Anyone had a mulching blade snap?

[Couldyajust]

Was clearing a few brambles and scrubby rhodies today had a 2 tooth mulching blade on the clearing saw all going fine then all of a sudden there was some serious vibration so I hit the kill switch & found the blade had snapped just to one side of the dome washer. Didn't feel a bump beforehand & no rocks or other solid objects in the area anyway. No idea where the missing half of the blade ended up it will have to be a quick sweep of the area with a metal detector when I go to finish off just in case it buried itself where i was working, light was failing so couldn't spend too much time searching.

Little bit unnerving that a newish 4mm thick blade with no visible signs of wear on it would fail in such a way & seriously relieved it didn't come flying in my direction.

Normally these mulching blades last ages before they end up too worn, bent or I just get sick of sharpening them & they end up on the scrap pile never had one snap before so wondered if anyone else had experienced this. Probably just a one off defective blade that slipped past quality control but it left me a bit unsettled as it could of caused some serious damage.

[Charlieh]

not had one go, but out of interest what make was it? I would report it to the manufacturers as that could have had serious implications if it had hit someone

[Couldyajust]

Oregon 2 Teeth Blade 295505 4mm 25.4mm Centre Hole.

 

Will probably send it to them to see if they can id the fault.

[agg221]

Will probably send it to them to see if they can id the fault.

 

Before you do, if you want to take the highest magnification close-up of the fracture face and post the picture on here I'd be happy to comment (this relates to what I do in the 'day job').

 

If you do want to send it off, try not to touch anything against the fracture face, and if you find the other half, resist the temptation to fit the two bits back together The failure will almost certainly be due to a fatigue fracture which progresses in bands per cycle. These are visible on the surface of the fracture but sometimes need microscopic examination as they are so subtle - fit the two together and you will rub the surfaces enough that the bands can be destroyed which loses a lot of the information about why the failure occurred.

 

Alec

[WoodED]

Oregon 2 Teeth Blade 295505 4mm 25.4mm Centre Hole.

 

Will probably send it to them to see if they can id the fault.

 

 

I bent one of those the other day, but I did wack a lump of solid concrete, I've got over to stihl blades now, machine seems to like it better (I have a fs490 52cc)

[Charlieh]

I also prefer the stilh blades, hold their edge better and seem to balance more and less vibration

[arbwork]

disturbing incidence, when similar happened, with the brogio chain head http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/search.php?searchid=16043368 unfortunately with disastrous consequence, it ended with the head being banned by HSE, it is always a worrying situation when fast rotating parts get loose/ break, mowing, chipping, mulching especially when often in populated areas, I have broken the shaft and gearbox on a heavy duty strimmer with contact of mulching blade to immovable object but never had a blade break, I also think it is worth contacting supplier and manufacturer to enable them to identify cause and help prevent reoccurrence

[Haironyourchest]

intersting post, thanks for posting. I just bought a still shredder blade 270mm. Feels well made.

[WoodED]

They are cheap blades, think it was £10 in comparison to the stihl at £33

[Couldyajust]

They are cheap blades, think it was £10 in comparison to the stihl at £33

They are cheaper at £10-£12 vs £23 for the stihl ones but the stihl ones only come with a 20mm centre hole so they are no use whatsoever to me. Unless Stihl start making these blades with the more common 25.4mm centre holes then I can't switch brands.