands the metal to produce a sharp cut of the grass. If the setting on these newer models was undertaken along the same principle of more established mowers with bottom blade being slightly touched by the cylinder, then the blades would wear more quickly and put a greater strain on the power unit.