I have recently purchased a Scotty 45, 20 inch cut, 3hp B&S four stroke. It's mechanical condition seems to be good, though paint deteriorated in places, surface rust on the bars, a dinged up catcher and a couple of dents in the front roller. The seller claims that it had a full service 2 months ago, inc blades sharpened and set costing him $150.
I have intentions of giving it a makeover but first I�m keen to get as much info as possible on the machine before I pull anything apart.
Any info or advice from anyone would be appreciated.
Q1)I have no idea how old the machine is? Q2)As far as spare parts go who can I go to locally in Brisbane Queensland? Q3)Does it matter that the front roller has a couple Dents in it? Q4)Any other trivial information on the model? Q5)Reasonable purchase for $300 you think? (too late now anyway..)
I have attached some pics. Only two, as that is max allowed,, Will attach more on another thread..
There are several resident gurus on S-B roller mowers. At least one of them - probably Deejay - is bound to respond to your questions shortly.
Some of the parts for those mowers are readily available and some are not. So far as the dented front roller is concerned, it depends mostly on whether the roller is deformed, so the mower bumps up and down when you roll it along a smooth surface: this could make it mow the lawn in bumpy fashion also.
Your rotating blade (cylinder) seems to have seldom if ever been resharpened, which means there is plenty of meat on it for future sharpening. This is a good thing, since they are expensive to replace. The rust on the outermost surface of the cylinder seems well-established, which does not entirely match the claim that it was sharpened and adjusted only two months ago. However I have not seen the mower itself, and am not accusing the seller of misleading you.
As you said, the mower has some cosmetic deterioration and you have to expect this at its age, but externally it looks rather good. I'll leave the dating to Deejay - he can make an estimate from the serial number, though I do not think specific data exist. However if you look at the cooling air cowl on the Briggs and Stratton engine, you will find a very long series of numbers stamped on it. If you post that series of numbers we can tell you the year and month the engine was manufactured. If it is the original engine you will then know the approximate build date of the mower.
The Roller is only dented inwards in 3 small spots, the biggest being the size of a 10c piece. It doesn't seem deformed outwards which is a good thing and seems to roll ok..
As for the engine no. I can make out the following: Model: 80202 Type: 1735-01 Code: 82111901
At closer inspection it looks like the cutting edge is wearing in 2 spots, one side by about 1mm and the other side by about .5mm
When turning the cylinder two out of the 6 blades touch the cutting edge where it is wearing. The wearing points on the cutting edge are at opposite ends. Seems to be indicating an uneven machined cylinder by a few thou. Will the cylinder require a clean up? Also it does not cut paper as suggested, but i don't want to lower the adjustment anymore due to making a mess of the cutting edge (hope thats the right terminology..)
To remove the cylinder for clean up if neccessary, i see two end caps that have to be removed. How does the cylinder then be removed from the drive sprocket and lifted out of the machine?
The engine on the mower was made in 1982 and the damage to the roller should not affect the cutting.
As to the cylinder I would be removing it and the bottom blade in order to have them reground. The removal is fairly simple, all you need to do is remove the chain sprocket and then remove the bolts holding the bearings in for the cutting cylinder.
Then remove the end that does not have the sprocket on it and it will slide out fairly easily.
Regards,
Bruce
Please do not PM me asking for support. Post on the forums as it helps all members not just the individual.
Hi Craig and a big warm welcome to the forum. It's always nice to welcome another Scott Bonnar owner. We all love to learn new things and tinker here, and you will find us a friendly bunch. Re your questions, unfortunately I have to go out this afternoon, but I will try and answer your queries tonight when I get home. Once again
Please do not PM me asking for support. Please post your questions in the appropriate forums, as the replies it may receive may help all members, not just the individual member. Kindest Regards, Darryl
Craig, from your description the cylinder requires resharpening and to get a good result you will need to have the bed knife (stationary blade) resharpened at the same time. You can find out who has the required skill and equipment by finding out who sharpens the blades for your local bowling club. Meanwhile do not adjust the bedknife - it is too close to the cylinder already. When cylinder and bed knife are both sharp, you can adjust the mower so it will cut paper for the full width of every blade, without the fixed and moving blades touching each other anywhere, ever. However, listen to the advice you will get from Deejay on this - if you are going to restore the mower, you will need to paint the cylinder before sharpening it, then begin cleaning it after each use so the ground edges do not rust.
Hi Craig, You have been given good advice by grumpy and Bruce, however if you intend restoring the machine, sharpening the reel and bottom- blade (complete with it's holder),I would recommend, be taken to the engineer during the resto process, so as when the frame (chassis) is complete, the reel assembly will be ready to re-install.
Please do not PM me asking for support. Please post your questions in the appropriate forums, as the replies it may receive may help all members, not just the individual member. Kindest Regards, Darryl
Hi Craig, now to answer your questions, (1). As your machine has the later style handle-bar SB logo,(which was the last SB logo used before the take over by Rover) and the fact that the Briggs was manufactured in 1982 I would hazard a guess that your machine is approximately 28 years old. Your machine is a Model 45, Model No: 450431, Mower No: 20993. The model number designates the cutting width, in your case, 20".
(2). As Rover Australia itself has gone down the gurgler,and the Model 45 is no longer being manufactured, spare parts may be hard to source in Brisbane. However, there are 2 businesses in Victoria that have an extensive range of parts for them, as well as the Outdoorking on-line store here.
(3) The front roller should not be an issue with small dents in it, but if you are going to restore it to original condition, the roller plastic end caps and the metal tube can be replaced easily....Have a look at Deviosi's restored Scotty...click HERE He has replaced the roller sleeve....
(4)For some Scott Bonnar history and trivia, click HERE
(5) Your purchase price of $300 is a good buy for a 20" machine considering that they retailed at $1600 back in '82. However, it is hard to appraise your machine from the pics, and from what you have posted, I'm guessing that the cylinder reel and bedknife has not been serviced in a long time and will need to be done by an engineer. Click HERE to see how it is done plus subsequent posts.
Regarding painting of the cylinder reel, I had mine sand blasted then immediately (to prevent rust) powder-coated in "Fire Engine Red", prior to sharpening.
If you do intend to restore, you will find that an illustrated parts list will come in handy, you can download one from the Parts List and Manuals topic. Access to this area is by subscription and is explained fully in the thread "How to Access Parts Lists and Manuals" which is the very first thread in any topic on the main forum list. Hoping this is of help to you Craig,
Please do not PM me asking for support. Please post your questions in the appropriate forums, as the replies it may receive may help all members, not just the individual member. Kindest Regards, Darryl
Just from the last couple of threads alone i have learnt alot!
Tezza, dead right mate. Me being a novice and all i actually believed him,, though after closer inspection i understand that the reel and bedknife have not had any attention for some time. He may well of had the reel sharpened and set though not used it for sometime as indicated by the rust. It is clear to me now that the old girl needs a clean up! Salesman are salesman I guess and he got me! But for $300 i still thought i was getting a reasonable buy..?? Granted i need to spend a few more dollars to get her to a clean cutting standard!
The bedknife consists of a fairly thin piece of spring steel, attached by many small screws to a sizeable chunk of cast iron (the holder) which is in turn attached to the mower by its two end-pivots. The spring steel can only be sharpened while attached to its own holder, or it has no particular shape. The assembled bedknife is quite rigid, and can be ground flat by supporting the holder by its two end-pivots. The screws attaching the spring steel to the holder should never be loosened, tightened or adjusted by the owner: otherwise the spring steel will take on a different shape, and have to be ground again.
yep take of the 4 bolts holding the bottom blade and sole plate (thats what its called)
$50+ for the cylinder and bed knife grind and then you gota get new bearings which are less then $10 each from your local bearing centre, - unless you want genuine scott bonnar bearings. the reason you will need new bearings, is because even if the bearing moves 1 mm you will never be able to correclt line up the cylinder to the bedknife.
Are there any other important things to be aware of when reassembling the reel in the end caps - besides ensuring they are clean and free from foreign bodies..
The process has finally started. Every nut, bolt, bearing etc dissembled, all parts and frame have been sandblasted. First coat of etch primer on, second coat of galmet rust paint on, waiting to dry for final two coats of hammertone green which I had made up at my local panel shop paint supplier with a sample. The handle bars are now at the electroplaters after many hours of sanding back to bare metal with emry paper and a wire wheel on grinder due to rust. Reel has been painted a briggs and Stratton orange. I made this colour myself by mixing a Signal Red and a Golden Yellow Galmet epoxy rust paint. All painting has been done with a gun and compressor.
I have been hunting around and am very close to finding someone for the reel and bed knife sharpening before reassembling. So the ball is rolling there.
Replacing all bearings, that is; rear main roller bearings X2, cutting reel bearings X2, large sprocket X1, medium sprocket X1, inside clutch cone where spring is X1, clutch shaft housing / retainer at chain end X1.
So far, $100 for re-chroming the handle bars, $35 carton of beer for sandblasting (mind you I had another quote for $150 elsewhere), hammertone green paint was free as I knew the paint supplier, Galmet yellow and red and etch primer paint I already had. Yet to buy bearings, couple new nuts and bolts, tin of chrome paint for small accessories, heat proof paint for exhaust, and resharpen reel and bedknife. So there are a few dollars still ahead of me yet. All consumables like thinners, wd 40 etc, thread locker, bearing retainer etc I already have so I�m lucky there. If anyone is not to sure about a resto, (like I was) all this must be considered along with all the tools to do the job, time and patience. I am thoroughly enjoying it though and can�t wait to put it all back together�. Hoping that I remember where it all goes!
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