I just changed the blades on my Toro Timecutter riding lawn mower.
While putting back the blades I did not pay much attention to the side of the washer that touches the mower blades.
But per this article, it says that the "You want the cup to go towards the mower blade itself."
First, what does the "the cup to go towards the mower blade mean". Does it mean \/ (with the blade being at the bottom or /\ (again, blade being at the bottom).
Second, is this critical for the functioning and safety of the lawn mower. I just made the change yesterday so can go through and do the whole thing again but wanted to know how critical it is to have the washer placed correctly.
To be honest, the washers seemed to be flat without any cup but again I'm not sure and it is hard to decipher without first taking the deck out.
Best Answer
If you look at the ends of the blade, you'll see the curve going up; that is the way it should be oriented towards the deck.
The OEM replacement blade washers for that mower do appear to have a slight cup in them. That helps compress the blade to the shaft. If they appear flat, you may need to replace them with the cupped/concave side towards the blade.
These are both important. Blade orientation for the quality of the cut and the washer for securing the blade.