FAQs

A cylinder grinder (also known as a cassette grinding machine or reel mower grinder) is used to sharpen the cutting cylinder on a mower. It works by rotating the cylinder against a grinding wheel to restore a precise cutting edge, ensuring clean and consistent turf cutting performance.

A cylinder grinder performs spin grinding to sharpen the cutting edge, while a relief grinder removes material behind the blade. Relief grinding reduces friction, heat, and wear, improving efficiency and extending the life of the cutting unit.

A cylinder grinder (also referred to as a reel or cassette mower grinder) ensures a sharp, even cutting edge, delivering a clean scissor-like cut. This improves turf health, supports cleaner grass presentation and is essential for achieving high-quality finishes on golf greens and sports turf. Additionally, as the grass is cleanly sheared rather than torn, the turf is less susceptible to disease.

A bottom blade grinder (or bedknife grinder) ensures the bedknife is perfectly flat and sharp. This is critical for maintaining the correct contact between the cylinder and bedknife, which directly impacts cutting performance and turf quality.

How often you should grind a mower cylinder (also referred to as a reel or cassette) depends on usage, but regular spin grinding combined with periodic relief grinding is recommended for maintaining optimal performance and to prevent excessive wear. Additionally, mower cylinders/cassettes can be sharpened and back in operation in under an hour, reducing equipment downtime.

Common signs your mower cylinder (also reffered to as a reel or cassette) needs grinding include:

• Poor or uneven cut quality
• Tearing rather than cutting grass
• Increased noise or vibration
• Difficulty achieving correct cylinder-to-bedknife (or bottom-blade) contact

Yes—In most professional turf maintenance environments, cylinder grinding provides more accurate restoration of cutting geometry than backlapping. Precision grinding restores cylinder geometry and edge accuracy, while backlapping is primarily a maintenance process that does not correct blade form or wear patterns.

Hunter Grinder machines are widely used across the sports turf and groundscare industry, and are particularly useful as part of a comprehensive golf course turf maintenance programme. They are designed to deliver fast, accurate, and repeatable sharpening for professional environments, ensuring mower and blade longevity and consistent turf quality.

If you're looking at how to extend cutting unit lifespan, regular grinding is essential. It reduces wear, maintains proper geometry, and prevents costly damage to cylinders.

Professional turf grinder machines are used across:

• Golf Courses
• Football, Cricket, Hockey & Rugby pitches
• Ornamental Lawns & Educational settings
• Local Authority & Groundcare Contractors

While a cylinder grinder requires an initial investment, it delivers strong long-term cost savings.
Maintaining sharp cylinders may reduce power demand and unnecessary wear by improving cutting efficiency. This helps extend the lifespan of cylinders and bedknives while maintaining consistent cut quality.
For high-use environments, in-house grinding can reduce outsourcing costs, minimise downtime and improve equipment availability over time. Particularly in high-use settings such as golf courses and sports turf facilities, where frequent sharpening is essential.
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Hunter Grinders are engineered for precision, durability, and ease of use. Models such as the Jupiter ATI and Amazon are designed to meet the demands of professional commercial mower grinder requirements. Hunter Grinders also provide long-term technical support for the lifetime of a machine including training, **servicing **and tournament support throughout the operational life of the machine.

Every new Hunter Grinder includes a two-year manufacturer warranty, subject to a completed warranty registration. All Hunter Grinder machines have been manufactured to the highest quality standards and are guaranteed for professional use against faulty parts or manufacture.

Yes – all wearing parts such as grinding wheels, dressing sticks, finger guides, star wheels and soluble coolant are readily available from our Parts Shop.