Hi All,
I'm new to this Scott Bonnar reel mower subculture! After recently laying new lawn (sir walter) I decided that the old rotary mower could not do it justice and that it was time for an upgrade. Finding out how much a new reel mower costs was a definite eye opener!! I decided to look for something second hand and this weekend purchased a 14" SB45 for $100! It runs quite well for something that has been "sitting around" for years in a blokes shed. Oil change, carbi clean and tune, air filter clean, and fuel system clean is all that is on the cards engine wise. Also plan on re spraying the frame (early model I'm assuming as it's a single piece frame and the grass deflector attachments are steel screws rather than plastic?) Front roller is in sound condition and should only need a clean up, however on removing this today I have found the roller shaft to be flattened / worn at both ends so may need to be replaced?
The reel and bottom blade are in dire need of sharpening however I believe there to be plenty of 'meat' left on them for this (will post pics tomorrow for comment on this one please?!).
There appears to be a sawn off end that protrudes through the chain cover? (Excuse my non technical lingo!) From researching the forum I can only assume it may have been where the drive belt for the optional edger may have originally been and has been sawn off to allow removal of the cover in the past?
I will try and get some photos and serial numbers online sometime tomorrow as the mower is at my old man's place around the corner.
I would appreciate any advice from the wise men on this forum on what the main areas to focus on should be and without spending many hundreds more $$!
A few questions I have in the interim:
My front roller ends appear to be aluminium? Are these removable and replaceable? If so how? I see that the replacements are plastic - is it best to stay with the original (not in bad condition but will need some work)?
How do I remove the sawn off drive end (for the edger) from where it attaches to the small sprocket / cog at the top??
On taking the the chain cover off it is apparent that the chains are quite loose. I've noticed that the chain tension adjustment and bushing appear to be different from the images I have seen on this forum. The bushing is white nylon / plastic, round and grooved for the chain to run over I presume (or is this just wear?) and when adjusted still allows for more than the 1/2 inch slack prescribed?
Anyway really looking forward to this little gem of a project and would appreciate any help you can offer! Plan on mixing up the colour scheme a bit (nothing outrageous) as I'm not a purist but would like to personalise instead.
Watch this space.....
Cheers
