OT Leon Red bone and Lawn mower soup

[james robert]

I inherited an antique reel push mower. One wheel was stuck so I whipped out the old trusty Electrolytic derustification vat that has been setting empty for a couple of years. After rewiring with heavy copper wire and fresh water washing powder and whatever I have a 35 gallon vat of lawn mower soup. And while waiting for the soup to finish been listening to some Red bone.

The soup

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s164/james51robert/pictures094_zpsb031204f.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s164/james51robert/pictures093_zps612bd927.jpg

New Ebay handle.

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s164/james51robert/pictures095_zps3e9bff46.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s164/james51robert/pictures096_zpscd932ebb.jpg

And the Red bone.

Leon Redbone - She Ain't Rose - YouTube

 

[SouthBendModel34]

That brings back memories ! When I was a boy, the elderly artist lady across the street would hire me to mow her lawn but required me to use a push mower because her homeowner's insurance would not cover any power tool use by people under 16 years of age. (This would have been circa 1970) She had an ancient mower with a wooden shaft stencilled "R.H. Macy & Co.". By the time I was using it, it was fairly dull; my requests to have it sharpened did not result in any expenditure for sharpening.

Seeing your mower project and the replacement stencilled wooden shaft brought it all back.

They only work well when they are Sharp with a capital S !

There's supposed to be some way to make them self-sharpen with automobile valve grinding abrasive compound, but I never learned how to do this. Perhaps someone on PM can enlighten us on this technique.

 

[Ray Behner]

You can lap them in, but it's only a stop gap sorta thing. It helps just a tweak. The relief (think endmill) on the reel is gone or close to it. The bed knife is rounded over, so at best, it's still in need of a "reel" sharpening job.

 

[james robert]

SouthBendModel34 wrote.

"Seeing your mower project and the replacement stenciled wooden shaft brought it all back"

Actually the finish and stencil are original. I came out of an attic apparently it had been there for a long time and the heat had blistered and turned the shellac almost black. I spent a few hours with an exacto knife carefully scraping it down to the original surface. The hard part is getting the dead shellac from the lettering without damaging it.

Ray Behner

"You can lap them in, but it's only a stop gap sorta thing. It helps just a tweak. The relief (think endmill) on the reel is gone or close to it. The bed knife is rounded over, so at best, it's still in need of a "reel" sharpening job"

The blades seem to be in good shape. The only problem so far is one of the wheels is stuck and after two days of electrolytical derustification it still wont budge from the shaft. I'm beginning to think there might be something els holding it and I'm afraid to use to much pressure since it is made from cast iron.

I have scowered the net but not much info at least on a Mower this old.

Thank you.

James
​

 

[Riderusty]

I still have my father's "Great American" reel mower form the 1930's, cast iron with heavy steel blades. Reel mowers still provide the best, smoothest cut on a good lawn. As long as you haven't been mowing stones they can be back lapped (the reel spun in reverse using lapping compound without grinding) to keep the edge. Only one guy on Long Island that I know of that still has a reel mower grinder that he uses on the few big Locke mowers that are still brought in to his shop.

Tom B.

 

[Greg White]

do some golf courses still use reel mowers? my B. inlaw is retired from one, he talkks of grinding machines for them.
Gw

 

[Ray Behner]

do some golf courses still use reel mowers? my B. inlaw is retired from one, he talkks of grinding machines for them.
Gw

I think most still do around here. Can't beat the results of a reel mower cut. My brother has a 72'' gang set of Toro reels. Plus the Fate, Root and Heath bed and reel sharpening equipment.

 

[L Vanice]

Around 1950, my father bought a Cooper Klipper powered reel mower. He spent hours with pieces of paper adjusting the blade to cut evenly across the entire width. The mower cut the grass, but it left a bunch of standing tall weeds that we had to cut with a grass whip. Then we used a Lawn Sweeper to collect the cuttings, which we hauled to the local dump. Sure was nice when we got a rotary mower and got rid of the Klipper and the Lawn Sweeper.

Larry

 

[Robert Campbell Jr.]

James, electrolysis isn't very good at going around corners, so I doubt that it's working on the corrosion inside.

Since it's a wheel at the outside, a shallow pan as deep as the wheel assembly and not much larger in diameter, maybe a plastic oil drain pan and a gallon of pool acid available at Lowes or Home depot for about $12 for 2 gallons, (not available in 1 gallon) would eat rust inside and not hurt the basic iron to any measurable degree in several days. Use it full strength.

Sloshing it up and down in the pan every so often will get new acid into the work area.

I won't say "don't put it in your eyes or drink it," too patronizing. Your hands will take a quick dip which will almost immediately start to tingle and should be rinsed off quickly, I do it all the time. Have a bucket of clean water close by. Vinyl gloves will let you play in it for a while.

Rinsing it well afterward will mostly stop the action but a bath in water with baking soda mixed in will kill the PH factor to normal. Immediately oil the iron because it will be so clean that the rust will kick right back in.

Thanks for Leon! Great number and one I hadn't heard before, though a great fan of Leon Redbone.

Bob

 

[KB3AHE]

do some golf courses still use reel mowers? my B. inlaw is retired from one, he talkks of grinding machines for them.
Gw

One guy around here used to have a pretty big lawn. He used to cut it with a gang of reel mowers. the kool thing was what he pulled them with! It was a 45CI H-D Servi-Car (trike) I tried for many years to talk him out of it for a newer tractor but he wouldn't even consider it...............


I also have an old Toro reel motor with a little 1.5 Hp cast iron engine on it. I pulled it out of a stream 40 years ago and cleaned it up. That jabberwocky thing was the only lawnmower my wife would use. She loved it and called it "chitty chitty bang bang" She loved the way that it bounced around while pulling itself around.

Frank

 

[t.jones]

I believe golf courses use reel mowers on the greens. I have a push mower And sometimes push it 5' and leave it on the front lawn so it looks like it was too much work and I went in for a beer. ---Trevor

 

[james robert]

Riderusty wrote.

"I still have my father's "Great American" reel mower form the 1930's, cast iron with heavy steel blades"

Pictures please

Greg White.

"do some golf courses still use reel mowers? my B. inlaw is retired from one, he talkks of grinding machines for them.
Gw "

While scowering the net I found that most if not all golf courses use reel mowers.

L Vanice

"Around 1950, my father bought a Cooper Klipper powered reel mower. He spent hours with pieces of paper adjusting the blade to cut evenly across the entire width. The mower cut the grass, but it left a bunch of standing tall weeds that we had to cut with a grass whip. Then we used a Lawn Sweeper to collect the cuttings, which we hauled to the local dump. Sure was nice when we got a rotary mower and got rid of the Klipper and the Lawn Sweeper"

So I'm a glutton for punishment. You should see the big old wood handled sling blade that is about as old as the mower

Robert Campbell Jr

"James, electrolysis isn't very good at going around corners, so I doubt that it's working on the corrosion inside"

Got a couple of gallons of white vinegar that might work. Any thoughts?

KB3AHE

"I also have an old Toro reel motor with a little 1.5 Hp cast iron engine on it. I pulled it out of a stream 40 years ago and cleaned it up. That jabberwocky thing was the only lawnmower my wife would use. She loved it and called it "chitty chitty bang bang" She loved the way that it bounced around while pulling itself around"

Sounds like a great Utube video. Get the wife out there mowing and film the bouncing and the chitty bang

Thank you.

James

 

[james robert]

Ok, I soaked the stuck wheel in vinegar four days and had to clamp the shaft i a vice while applying heat from a propane torch while squirting PB blaster to get the wheel freed from the shaft. I have painted the wheels and the gear housing and I am taking pictures as I go along.

I will post pics as soon as I can.

Thank you.

James

 

[Jim Christie]

James ,
South Bend 34 ’s post reminded me of an article in an old magazine I had about sharpening reel type lawnmowers.
It was in a 1952 Shop Mechanics Handbook from 1952.
I took a couple of pictures of the article and attached them .
The magazine is in too poor shape to scan with out breaking the back.
I had also seen a similar account in an old Popular Mechanics shop notes I have from I think before 1920 but with out the pictures.
Foley Manufacturing and some other companies made machines that would grind the reels and the bed knives of these machines with what was essentially a tool post grinder mounted on a carriage in front of the machine that was held on a stand .
Popular Mechanics - Google Books

I never used one of these machines but it is no real cylindrical grinder by any means.
If you have to take the mower all apart each time for push mower you could probably buy a new one for the the cost of the labor involved .
I found that that company’s other products I owned often worked better in a demonstration or video than when you got them in a real life situation .
Especially when the tools were well worn or damaged.
I would guess that most of the old mowers not on ball bearings would need re-bushing before you could make a good job grinding the reel in place on the mower .
you can see one of the newer Foley machines here.
Foley 632 Demo Spin grinding a Toro DPA cutting unit. - YouTube
I ‘m not sure if there was a way to grind the bed knives on the older reel grinding machines machines but now they are done on a bedknife grinder.
Bedknife Grinder Products | Foley United
I imagine there were others who made these types of machines and perhaps a more heavy duty machine but I’m not familiar with them.
I noticed that you can still get a Kit from Lee Valley tools to lap them in the old way
Lee Valley Tools - Sharpening Lawnmowers

Good luck with your project .
Regards,
Jim

 

[james robert]

Hi Jim, Thank you for the pics I will study them after I finish cooking. I seen one of these sharpening machines on youtube that is still in use and I can Imagen that it is still very busy as reel mowers are used to mow gulf courses all the time.

I had another reel mower a few years ago but my mom wanted it it was a newer model with aluminum housing. After she tryed it out she changed her mind and sent it back on my brothers pickup. Well he did not secure it and it fell of of the truck going about 70 mph down the interstate. Broke the aluminum so it sets in the shed.

They are reely simple and easy to take apart unless it has been setting around for 50 or 75 years and has a stuck wheel LOL The ball bearings and races on this mower where still packed in grease when I took it apart and in great shape.

The bed knife and blades look to be in good shape. I think that a light dressing of them and proper adjustment should do the trick.

Progress

Thank you.

James

 

[dvw]

the kool thing was what he pulled them with! It was a 45CI H-D Servi-Car (trike)

That's just wrong.

 

[james robert]

DVW wrote.

"That's just wrong."

Actually I matched the colors up pretty close. Had to have the dark teal green mixed. Kinda expensive.

I really like that color and may be looking for something els that I can paint with it.

Thank you.

James