Lawn and Garden

Commercial lawn mowers take a lot of abuse as they ride over sticks, rocks and stumps. For this reason, the bearings that raise and lower the mower deck must withstand multiple high shock loads and be extremely durable. In the process of redesigning one of its mowers, industry giant Lesco was seeking a self-aligning, pillow block bearing that could stand up to the rigors of being mounted on the steel-fabricated cutting deck of the mower.



Lesco’s engineers tested many options. Standard aluminum bearings weren’t strong enough to handle the shock load, so we worked with Lesco’s design engineers and custom-fabricated a steel version that met the durability tests. But another problem arose. Grass clippings are highly acidic and corrosive, so exposed steel wasn’t going to make the cut. Instead, we plated the steel version with zinc to make it corrosion resistant. The result? Trouble-free mowers. Spyraflo now supplies these bearings for a range of Lesco and Cub Cadet machines.