clockwise; yes. You'll need a piece of wood to block the blades. Use a box end wrench or a socket. Do NOT use adjustable wrenches, pliers, or channel locks. A right angle grinder works really good for sharpening.

Lefty Loosy, Righty Tighty.....I recently screwed this up (after 11 years of of changing / sharpening my own blade) and broke the screw off....BE CAREFULL WHICH WAY YOU TURN!

in addition to cedgo's good advice, don't try to sharpen your blades to a knife edge. Leave about a 1/32 flat on the cutting edges. Then, using like a nail in the wall, check each sharpened blade for balance. An unbalanced blade is hard on your mower deck and potentially dangerous.

PS: wear gloves while removing/installing blades to avoid nasty knicks/cuts.

If you need to replace the blades try the Gator Magnums. They work great, are much cheaper then the OEM's, and the added thickness will make them last through more sharpenings. I use them and have the same deck as you have.

"COUNTER clockwise" to loosen......."CLOCKWISE" to tighten.
or, as andrelaplume2 (and others) state: "Lefty Loosy, Righty Tighty". Of course, he has admitted that he will sometimes "violate" that rule. :^) (Maybe just when he feels "contrary".) :^)

Ditto on those Gator blades. YMMV but when I bought a set of them, I threw the old JD blades away that I had been planning to save as backups and immediately ordered another set of Gator blades...

OK; I will assume cedgo is the odd man out and turn the bolt counter clock wise will to loosen the bolts on the blades looking up from under the mower, or facing the bottom of the mower. I have a good sock set and box end wrenches so I will give it a try.

cedgo mentioned blocking the blades; blocking against what, the spindle?

can you get a gator blade for a toro 32 XL tractor...it would need to be a 32" mulching blade...I do not see anything, any reccomended sites...would it be made to fit the tractor the way the OEM one does...would it be safe...?

OK, when you get to where you can see the bolt that secures the blade to the spindle mandrel/flange, consider the blade and bolt as if it were a "clock face" that you are looking at "head on". 12 at top, 9 on the left, 3 on the right, 6 at the bottom. To loosen the bolt, turn in the direction 12, 9, 6, 3. To tighten, turn the bolt 12, 3, 6, 9. The part about "blocking" means to literally take a "block" of wood (think piece of 2 X 4, or 2 X 6 or suitable small piece of firewood) and place it so the tip of a blade hits the "block" and the "block" rest against some section of the deck so as to prevent the blade from turning. Do the same when tightening, though the "block" will be on the opposite side of blade tip for that.

Got that 12,9,6,3. counter clockwise.

When I looked under the deck there appeared to be nothing to block against, except possibly the discharge opening and then only for the right side.

Do you realize the counter clockwise is an obsolete expression that may died out in a few years when analog clocks completely disappear? I remember when time was given as a half past, quarter till, quarter after. That disappeared as the media got digital time pieces.

You might have to use a "longish" piece of wood and try various positions til you creatively discover that sweet spot where "blocking" can be attained. Yes, I remember all those "archaic" references to "telling time". You must be about as old as I am. We may be forced to simply use the terms "left hand" or "right hand", but that might not work for dyslexic persons and could very well be a violation of an ADA rule.

>> can you get a gator blade for a toro 32 XL tractor...it would need to be a 32" mulching blade...I do not see anything, any reccomended sites...would it be made to fit the tractor the way the OEM one does...would it be safe...?

I'm sure you can get a Gator blade for your mower. Try looking on this site - this where I buy mine -

http://www.cmsmallengines.net/
or
http://www.jackssmallengines.com/gattoro.cfm

They seem to have as large a stock of them as anyone...

Yes, it will be an exact replacement if you buy the right one. Perfectly safe.

If you can't find a place to "block" the blade put a large vise grip tightly on the lip of the deck and either let the blade rest against it (that's what I do) or put the block of wood against it.

{{gwi:323612}}

That makes sense. When you say block you mean block. I was see a block like I use on my table saw, a short piece of wood levered into the blade.

"When you say block you mean block."****No, I meant block. Block as in, block. I sort of figured that a "picture" would help you picture it better. Isn't it nice to know that even in a depression........a picture has retained its value?? A picture is still worth a thousand words.

There is a handy gadget called a BladeBuster that costs about 12 bucks from the Gadget Corner. It clamps unto the mower deck and the blade and keeps the blade from moving while removing the blade. No cut knuckles, no profanity. Works on push and riding mowers equally well. It also holds up the blade while you adjust it unto the spindle and those darn nubs that keep the blade firm on the shaft!