Hi again
Corduroy,Wow! I have seen some "tenants improvements" but I have never seen that before...
He has drilled right through the clutch cone, (which is cast iron) to obviously lock the whole clutch in the
engaged position.
I would guess that the clutch was out of adjustment and was slipping (or grabbing) and this nut and bolt was his 'fix'!
Corduroy, what you will need to do now, is to remove the bolt, remove the bearing (it should be in the other (inner) clutch half anyhow); check the serviceability of that bearing, (replace if in
any doubt)...check the engine clutch spring (if its still there, it may be missing)
Next job will be to remove and renew the cork, it appears to be well past its used by...
Next is to inspect the clutch cone for any damage caused by the drilling. The outer champhered face needs to be free of any burrs or anything that can catch on the cork during operation...perhaps a
very slight countersink of the hole in it followed by a sand or bead blast to restore its surface to as new condition would suffice. You could then mask-up and paint the cone.
I can step you through the adjustment procedure once its all back together, to give you back a functioning cutter clutch once more.
Re: the painted rear rollers, some of our members have restored their machines and painted the rear roller, Scott Bonnar never did, until Rover took over. Why? I cannot fathom, as you say, it will look ugly as the paint wears off....and it will even on grass!
