Also, I should add. I cut the grass just under 1 inch. I can go over and over it but it doesn't seem to help. The spot you are looking at was cut over 5 times today. Granted, all in the same direction. It does seem to get better when I cut at a different angle.

That choppy look (called "washboarding") is the result of the reel not spinning fast enough as the mower moves over that area, usually because the operator slows down or stops the forward movement of the reel mower in the affected area while the reels are still in contact with the grass. It will recover over time. When you need to slow down or stop in an area, push down on the handle (which causes the reel to be lifted off the ground) until the reels stop spinning. Then lower the reel back down on the ground.

Ok, when you say. "It will recover over time". Should the affected area not be fix by simply mowing over it again? If not then that would explain why I went back and forth over it several times without it smoothing out.

Also, while maybe the first time through I slowed a little bit at these spots I am not sure but after I went over several times I adjusted speeds to jogging while mowing and walking very very slow.

"Should the affected area not be fix by simply mowing over it again?"

No, your turf will need to re-grow and fill in those gouged areas. The turf will do this on its own. Just be sure to mow over this area and your entire lawn with a consistent, normal walking pattern which will create a consistent reel spin necessary for proper cutting by a manual push reel mower.

You do not want to walk very, very slow while using a manual push reel mower. Your forward movement should always be a consistent, normal pace of walking. And again, if you need to stop or slow down, raise up the reel off the turf by pushing down on the handle to prevent washboarding.

Also, here is a tip in case you are not already doing this. Alternate the direction of your mowing pattern each time you mow. Imagine a clock in the center of your lawn. One time, you mow in the "12 to 6" direction. The next time, you mow in the "3 to 9" direction. The next time you mow in the "4 to 10" direction. And then mow the next time in the "2 to 8" direction. Then repeat the process throughout the entire growing season.

Good luck and continue to come back here with questions anytime. Thanks for posting the picture. That was very helpful for a better understanding of your issue.

Check this out.

Here is a link that might be useful: Enough reel mower info to make you wanna puke!

I always mow my P77 lawn in two directions, doing so keeps this type of stuff to a minimum.
You could raise the cutting height one notch also, it should help some too.
Investing in a mower with more blades would be helpful too......The diff in quality of cut between a 5 blade and a 10 blade is a world apart.....just sayin'.....

I read through the toro pdf. It did help me understand how the reel mower cuts.

Here is what I have done. I went back and re-adjusted my blades in relation to the bedknife. Paper cuts smoothly now running through it. The reel seems to have a good smooth flow.

I went back re mowed an area from yesterday that was not previously affected and now it is AFFECTED!! (The blade height was lower ever so slightly from yesterday, if that matters).

I was walking at a normal pace. (29 year old male, and athletic. This thing is easy to push). When I go back in the opposite direction of the affected area it feels like I am gliding over it. The reel is spinning but I am just gliding right over that spot. I did not notice it on the initial pass but I have notice many other times in affected areas.

I am trying to mow my grass a little less than an 1 inch tall. My mowing schedule every Friday and then either Monday or Tuesday. This is all I can do because of work. (I could mow on Saturday or Sunday but don't see a need).

Sorry to be so bothersome but this is about to drive me crazy. I am new yard addict. :)

ok, quick update. My neighbors yard is about 1.5 inches tall. I adjust my mower blades to where I would be cutting right at 1/3 of it off. I mowed his entire backyard (granted it is not as flush as mine) with no problems.

To give you an idea, my yard is flush and full but his has dried out spots in it.

I did nothing different from mine to his other than having the blade raised.

I do not scalp my yard when I mow but am I trying to cut it to low for the amount of times I can cut it a week? Or is there another problem? (this is driving me crazy!).

nearandwest7, I have studied what you said. I will have to wait until I can cut my yard again and study my pace to see if this is my problem. I am going to try to get out and cut my yard tomorrow. I do know this, if pace is the problem then you can't break a friggin stride with this thing, cause I don't really speed up or down when I mow.

Ok, the only thing I can tell you is that the picture you posted shows a choppy, washboard effect from using a reel mower that was either: (1)not spinning reels fast enough due to slowed or stopped forward movement or (2)was mowing through tall, thick grass, which could also impede the proper spin rate for a reel mower. Based on the information you have posted, it sounds like you have done most everything correctly: adjusted mower properly, cutting at correct height of cut, walking at adequate pace for keeping consistent spin of reel. The one thing that could be improved is the frequency of mowing, but you have indicated that you can only mow every 3-4 days because of your work schedule, and that is completely understandable. If you are mowing at 1" height of cut, you should probably be mowing every other day. Also, the fertilizer program you are on can have an affect as well on the quality of your mowing.

Just one more question, because I'm still trying to eliminate possible reasons for the washboarding. The areas that are getting gouged (affected), are these areas where you are turning the mower and perhaps the spin rate of the blades is slowing down?

Thank you for your help. I am about to go back out and mow in a little bit. I am going to raise the blade up some and mow and see if I get any new washboarding (old washboard is still showing). I am going to mow at a different angle (I already alternate between horizontal, vertical and diagonal).

To answer your question, no it is not where I am turning. That was my first thought. My line of thinking is that I cannot mow at the height I am current at with the frequency. So for now I am going to raise the blade and see where that gets me.

UPDATE: Mowed on a higher setting today. Two days after mowing with washboard affect. I could not see any new affected areas. Hopefully this is the solution.

However, I did hit a rock that chipped one of my blades. Now it rubs the bedknife. I tried to sharpen (with a sharpening kit) it to work the chipped area out but with no luck. Anyone have suggestions? Could I get some sandpaper and rub it down?

Mowing higher will fix it temporarily. You will probably have to raise the height again later.

This is why I think it's so important to start out as low as mowerly possible at the beginning of the season. So there is room to go up.

Bermuda grass grows pretty aggressively and reaches for the sun this time of year. Yours is a common problem. But a good problem if you want to put a positive twist on it. Your grass is too thick. LOL!

On to that nicked blade. Backlapping isn't for fixing nicks. It is only for minor corrections and freshening up the blades and knife. Nicks really require a spin grind followed by a relief grind if that is how your mower was set up from the factory. You can skip the relief if your mower didn't come with one.

You could touch up the nick with a file, but you run a real risk of making that spot in the blade impossible to adjust to cut. Your call. I would find a golf course equipment mechanic and have them grind the reel so you don't take it out of round.

I do not have a spin grind so I don't think that will be an option. I guess I will try to be careful with a file and fix it up. The mower was only $80 so if I mess it up guess I am only out $80.

Do you think getting a heavier mower would help? My American Reel mower is only about 20lbs. I was looking at the Mascot Silent Cut and it is almost 50lbs.

I'm not worried about it being harder to push.

No, the grinding process would be done in a professional grinding machine found at ball fields or golf courses that maintain their own equipment.

A heavier reel won't help with this type of problem.

I would echo the previous comments related to the damage to your reel. Contact a local golf course and speak to the mechanic. If you're lucky, he may offer to do it for you if he has the equipment, or he may be able to recommend someone else who may do it for you. That reel is going to have to be re-ground in order for it to operate correctly.

I had the same problem with my Brill push mower. It's simply too light to use all year. It would surf across the top of the turf. The Mascot is definitely better but will still produce the wasboard in some spots. Just can't generat enough reel speed.
I have since leveled and bought a powered trimmer 25". No more washboard. The other potential cure is to verticut every month. It thins the canopy making it easier to push the mower through it. I found a used Lesco "groomer" (aka powewr rake, aka verticutter)on CL for $250. It has to have the delta knives NOT the flail blades. Hard to find as a rental.

I had the same problem with my Brill push mower. It's simply too light to use all year. It would surf across the top of the turf. The Mascot is definitely better but will still produce the wasboard in some spots. Just can't generat enough reel speed.
I have since leveled and bought a powered trimmer 25". No more washboard. The other potential cure is to verticut every month. It thins the canopy making it easier to push the mower through it. I found a used Lesco "groomer" (aka powewr rake, aka verticutter)on CL for $250. It has to have the delta knives NOT the flail blades. Hard to find as a rental.

nearandwest, what do you think about the heavier Mascot mower? Would it be a solution? Also, do you agree that raising the height is only a temporary fix?

rager, when you say "I have since leveled" I guess that means leveled the yard? My yard is not flat by any means but I do not have any steep hill either. Less than .25 of an acre as well. And when I googled pwered trimmer 25" a weedeater came up. I am not sure what you are talking about here.

nearandwest, what do you think about the heavier Mascot mower? Would it be a solution? Also, do you agree that raising the height is only a temporary fix?

rager, when you say "I have since leveled" I guess that means leveled the yard? My yard is not flat by any means but I do not have any steep hill either. Less than .25 of an acre as well. And when I googled pwered trimmer 25" a weedeater came up. I am not sure what you are talking about here.

Well, I sent you a response last night and for some reason it isn't showing up here. I'll post it again in a little while. Sorry!

Not sure why there are double posts, weird. Here's a picture of the California Trimmer reel mower. You can look back a few weeks and see the progress of my leveling.
I have had/tried push reel: Great States, Brill, Mascot
Powered reel: 7 blade McLane, 10 blade McLane, 20" Tru-Cut and finally the 25" Trimmer. I was never satisfied until I had it leveled a few weeks ago. I like the Trimmer the best too. It is built like a tank.

rager, just back and saw your post and the video. UNBELIEVABLE! I am so jealous. I don't have the money to have someone come and level my yard. Would that powered trimmer work well on a slightly uneven yard?

I mowed again today (at a 3rd different angle and at the higher height) and still had some more washboarding. Not as bad as before but I feel like it is only a matter of time before it comes in worse. I paid very very close attention to my speed and kept a good walking pace up. I did notice though that my problem occurs 80% on the downhill. I was not going faster downhill, I paid close attention to this. I am so down and out about this right now. Thinking about just buying a rotary mower.

Ok, I'm gonna touch on a couple of things here. I'm still troubleshooting so bear with me. Your last paragraph clued me in to a possibility.

One of the things I see my new employees do from time to time even with powered walking greens mowers is that they will have areas where they miss cutting the grass due to pushing down on the handle of the mower. The way I get them to correct this is for them to slightly lift up on the handle as they are making each pass across the green. This keeps the cutting unit down on the grass surface. Is it possible that you are doing the same thing with your reel mower? As light as it is, it would be easy for you to be inadvertantly pressing down on the handle slightly which would lift up the reel off the ground and when it goes back down it would create the washboard or gouging effect as you move across an area. This would be even easier to do on a downhill slope. Next time you mow, try lifting up slightly on the handle with both hands to keep the cutting unit on the grass surface.

The other issue I'll comment on is leveling. You could do your own leveling, just as some others on this forum have done. The link below is a thread from this forum from earlier this year. There are also other threads on leveling from people who did the work themselves and they saw great results. Check it out and see if this is something you think you could do.

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/lawns/msg061042369630.html?45

Nearandwest, what you are saying is very possibly the problem. I will mow again on Friday and check this out. However, I do know on some occasions I will lift up on the bar and push down toward the ground trying to get the angle just right to push the mower down initial the grass. Not real sure why I do this other than to maybe get through the thicker areas.

Next time I will pay close attention to this and try to lift slightly up in the handle and push level. I am very intrigued by the leveling and am interesting in doing it. Is early spring the best time to do this? I am a similar size yard to your link and since I have a reel mower I can scalp it pretty low.

Yes, the Spring season is the best time of year to do the scalping and leveling, usually during early May is a good time of year.