Weed Whip Disk Eyelet Repair - one approach

One day I found myself facing a weed whip disk eyelet repair task. The problem was that one of the eyelets on the rotating disk of my mower type weed whip had a failed weld and twisted off.

The eyelet was a bit lightweight in my estimation, so I wanted to install something heavier. Also, I didn't want to risk burning the thin metal disk by welding on it.

So I proceeded with the repair by using a bolted solution. It seemed to be a better approach to address my needs and interests.

As you can imagine, the disk on the "nose" of this mower type weed whip has two eyelets. They hold the coarse plastic line in place while it spins around at high speed to cut weeds, tiny saplings, grass and other vegetation near ground level. One eyelet was still good, and the other one had broken off.

For me, the key to this repair was to fix it for good, and to maintain balance of the disk, so I decided to make this weed whip disk eyelet repair using a bolt-on method instead of welding. I used U-bolt cable clamps.

The photo below shows the completed repair.

1. Identify suitable U-bolt cable clamps, washers and nuts to make the repair.
2. Unscrew plastic "hockey puck" that contacts the ground.
3. Block pulley and drive belt with rags (to hold the shaft still for main shaft nut removal).
4. Unscrew the main shaft nut with electric impact wrench.
5. Remove disk.
6. Grind away broken eyelet and good eyelet down to make a flat disk.
7. Using a drill press, dril a set of holes exactly opposite one another (for balance), and sufficiently inside the edge of the disk (for strength). Size and space the holes to accommodate a moderately small U-bolt in each set.
8. Run a nut up as far as it will go on each threaded leg of the U-bolt.
9. Grind down a flat side on each washer so washers on opposing legs of the U-bolt won't overlap and stack.
10. Assemble the U-bolts on the disk so the threaded legs are installed with a nut and washer beneath the disk and a nut and washer above the disk.
11. Initially tighten the bottom nuts, then tighten the top nuts, then final tighten the bottom nuts against the top nuts.
12. Grind off the excess length of the U-bolts so they're both the same length (thus maintaining balance).
13. Reinstall the disk.
14. Tighten the nut on the main shaft with an electric impact.
15. Reinstall the "hockey puck."
16. Remove rags from pulley and fan belts.

This weed whip disk eyelet repair requires about an hour to complete, and uses basic hand and power tools. This is a good approach to weed whip disk eyelet repair if you don't have a welder, or in my case, if you don't want to risk burning a hole in the metal disc.

Done with Weed Whip Disk Eyelet Repair, back to Do It Yourself