Anglo Traction

Ditto !. I used to enjoy pici takin years ago before the age of Digital. Always full of anticipation waiting for the prints. Particularly interested in Macro images in the Animal World as well. Still have my old Kit and only bought some film a few weeks ago to check it all over before selling it -

Giving the old Stourpaine show a miss this year . Shame as it's very good and (usually) lucky with the weather. Enjoy it if you go.

Also agree that it may be Crane orientated. Maybe a Cable Fairlead from a type of Scotch Derrick?.

Look's like a good replacement Mark. Like the High work Platform, but if your getting too old for crawling around on the floor , what chance have I/we over 60's got .

That should keep you busy for a while setting it up Ian! . Good useful piece of tooling. Impressed that you found space for it . A Horizontal Miller, good for higher volume metal than the Vertical which I use. Don't recognise the design/Maker, there were lots of machine manufacturers and equipment around during and after the 2nd W/War. You may find the maker by spending a few lazy online evenings searching through the Milling Machine Archives on here - http://www.lathes.co.uk/page21.html Put a good belt on it when initially setting it up, some can be a pain having to dismantle to retrofit a replacement on some.

I've had a while to think about this project and weigh up the practicalities and costs. I've decided to go ahead and rescue this one on the first basis that the original owner would be 'Over the Moon' if it was put back to new condition so he could see it running again, even though I'll have to undo the Mods and repairs he made to it . Secondly, as Wristpin had suggested, Garfitts have said they are confident they can sort a cylinder out for me on the original Shaft/Spindle , even if they have to fit a 6 Blader on it (a refurbish job ), 5 blades and it will be a restore . It's going to be a 'Money Pit Project', but I've still not found anyone or collection that has an example of this Model and age, plus all the ATCOs in captivity that I can find are green !!. So far I've managed to dis-assemble this machine with only one small nut shearing off the Clutch Lever bracket and the engine did not have a 'tight spot' as first thought......found the right hand bearing on the Cutting Cylinder seized where it had never been lubricated as shown in one of the pics below. Engine will probably need a full on rebuild. So, as with all the other Deadbeat projects I seem to find, it will be a back to new and close to original condition for it. All the drive, side plates and handle bar parts removed, leaving just the Engine on the mounting plate so I can work on it with some leverage. Here's a few pics on the progress of turning it into a pile of bits - Managed to undo all the nuts and bolts on the Exhaust, so I can make any necessary parts, just need to part the main exhaust body now (soaking the joints at the mo') Also had to work around a Modification which was a pulley attached to Flywheel that drove a horizontal cutting blade mounted on the front of the Mower by the original owner- With the Flywheel off, I can now finish the full dismantling. By the way, the Spark Plug is an old 20-30s aviation type that used a layer of Mica Washers instead of the Glazed, Ribbed, Ceramic insulator. it has 3 cathode prongs around the end!, so I imagine when one erroded, the spark went to the next correctly gapped prong and you had to replace it when on the last prong?. First one I've seen of this type-. With the news of the cylinder work, I removed the right hand bearing housing. Took some gentle coaxing, cleaning, soaking tightening and tapping before it gave up resisting- Can understand why that part was never oiled, being virtually out of sight, just need to locate new bearings. It can't be seen in the last pic, but under the old bits of Bearing Seal on the Shaft is where someone had used the old trick of 'Centre Punching' around the Shaft so that the Bearing inner race would push fit on the Shaft (may have been turned down under size or an over sized inner bearing race bore?). Either way it looked original and undisturbed......love it !. Hopefully, this one won't take me 2 years to do .

Thanks Doug, when you can with the Shafts , no rush as have lots of distractions anyway. Blade size may be too thick, as this one is about 1/8" plus the raised cutting edge thickness, so about 1/4" in total. I'll see how it all goes from here. Oh yes, it would be pretty clean before going for a regrind, and it could possibly be saved if the pitting is not too deep to grind out. However- Think the Kybosh is on this project in view of the Cylinder condition . Got it out for a good look over, but knew it was pretty iffy when I saw underneath while dismantling. Counted 25 crack and break repair welds, several of which have not penetrated well. I think it is beyond repair, as I don't think you can replace the Cylinder Blades individually anyway, and all have been repaired at some point. No chance of locating another 5 Blade Cylinder machined to fit a Side Wheel Mower of this spec and age. I think the concern will always be if it decides to crack again. So, any thoughts Gents?, is it a 'No Hoper' ?. here's a few images - Seems a shame to have to scrap it, as they are scarce.

Illustrated Parts List arrived, but doesn't help locating a replacement Bottom Blade using the part number. Found that Atco had 2 sets of numbers- Service Spares numbers (usually available from stock with 3 digits preceded by a Letter) and Production Part numbers (special order items with 5 digit start with a 3 on this Mower)........ never mind, may come in handy. Parts in the Drive system look in good condition so far, Paint colour look's like it is probably going to be J.D. Yellow- Got the Bottom Blade and Carrier out and started to clean up and soak the screws (raised countersunk) - Just got to pull the Cylinder today- - then I'll take the 2 items to see an old Machinery Service Place for an assessment to see if they can be Sharpened after cleaning (don't fancy the challenge of getting all 12 Screws out without at least one misbehaving if I can avoid it). Certainly better condition than first envisaged though.

Thanks very much for the Links Wristpin , much appreciated . I read through them after I got back from reassembling it and from what I read, I got most of it right, just need to align the Clutch pressure Arm a tad more to get it spot-on parallel with the Plates when engaged........it was way out and lots of slack with max adjustment on the cable. Cable re-routed a better way and now functioning properly with good engagement and positive disengagement. Main Axle had not been over greased either I did not notice any 'End Float' on the axle, may be because it has not had a lot of use. Also not sure if Service Bulletin Instruction applies, as the Machine number on the plate is 11969 and the Bulletin refers to units after number 12401 ?. More curiously is that the Bulletin is dated 24 Oct 1975 and I have a 1980 date on the 7hp Briggs fitted to it.....maybe they had to replace the Engine at some point and the machine is actually earlier 70s like most of the other machines there?. I like these intriguing little discoveries, as they assist in I.D. ing. Will have to check further. I know much of the machinery there was regularly maintained and serviced by Dealers from what the owner told me and judging by the amount of old Labels tied to the machines. Had some bad luck though!. Last job of reassembly was fitting the Muffler after cleaning the oil out of it and the last bolt sheared in the head before it got to even 90 inch lbs . My fault I suppose, as I should have got new ones irrespectively, If you consider that it was only removed due to negligence of another. Have to deal with that next week now .

Just a point to add what Wristpin says above, Eaton do not provide the Cooling Fan for their units or the Pulley requirements. These are left to the Customer due to varying applications. So Wolseley would have sourced or made parts to fit their needs and applied their own part numbers to them. If, as you described, that the Belt travels from top right of Pulley to the left in your first Image, then you have a CCW ROTATION requirement of the Fan to pass air over the unit (possibly a Model 6 unit). The diameter of the fan should only need to be the same diameter as the Unit. You'll probably have to guess the amount of Blade pitch and number of them to provide the required cooling, when looking for a suitable Fan to modify and fit. Just need to ensure it is fitted concentrically and balanced on the pulley. I'm sure you'll find a solution.

Had a chance to do more on this monster yesterday and thought I'd keep up the progress on it as this thread gets picked up on a Google search for this Model and there is virtually zero information on it anywhere. This is actually a 1980 model, not an early 70s I believed it to be. Anyway, Pulled all the Clutch/Drive Unit out as it was seized. Brought the plates back with me to check and clean up. Condition is very good and little used, but just a very little rust pitting or discolouration from non use on the faces- Original Friction Material is still well bonded and virtually unworn, bronze bushings are good. I'm impressed with the size and quality of these Heavy Duty parts and appear to be able to cope with a lot of hard work. Roller chain is perfect and left to soak over night and so will be cleaning and reassembling the underside today.

I 'm hoping that is the case Wristpin (welcome). I have done some searching and there are Blades available that have the correct fixing spacing and number of holes, as well as dimensions. Just the profile to match. Also found the (possible) part number stamped on the Blade carrier (30397). So when the Mower's Parts and Instruction Manual arrives in the next few days, I'll hopefully have resolved that part. Old blade look's like it can be reground to a good edge. Pics to follow soon.

Hold on to the S12 as well for now Paul. I will be stripping the one out I have to rebuild it, so I'll see if I can make the part you mention. Float could be repaired too if just a pin hole or available still?. Also - Chris thanks for noticing both our S12 needs, despite us missing the boat on the Parts.

Ditto. Very impressive job and I really like the look of those Scythes. Maybe I'll find one to do one day.

Good news on the running improvements Norm. I take it the old Carb was a Walbro?. Also , just wondering what the state of the Air Filter is like?. They can also really screw up your mixtures and settings if they are dusty or Oiled .

Thanks for the Ad Paul, I was surprised it claims it deals with tall paddock type grass volumes, so not just super sward lawns, but now I've seen it, I understand how it can cope with tall grass etc. Yes Ian it does and that Air Cleaner is the old 'Coopers' Oil Bath type. Bit of an update on this- Dashed down Wednesday afternoon to Lychett Matravers in Dorset to see my old buddy Roly, with over night stay planned and to help with some Wheel Horse work (Oh and finally delivered the Solid Engine Mounts Ian ) and to pick this Mower up. Plans all went to pot and ended up with 2 more of his mates turning up in a Light Aircraft at his local Airfield and also staying the night involving a Pub and Beers. No time next morning either due to playing with Aircraft and left for home 1130 due stopping off at Nomansland on the way to briefly visit Andy (wheeledhorseman). Thanks for the great tour Andy, you have a great place there and would love to visit again for longer. Then finally stopping off at Billingshurst on way home. Place has now been sold, so have to get moving with the machinery down there as well. Any road up, Roly managed to locate the Grass collector for it and is still complete and perfectly useable. It now has a positive ID- It still has the Atco Makers Brass Tag Plate on it. It's a 24" Side Wheel Mower (SH4, not an SF9 20") and dated 1957, which confirms the original purchasers date of 1958. I've uncovered a few improvised running repairs while giving it going over, here's one for example- Sheared screw that retains the Throttle Slide Cap and cable linkage, now held together by wire. not a problem to sort out. A missing Filter body screw and the other has damaged threads. Nothing looks impossible to deal with so far, although I suspect some corrosion in the Cylinder/Piston near the exhaust port, so will strip the engine and not attempt to turn it over. Bottom Blade is in 2 parts and a hefty 1/4" thick folded stiffener plate is good with a bolt on Blade that can be fabricated out of Carbon Steel if the original is no good. The reason why there appear to be so few of these early ones (late 50's) around could be due to the fact that the Cylinder Blades were apparently 'un-tempered' according to the Owner, as he had to get it weld repaired several times at an ATCO Dealer after they kept cracking/breaking in different places at least that's what he was told?. I still haven't seen any other early examples yet. This model had the heavy Hub Covers/Wheel retainers Chrome Plated- Anyway, I'm going to carry on with this and see how it goes. So my late Dad's Whitworth Spanners are back in service.

Thanks Gents, Fan arrived, didn't come from China in the end. Went and ordered it from here at 5 times the cost, but got it quicker and more solidly made. Made in Canada so still in the Commonwealth. Has an insert Bushing that can be bored to size. Came with a 17mm hole, so I had to bore it out to 24mm- These fans are made to fit a certain motor Frame size, so easy to order what you need. Fits perfik- The original German standard Schuko (CEE7/4) style double Socket fitted on this has never been used. Only the long extension which has UK 3pin socket on the end was used. IP Rating seals are all very good and so very clean inside- So I decided it will stay original, as there are lots of Fly lead adaptors available that link to Camping connectors etc and would be handy for people who travel to mainland Europe for Hols etc. Will fire it up to see if it all works when I collect and check the rest of the extension cable next week.

So you've inverted the Frame ......................... to make space for a taller motor ?. Will you still get a deck under it?.

Sorry, not sure how I missed this. Yes, I obtained mine from U.S. in the end, could not get the heavy duty Heim brand. Got mine (4) in 2012 for about £3 ea incl shipping. As Doug(Ranger) has mentioned above, now cost more, but if you still want them, I can point you to an advert for 4 at about £15 incl Shipping. Toro part number is 110513,but there are many U.S Aftermarket numbers too. Regards

Nice machine you have there Martin, I like the Scythes, well worth it when you find one that has been properly cared for. They are worth the extra cost. Hot running is an indicator for a dirty Carb leaning the fuel out as you've already sussed out . Surprised the previous owner left it like that.

Not sure where on the Shaft you have taken the measurement (Smooth part of shaft or across the O/D of the splines), 21.36mm converts to 0.8409" and the nearest fraction (over) that size is 27/32" (0.8437"), suspect also being central European make, it will be metric . I have no idea where you could find a likely replacement, but may be worth researching to see if the gearbox type/design was also used on other machinery as well. If you have no luck with a replacement, a good machine shop can accurately grind the O/Dia down, weld it, heat shrink and weld a sleeve on to re-establish the O/D and the Oil Seal faces. You can also obtain Shaft Sleeves that act as a new running face for the Oil Seal e.g. www.sealmasters.co.uk. It is also most likely the Crack will have to be cut/cleaned right through into the Spline groove, as I can see in your pic that the Crack is full of corrosion and expanded the piece making the shaft splines a 'looser' fit in the bore than is desirable . I imagine having a new one Broached will be OTT on cost. So there are ways to repair it. Hope you get It sorted whichever way you choose.

Thanks Ian & Mark. Hope it's worth it and does what it's supposed to do when it's all back together. Engine back in the cleaned up Frame with new Anti Vibe mounts and nice shiny Red Generator mated up again. Wiring has been checked and all connections were very good, but cleaned anyway, as is the 10metres of heavy duty cabling and 3 pin Dura Plug (Made in England). Preserved the Decal and markings with lacquer. Just the cooling fan to arrive and finish off now- Should be done in a few weeks.

Nice find and good little tool Paul, As Paul mentioned above, a coincidence, and you are fortunate to have the User and Parts Manuals available online still. Age will be between 68 and 87, depending on the Switch type fitted. Units sent to England were sold with 25 feet of cable.

Nice proper old Machine you have there Martin. D.R.G.M. - stands for Deutsches Reich Gebrauches Muster and yes It's pre WW2 German. The Motor was replaced/fitted in the 60s (after 1962) Here's a link to some information for you- http://www.lathes.co.uk/glass/

Hi Sten, I see your desperation is still unrewarded. I have a possible source for you. I'll send you a PM.