THE HANDY MAN’S CORNER.

Otago Witness, Issue 3775, 20 July 1926, Page 10

THE HANDY MAN’S CORNER.

OVERHAULING THE LAWN MQWER.

(Spbcial.— Fob thb Witness.)

The handyman will find that a littlo time spent on the cleaning and general overhaul of the lawn mower will always be well tv-warded. If it has been put away for a while, the mower will issue covered with congealed oil and dirt. Obviously, the first thing to do will be to remove as much of tnis as possible. The whole of the accessible parts of the machine oe cleaned as thoroughly as possible by means of a good stiff brush and a liberal application of paraffin oil, an operation shown in Fig. I. When this has been done examine the machine for wear or necessary adjustments. This applies particularly to the cylinder or that part of the machine carrying the blades. The arrangement used on most machines is that shown in *ig. 11. The cylinder bearings in this case consist of two half-bearings fitted in a slot cut in the frame of the machine, and capable of being adjusted as to height. By raising or lowering the bearings in this slot, the knives on the cylinder are brought nearer to, or further from, the fixed blade shown at the bottom of the machine in Fig. 11. This illustration also snows the means of adjusting the cylinder. To raise the bearings the screw C is released, and the screw D tightened by the necessary amount. To lower the bearings the operations are reversed, always remembering to release one screw before attempting to tighten the other. Should the bearings be worn and the spindle slack therein, this should be recti, fied by filing away a slight portion of the bearings at the point where the two halves meet, and scraping out the surface, if necessary, to make the spindle fit evenly on the complete surface of the bearing. The bearings and cylinder must be removed for this operation by removing the

caps A, Fig. 11, and the spindle if at all rough, smoothed with very fine, old emery paper. If the cutting knives are badly damaged or worn, they should be sent to be reground, as this must be done in a machine built specially for this purpose.

The cutting knife B, Fig. 11, at the bottom should also be looked to, and if badly damaged or worn, should cither be replaced by a new knife or be reground The oil holes for the spindle bearings and the like should be thoroughlv cleared of any foreign matter, the whole parts thoroughly oiled, and the cylinder replaced

as before. The cylinder should be so adjusted that the knives pass over the edge of the fixefa bottom blade *at a slight but regular distance throughout their length. A good test is to place a piece of paper between the two, when on revolving the cylinder the paper should be cut. The knives can be touched up slightly by smearing them with grinding paste, and revolving them backwards quickly, adjusting the cylinder so that the blades just touch the fixed bottom blade. The bearings for the main and front rollers should also be taken out and adjusted, thoroughly lubricated, and replaced as before. The driving chain should be looked to, and any excessive slackness taken up in the manner shown in Fig. 111, by punching out'the rivets, removing as much of the chain as necessary, and reriveting. Any further adjustment of the chain can be effected by loosening the bearings of either the main roller or cylinder, acording to the different make of mower, drawing them backwards or forwards as occasion requires. The bearings are then retightened as shown in Fig. IV. The chain should be thoroughly washed in paraffin to remove any dirt and congealed oil, and then thoroughly lubricated with thin or light machine oil. All parts should be thoroughly oiled before re assembly and care taken to see that all the oil holes and passages are quite clear, so that the oil can find its way easily and quickly to its appointed place. Such attention will make a vast difference to the labour involved in mowing. Slight but regular attention in the way of lubrication of all the working parts will keep- the mower in first-class order, and well repay the time expended in so doing.

CUT THIS OUT:—Subject of next week’s article: "LAYING LINOLEUM.”