Thursday, February 09, 2012
One of the busiest areas in our line of work day in and day out is the Mechanic's shop. Our Equipment Manager, John Anderson, stays very busy year round with scheduled maintenance, detailed record keeping, equipment breakdown, and cutting unit sharpening. This time of year is dedicated to 'Winter Maintenance" which includes maintaining, servicing and rebuilding the equipment most used during the golfing season.
This year John is in the process of replacing every reel on all of our fairway units. John rebuilds rollers, bearings, and cutting units annually but this year due to the life of the equipment, he will have to replace the reels in the cutting units. Every time John grinds a reel, he is sharpening the cutting blades but also removing metal from the blades. Over time, the reels are no longer capable of being sharpened or maintaining the necessary diameter to be used in the cutting units. The old reels had seven blades while the new reels have nine blades which will increase our clip rate and in turn quality of cut. Essentially, the reels will turn just as fast but the two extra blades will cut the grass two extra times per revolution.
One of our staff members, Victor, works hard to give John a hand in the
winter months. It takes a skilled eye and hand to handle all of the
work in the shop but these two gentlemen have been diligently tackling
every task. John is celebrating his 25th year with the club and we are
thankful for his experience, dedication, and hard work.
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| These 20 old reels will be recycled. These reels have been worn down from years of grinding. Frequent mowing and fairway topdressing are to blame for life span. |
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| A view of John's lift, parts room, and grinding space. |
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| John's work area is clean and organized but with 20 reels to change out, there are parts everywhere. |
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| Four new reels are in the bottom left of this picture while six finished cutting units are to the right. |
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| Chris Welles, our General Manager, and Wes McIntyre, our Facilities Director, make a routine walk through of the shop area to inspect for cleanliness, organization and needed maintenance. |
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| A cutting unit in the process of being rebuilt. The roller and bearings have been rebuilt while the reel and bedknife have been replaced. |
