Mister Mad Mower

I shall take a look at them , but i suspect the current draw will too big for what i have in mind .

Like the airbag idea just it would take a lot longer to fill if i used a simple 12v tyre pump compressor

Sory should have said , i am currently looking at ways to mount a blade onto my Wolseley rough cutter .The Wolseley has a power take off but it is used to drive the wheels so i was thinking of the air ram and 12v so as to use a battery to power it and was wondering if anyone has used an air ram on prior experiments / machines . I do have a spare 12v electric power steering pump off a vauxhall Zafira but they drag around 40 amps so a little battery wouldnt last too long . I was origonaly thinking of a small post with a 12v winch to raise and lower , but after looking at the WH i thought of using one of the rams to move the wheel height adjustment mechanism up and down ( lift and lower the blade ) . Or a direct coupling to the blade from the deck brackets as in the articles images which would be easier all round .

Tried to lift a Fiat Panda 4x4 many years ago with one of the rams and a 12v compressor , it could lift the body weight to the top of the suspension travel but not the wheels off the ground but the little rams ( 2" x 12" ) only took around 30 seconds to compress and lift . I was thinking of a 12v winch and post setup , but looking at the WH i like the ram idea , just do not have any hydraulics . Just wondered if anyone had any experiance of this sort of air fed setup .

Have to ask - Hydraulics are good , but would an air ram and 12v car compressor pump also work ? As i have a couple of 12" movement 300psi air rams and wondered if a 250psi air compressor ( tyre pump ) would work as a cheapo alternative ? .

But it is a cheap way of cleaning the parts of years of corrosion , watered down versions are commercially available sold as aluminium cleaners but again at much higher prices than the std brick acid which are mainly Phosphoric acid based nowadays , making them ideal for aluminium . You could make a mix of Phosphoric and Hydro Fluorohidric acid to make a cleaner and brightener at the same time ,but i just go for the brick acid and coat of oil to brighten and protect The once common Muriatic acid ( Hydrochloric acid ) isnt found so often any more in brick acids , though i supose some manufactureres will still be using it.( should have pointed this out in the 1st post , SORRY .) From wiki - In addition to being a chemical reagent, phosphoric acid has a wide variety of uses, including as a rust inhibitor, food additive, dental and orthop(a)edic etchant, electrolyte, flux, dispersing agent, industrial etchant, fertilizer feedstock, and component of home cleaning products. Phosphoric acids and phosphates are also important in biology

I have an old Generac set that makes a lot of exhaust noise but the engine is sweet , But i have an extesion pipe with a 8" base plate so i can dig a post hole and cover the plate with soil sending the exhaust noise into the ground , so i can hear my engine running . A way of doing this quick to check the actual noise of the engine is to run a pipe into a 5 gallon drum filled with water to deaden the noise . A length of steel bar of around 3/8 diameter and 2 feet long allows you to place one end around the bearing positions of the engine and push the other end onto the little nobbly bit just up from the bottom front of your ear on the side of your head ( Not into your ear just onto the little nobble that sticks out pushing it into the ear opening ) This sends all the noise straight into your head . Making it easy to locate any unusual noise eminating from the engine . Lower outer will be the main bearings ( Grating scratching sound ), if it sounds to be around the shaft but duller ( you should be able to differentiate between the bearing around and a bang ) it will be the big end bearing .( grab the main shaft to see if it has any lift / side to side movement also ) If you come up a little above the shaft and to the side you should hear the cam and bearings banging away at half the shaft speed . If the noise is from the bottom of the cylinder and looses somewhat as you move up , getting louder again at the top it will be the little end bearing . If it is a constant bang or tap at half the engine speed at the top then the valves are banging around . Have a listen on the tappet cover to see if its all comming from bad adjustment . The loudest horriblest noise is usually the fault .

Lovely , but i am left wondering if the designer of the wood lathes bed drank a lot of Iron brew ! .

Over here in Blighty , i use Mortar ( Brick ) acid ( used to remove mortar spills from new built brickwork ) .It can be brushed on and it bubbles up removing any and all corrosion . A wash off with a pressurised garden plant sprayer with washing liquid and warm water gets rid of every trace .A quick squirt over with sprayable penetrating oil gives a nice finnish. On occasion i have had to polish the aluminium up afterwards with a Brillo pad ( soap impregnated wirewool pads ) to remove black spots . But at around £20 per gallon it goes a long way . Maybe an idea to do this prior to soda blasting to save on the soda .

All you need to do is goto drop box at - https://photos-4.dropbox.com/t/2/AADubUxsmGZvxAoJq5PiiQ0W9NOQ5Za2fsAJWEDL4avm7A/12/142652507/jpeg/256x256/1/_/1/2/2011-04-23 19.33.18.jpg/ELzCnG0Y9hogBygH/Ud0QpbEDfGzSKc_N421PymtI2SiVUzp0tob0eC9tAO4?size_mode=3&size=2048x1536 to retrieve the image , of course you will need to sign in first . Have i passed the test ? .

It's a heavy bit of kit , around 70KG / 140lbs or so .Good job the motor has a quick release to take a bit of the strain out of lifting it ! . But yes , it is built to last .Even the main bar has twin Timken taper roller bearings with a 1 1/2" adjuster nut at the top to tighten them up . A bit of a shock really as i was expecting plain bronze or brass split bearings . And the metal componets which looked beyond redemption have all polished up a treat .( shiny ) I like the 2 oiler caps on the motor , even these have taper copper springs under them to keep the felt pads in contact with the shaft . To realise the size , the main bar is 2" / 55mm diameter and the machine is 3 feet high . I am currently working on new tool holders to fit into the head so i can use 8mm boring bars with the indexable SCLCL bits to bring it into the 21st century . And i am still awaiting delivery of the braided wire wrap so i can wire it up nice and neat . Have connected it up and it takes around 7 mins to wind down it;s full 12" of travel , So around 2 inches a min feed rate giving around 1 thou per revolution advance . Wont be long before it gets a good work out .

I measure carbon brushes and enter the size into the well known auction site , I get the nearest over size available and " size them " on a sheet of 1000 grit wet and dry paper . A wooden dowl turned to match the comutator segments diameter ,and slit to hold a strip of 2000 grit wet and dry paper with a coat of spray mount to secure it , allow me to match the curve on motors that rquire it . If you do this a lot then a set of differing dowls that fit over an M8 bolt with lock nut makes it easy to fit them into an electric drill chuck to spin them up . But every now and again the correct size can be found , so you may drop on lucky ...

Been busy restoring the " BUMA" , got it striped and rebuilt with a new coat of paint ( Brush on machine enamel ) to keep it good for another 50 years ! . This turned out to all origonal , never been apart .I know this due to the knurled adjuster on the top having a grub screw to hold the centering shaft . The grub screw had a plug over it and the knurling had been done last to hide it all ? . I had to drill the plug out so as to be able to remove the grub screw and so split the gearnbox cases . I have left the hole so i can easily take it apart for greasing etc in the future . I found the grub screw after i noticed a scribed line on the front face of the knurled adjuster , pointing in line with what looked like a keyway down inside so i drilled down and found a cavity , with the grub screw 2 or 3mm below .

2 pictures from Blackpool illuminations , we went for a look after picking the Buma up in Lancaster . The Old trolley bus is a delighful Old machine , as is the tower in the background. The Tardis ( is this the oldest machine on the planet ? ) and Darleks are a 60's icon still being used today in the tv show Dr Who .

Not a well thought out name from a marketing point of view , though 50 years ago iff you were gay you were simply happy . Wonder how many things will take on a different meaning 50 years from now ! . But in retrospect a Bolens Ride a Matic could make a good stable mate for a Buma Boring bar ? ..........

Just got this on an auction site . Buma Boring Bar , 55mm to 90mm or so bore capacity . Looks to be in good order but the tool holder is missing . Motor / shafts / gears are all working fine so worth making a tool holder up for it . I think the spring loaded adjustable cutting tool approach will be the best and easiest way of going about this , as a micrometer can easily be converted to allow for rapid and accurate setting . My Wolseley WD2 will be the 1st victim as my 2nd engine was bought with a rusted bore that will benefit from a light cleaning as it were . Looking forward to going from tedious to plain boring .........

Most of the older ( pre to early 70's ) British cars used the same set up of dynamo and regulator .Car boot sales are a good place to find them along with old car manuals which usually have a section on testing them and setting them up . So any manual from a Reliant 21E to Roll's will give you all the info you need to keep them working , as many think they have failed when all they need is a turn of the adjuster screw . And as they are really only an electro magnet , they are quite easy to re-wrap . Any should fit and work , unless you really need the authentic look ! . My nephew's Porsche turbo thingy needed a new brake switch , a quick cross reference showed it to be the same as a Seat Leon's and costing a fraction of the main dealer price . Sometimes what you are searching for can be found in unfamiliar surroundings .

Find one here - http://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-Carburator-Needle-and-Seat-for-OHLSSON-RICE-2-Cycle-Engines-O-R-ORLINE-/112135778123?hash=item1a1bd02f4b:g:4~AAAOSwT~9WkY5O

I do say " Cut / Rolled , depends upon iff the dies are still capable of turning after 30+ years of sitting idle .Or at least on my Mikado .Ian's version seems made to hold dies for cutting , so it would seem both methods has been emplyed over the years .

When i got my Cebora cut30 i sat signing my name in a 3 foot by 2 foot sheet of tin , never thought of actually making anything ! . Second thing i did was cut an old 47kg gas bottle in half to make a snow plough blade .

Want one , infact simply need one .That is a thing of beauty And has just gone straight to the top of my " have to have " wish list . Get a good named tank sealant kit , the simplest way unless there are through bolts on the alternator side of the tank simply pulling the plate onto a rubber seal ( bit hopeful ) . Other than that cover the sticker with a clear vinyl and fill the empty tank with boiling water to see if the sticker comes free . Assuming the tank is a 2 section affair and the plate where the sticker goes is stuck onto the aluminium casting , with the tank full to the brim with water try gently heating around the edge of the plate to burn off any epoxy / glue that would have been used to fix it there .A chefs blowlamp or micro torch is enough to burn epoxy glues . If it is just epoxy then the plate and tank would have to be cleaned with a stainless steel wire brush and rinsed using carb cleaner several times to give a good grease free surface for you to apply new epoxy to . Place the plate in position and put some weights on it over night to let it set .Leave it a 2 or 3 days or so before filling the tank with fuel to allow the epoxy to cure . Cut the vinyl applied over the sticker to shape and re-glue the sticker back on .

Been delivered today ( Saturday ) and they look like they should grip in anything .

Hi i am in Doncaster U.K. and am looking for a Wolseley WD2 govenor arm and / or a petrol tank with tap and cap if possible for same . .

The old screw adjustable ones may work as the newer gas ram ones may present problems as you would have to raise them higher to allow for drop when loaded ! . And as you cut lengths off they may rise higher as the weight is removed ! But then again they may work a treat - give it a go and let us know .

Many years ago i statred off using Mounfields , but even though they use a B&S engine the Mounfields seemed to be plagued with broken rods through the case ? So i moved to Hayters .Using the same B&S engines but no problems ? All i could ever think of was blade timing being different . I am in no way a collector as i buy what i will use , but do like a nice old Suffolk engine for some reason . I think the oldest garden related machine i own and use is the Huffy lawn edger new oil once a year and it just keeps on going .It has an old B&S horizontal crank engine with the pull out tube choke on the carb .Looks the same engine as whats on my Templar rotovator just seems to look a lot older . I think the newely aquired Wolseley 500 with it's vertical pull start maybe older ? .At least engine wise . I do own an odd ball piece of machinery though it is more farm related , A Villiers engined winch on a sled / base plate around 30" long , i got it off a boat at Selby nr York .The guy said it had been a post rammer and he got it to fit as a heavy duty winch , it has a foot pedal that when pressed engages a rubber idler wheel between engine and cable drum .When you take your foot off , the drum lets go and i supose the hammer fell and did it's job on the post .Though i am not certain as modern sewer winches fitted to cable trailers bear a resemblence . So it may have started off on a cable trailer and ended up ramming in fence posts before it ended up on a 60' converted barge , then into my garage .... I just love to hear the sound of older engines ........