I have found a nice late model Supercut for sale near me and would like to know more about it. Model number is 1707890 and it looks like it has an alloy roller, I can't find any details on the model number anywhere. I haven't seen a Supercut with alloy roller before, is this unusual?
What does everyone think its worth?
TIA
Last edited by Bonnar_Bloke; 03/10/1905:28 PM. Reason: Photo orientation correction
Value of a Supercut ??? mmmmmm, all I'll say is that they are only worth whatever someone is prepared to pay for one.
They certainly don't have a following like the Model 45 does, so from that point it's near on impossible to put a figure on one.
There are still quite a few laying around in old back sheds of homes and also bowling clubs, but none of them are used really due to their awkwardness of use compared to more modern machines. They certainly aren't a great domestic machine due to their "in / out" style drive clutch set up. basically they were designed to be a straight running mower for tennis courts, bowling greens and cricket wickets, but definitely not for going around tight curves and dodging trees and plants etc. in the average home garden.
After saying all of the above and you're probably going wonder why what I'm about to say is so complimentary, They are probably the "Best" cylinder cut mower that SB ever made, but that's taking it's design into account for what it was designed for and not what many of us have tried to adapt it to do.
Anyway yours is a bit of a strange unit as it's got a Queen / Model 65 style belt guard fitted which never came with these, so that may be someone's after sales add on. It certainly looks as if it's had a repaint at some point in time and maybe that's when the cover may have been done. Also it's had a TWM Chonda engine replacement fitted which is a Chinese cheapy Honda copy. Regardless though of that, if it's looked after and regularly serviced you'll find it will serve you pretty well for many years to come. The alloy rear roller ?, absolutely no idea on that one.
Just a thought, it may have originally been a Electric unit that's been converted to a petrol powered unit, but I'd have to see a few more overall photos of the machine with that belt cover open opposed to the close ups you've supplied (which are great BTW) Electrics though normally only had one lever and that was the drive as the reel was engaged by the electric power switch on the mower.
Apart from all that I'm really outta words, but one things for sure and that is this one is rather unique and I'm not 100% sure about it's originality.
Cheers, BB.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
Thanks BB. The later model Supercuts had the belt guard, I have seen quite a few with the guard. Since posting this I have been talking to an ex greens keeper that has seen the alloy drum model, he said that it will have alloy side plates also. I did some searching through this forum and Facebook and found reference to alloy drum and side plate model. On the whole there is very little information online about the Supercuts.
And I guess there's a reason for that and that is there's not much of a following. A few have tried to invigorate interest but as there is no support for the Supercut as in parts etc. you always have to wreck one to save another and then there's the fact of how heavy they are to manoeuvre around on a domestic lawn.
The same sort of issue as is with "The Queen" mowers which are all slowly going to scrap on a daily basis. Only yesterday I fell across a trailer full of 2 disassembled Queens off to the scrap dealers.
I will say that firstly I had no awareness of an Alloy based machine being produced which I'm sure would've been far lighter than the full cast iron / steel units and also I'd say yours probably will've been made in the very early 1970's when the very last of them were cobbled together out of leftover parts that were still on hand. This was around the time of the introduction of the Model 65.
The Bonnar business as it originally was and even under the then new ownership of the Electrolux Group, just never discarded anything, everything was used or re-purposed in one way or another.
Cheers, BB.
PS. Can you please furnish us with some more generalised photos of this machine for documentation purposes.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
I looked at it again today and it does have alloy side plates, I'm thinking this will make it better for home use being a bit lighter. It's still a heavy mower but I would like to know how much lighter than the cast iron Supercuts. It was purchased from the original owners who used it as a home mower all its life. Will definately get more photos to you if I decide to buy it. We have a guy around here doing full nut and bolt restorations on Supercuts and he sells them for $3K plus depending on what motor you want, Honda or Chonda. So there is a bit of a following in this area.
At that figure here in Adelaide all you'd cop is abusive emails / SMS's and phone calls all day long telling you that you're totally off your rocker, but that's here in Adelaide.
Honestly can't see anyone paying that for a Model 17, but whatever floats your boat I guess.
PS. BTW what did the previous owners replace it with ?
Cheers, BB.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
Replaced it with a massport, was getting to old to handle the weight of the supercut. People are paying ridiculous money for 45’s too so what else do you buy if you want a decent mower. Mow Masters cost $4500 plus, used Toro’s 3 - 4K so a fully reconditioned supercut for $3K is not a bad option.
Gee some of these people certainly know how to bluff buyers,
using a line like "purchased new this year", sounds like he was born yesterday, as these were last made around 1971. BTW I feel that this particular one may well be a converted Electric machine to petrol and that engine has a Reduction Gear drive attached to it.
Like I said previously, here in Adelaide that would just sit there for ever more as no one would even pay 3K for a 20 inch Series 1 Model 45 that's had the full treatment done to it, so a Supercut would be right out of the ball park here.
Basically Supercuts would fetch around $300 tops in this neighbourhood and for that it's got to be a mighty fine example. I do know of one that just recently busted the Adelaide glass ceiling at $320 though, but in saying that it was an 18 inch Villiers powered unit made in the mid to late 1960's.
Cheers, BB.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
I think he means new as in fully reconditioned. Didn’t notice the single clutch lever on this one must have been electric conversion. BB, show me a fully reconditioned Supercut or one in similar condition as the 2 above for $320 and I’ll buy it.
No one would do all that work and the put such a low figure on it would they ?
But in saying that, there is now a trend that's been started with the model 38 edger and as of late it's become the must have item to own, but as we all know crazes come and go and many folks get their hands burnt by getting caught up in these fads. It seems all one must do is get on the facebook pages and state something and all the disciples will fall like plums at their feet. It also depends on who actually makes the wild statement in the first instance.
For all the folks that know me personally they all know that I won't play the "blowin' smoke up one's backside" game.
I call it like I see it and I've been involved with these machines since the early 1980's. Sadly modern social media and influencers are just now the new way of making money, and I won't be a part of it.
Cheers, BB.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
BB, your first post said that the Supercut was the best cylinder mower that Scott Bonnar made. You then went on to tell me they are not worth anything more than $320 and in Adelaide you would be abused if you advertised a Supercut for $3K. I would have thought that someone needing something better than a 45, that a fully reconditioned Supercut would be a good choice, what else is available? The bloke (ex greens keeper) in my area rebuilds Supercuts only, to be used on larger blocks and has no trouble selling them for around $3K depending on Honda or Chonda motor choice. He’s not on the internet and doesn’t advertise and people seek him out for mowers, he’s been doing it for years well before the 45 craze began so no fad going on here. I didn’t come here to get smoke blown up my backside, I just wanted to find out a bit more info on the mower I was looking at buying. I have since found this post that explains the alloy side plates and drum model was built specifically for golf greens.
Re: Some Scott Bonnar History [by pmorison] The model 17 Supercut was built for professional turf conditions and had a cast iron side frame for tennis courts, cricket wickets and lawn tennis courts while the golf greens mower had machined cast aluminium side frames for lighter weight on greens. If the Supercut was still available today it would be one of the best mowers available. I was foreman of the production line when we roduced the last unit that was taken by the Kerry Packers group "World Series Cricket". I actually cut the oval before the 1st game of world series cricket with a Toro 7 gang Parkmaster and the Supercut was used to cut the wicket that was grown in a green houses in 2 12 yard tubs above ground with heat banks to grow the grass. The model 17 supercut had to be manually lifted up to cut the grass
I think you may have taken the whole tone of my posts the wrong way. I'm not for one moment having a go at you, nor the Model 17.
With all due respect, I'm merely stating facts as they are seen generally here in Adelaide. As I've previously stated the Supercut is best suited to straight running open sections of turf / grass and not tight smaller domestic gardens. Now you tell me that you have all these larger blocks in Horsham, well isn't that pretty much what I suggested ?
And yes I stand behind my statement that the Supercut was probably the best cylinder cut mower built for it's "purposed use" that it was intended for, but not for uses that it's not recommended for. Pretty much would you use a Helicopter to commute between Melbourne and Brisbane or alternatively use a Lear Jet ? I know what I would utilise.
Now regarding a comment you made above, "I didn’t come here to get smoke blown up my backside". Well you've come to the right place.
This is a trait that we're finding is a common issue with the Facebook pages where people want their ego stroked of what they've bought and who they are supporting is the "in thing". This is the type of social media that I won't be involved in as this is the new way of how many people quietly make money out of others. This is called "influencing"., again something I won't have anything to do with.
Now if I recall correctly that piece of text or similar you've quoted above was actually used in a Scott Bonnar brochure promoting the Supercut.
Money wise what you've quoted regarding different brands of machines and their costing pretty much can be reflected in the SC but the trend for many years has been that no one had any interest in the Model 17 probably due to it's very dated appearance, as such I'm not bagging it out but merely reporting what has been the experience for many Model 17 owners here on ODK, also one of our previous Moderators had a Model 17 for quite a number of years and he also couldn't part with it for any money and was prepared to simply gift it away. So am I the only person in Australia to have had this experience ??
I think not.
Cheers, BB.
PS. The penny's just dropped, I now know why Model 17's are so expensive in Horsham, it's because Horsham is the dearest place for fuel between Adelaide and Melbourne. LORL !!
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
Hi BB, one thing that intrigues me about this Horsham thing is growing lawns that need cutting with this type of mower requires a lot of water to keep them looking fresh enough to get the benefit of going to this trouble. I have no idea about their water supply but if it is like the rest of inland Australia I would think it they would not want to be using it for watering lawns
That's a really valid point. Not quite sure where Horsham gets it's water supply from but I'm guessing it's a healthier supply than inland NSW.
I will say though that Horsham is the first really major town on the Western Highway going towards Melbourne and certainly doesn't look like it's suffering the same fate as NSW townships are finding themselves in. There are quite a number of folks there that do quite a bit of nice garden work.
Cheers, BB.
***Update !
Norm, Horsham's water supply comes mainly from the Wimmera River system and the "Grampians Headworks Storage" where they have 11 reservoirs within their system. So it's seems pretty good I'd say.
Cheers, BB.
Last edited by Bonnar_Bloke; 07/10/1910:51 AM.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
