sten 84 #1 Posted April 22, 2015 I bought this a couple of weeks ago but no makers name and no engine cowling so cant date it either, it has a 14 inch cut, any ideas please ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mowerdar 98 #2 Posted April 22, 2015 I want to say maybe a rough cut mountfield but not so sure If at first you don't succeed Use a bigger hammer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wristpin 400 #3 Posted April 22, 2015 (edited) That height adjusting knob sticking up through the deck should be a good identifying feature but at the moment is not ringing any bells with me! I had an email this afternoon regarding a Farmfitters rotary cultivator dating around the 1970s - anyone got any Farmfitters knowledge or literature, either sales or technical? Edited April 22, 2015 by Wristpin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sten 84 #4 Posted April 22, 2015 This number is on the crankcase of the engine, could it be a date, I haven't seen a number like this on a Briggs engine before. 1 HeadExam reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HeadExam 1,783 #5 Posted April 22, 2015 This number is on the crankcase of the engine, could it be a date, I haven't seen a number like this on a Briggs engine before. 13.9.11 1999-03-14 001.JPG I believe that number is just a stocking number, it could also indicate the type, as I think this number correlates to a vertical shaft engine type used on both twins and singles with vertical shafts EDIT: It looks like he number correlates to the engine type to identify the crankshaft used in the particular engine. Not all that up on Briggs engines, but Kohler used between 70 ad 100 different crankshafts in the 14hp Kohler k321 1 sten reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stormin 4,458 #6 Posted April 24, 2015 - anyone got any Farmfitters knowledge or literature, either sales or technical? Paul Mackellow's your man. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joe the small engine man 89 #7 Posted April 24, 2015 hi, It looks like a old Hayter. not completely sure I will check through the hand books and manuals! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nigel 1,875 #8 Posted April 24, 2015 i think it looks like a hayterete Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joe the small engine man 89 #9 Posted April 24, 2015 That's what my thinking is, also if it is a Hayterete or hayter because they are the basically the same deck and design than it will probably have a Briggs and Stratton engine on it which will probably be a 5 HP Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vegikev 126 #10 Posted April 24, 2015 hi sten, is there anything writen on the throttle control?? never seen a hayter with that height control knob but also cant find anything like it, also what is the blade set up on it , most hayters (but not all) have a disc with triangular blades fitted Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pmackellow 2,738 #11 Posted April 24, 2015 That height adjusting knob sticking up through the deck should be a good identifying feature but at the moment is not ringing any bells with me! I had an email this afternoon regarding a Farmfitters rotary cultivator dating around the 1970s - anyone got any Farmfitters knowledge or literature, either sales or technical? I have got some Farmfitters literature, don't think this mower is one though the deck is the wrong shape... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joe the small engine man 89 #12 Posted April 24, 2015 ill ask my granddad and at work if he has any ideas. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wristpin 400 #13 Posted April 24, 2015 Don't think that the Hayterette ever have a pressed or fabricated steel deck? Even the very old ones (1960) that I've seen had a cast alloy one with individual height adjusters. Should explain that the Farmfitters enquiry was not in connection with the "mystery mower" ; actually needed some info about a 1970s cultivator but the matter has now been resolved. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sten 84 #14 Posted April 24, 2015 hi sten, is there anything writen on the throttle control?? never seen a hayter with that height control knob but also cant find anything like it, also what is the blade set up on it , most hayters (but not all) have a disc with triangular blades fitted Hi, no nothing on the throttle control and it has just a normal single blade The wheels look the same as on some Hayteretes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pmackellow 2,738 #15 Posted April 24, 2015 Don't think that the Hayterette ever have a pressed or fabricated steel deck? Even the very old ones (1960) that I've seen had a cast alloy one with individual height adjusters. Should explain that the Farmfitters enquiry was not in connection with the "mystery mower" ; actually needed some info about a 1970s cultivator but the matter has now been resolved. Ah right, ok Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nigel 1,875 #16 Posted April 25, 2015 are i need to go to spec-savers, i did"nt see it had a steel deck 1 sten reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vegikev 126 #17 Posted April 26, 2015 just realised my hayter hawk is made of steel Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wristpin 400 #18 Posted April 26, 2015 (edited) So was the Twenty One and Osprey but it's not any of them! The engine on the machine in question is mounted on an aluminium spacer block. In the 80s when replacement engines were relatively more expensive that they are today there were quite a few " cheap" engines on offer which were reputed to be "left overs" from various mower manufacturers production and were being disposed of at a discount. The problem was that they came in a mixture of crank lengths so the people offering such engines offered a selection of long blade bosses for the short cranks and a couple of different thickness spacers for the long crank ones; so it's just possible that the machine in question is a "blitza" Edited April 26, 2015 by Wristpin 1 nigel reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sten 84 #19 Posted April 26, 2015 I've just found some pictures of a Westwood I had a few years back and although the height adjustment and handle mount is different the deck looks to be the same or very similar Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wristpin 400 #20 Posted April 27, 2015 I was looking at that machine in Brian Bell's Seventy Years of Garden Machinery yesterday evening but discounted it for reasons of the height adjuster and handle bar construction but, as you say, the deck is similar - who knows, Westwood did all sorts of things before concentrating on ride- ons . In Countax's early days they sold a little walk behind called the Sabre I can't find any pictures or details however I have a feeling that it had a cast deck pan. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sten 84 #21 Posted April 27, 2015 In the 1982 Westwood catalogue the mower with the deck similar to mine has an 18 inch deck not 14 inch They also list a model called a Sabre and if it was you were thinking of Wristpin then yes it has an alloy deck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wristpin 400 #22 Posted April 27, 2015 In the 1982 Westwood catalogue the mower with the deck similar to mine has an 18 inch deck not 14 inch They also list a model called a Sabre and if it was you were thinking of Wristpin then yes it has an alloy deck. westwood 001.jpg Yes, with the Westwood / Countax associations I guess that it is the same machine. That odd height adjuster in the original post is so distinctive that sooner or later the problem should be solved - maybe! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dcp001 4 #23 Posted June 13, 2015 In 1963/64 our village cemetery got a Multigardner unit,with a sticker on it "Farmfitters Ltd, Gerrards Cross, Bucks England" It consisted of an Aspera LAV 30 / 35 mounted on simple frame which consisted of the handlebars, extended under the engine, to which the engine was bolted, and had a single bolt bracket for clamping it on to a choice of cutter frames or other tools. We had the 18" rotary mower frame, and a small 10" cutter frame for cutting in narrow spaces between graves. The 18" cutter had a triangular plate onto which 3 x small reversible triangular blades were bolted, and a circular shield. The 10" cutter blade was a single broad reversible bar, and the shield was clearly related to the one in this picture, being the same design and colour. The height adjustment knob / rod, and wheels looks identical to that on the 18" cutter, which has long since gone. I am sure this is from the same family. We still have the 10" cutter, and the handlebar frame, and the incomplete remains of the second engine. 3 nigel, vegikev and sten reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sten 84 #24 Posted June 13, 2015 Thanks dcp, yes the Multigardener does have similar lines but I cant find anything on the net with any sort of height adjuster, even the colour is similar Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sten 84 #25 Posted June 13, 2015 I found this photo courtesy of pmackellow of one of his Multigardeners and even though nothing in common about the deck the height adjuster is the same. 1 nigel reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites