OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Question On Scott Bonnar Cylinder Mowers hello

hi guys, new member from adelaide.

we have just built a house in duwich, and the ladscaping just finished a couple of weeks back. laid some santa anna turf which has come up treat and necessitated the quick purchase of a mower. i picked up a 14" scott bonnar with a 2.5hp b&s motor, from a mates gran for a couple of bottles of wine. good condition with catcher, starts first time but could do with a tidy up, thus i joined the forum looking for some ideas and perhaps a little help. I hadn't realised till i did a bit of reading here that these things were in fact built in adelaide years back.

kind regards mike

(engine - model: 61202 type: 0144 01 code: 6806241) pics attached -

Welcome to the forum mate, no doubt Deejay will be along shortly to give you a proper run down on your machine, but with a good reel sharpen you'll be sure to be using that golf stick in the background for putting around the yard using that beatiful lawn and this mower joe.

Engine built on 24 June 1968. Here is the illustrated parts list for it:
http://bsintek.basco.com/BriggsDocumentDisplay/Z6jmsHVJ1DajI.pdf

The mower is a nice-looking example of an early (one piece engine-mounting deck) Scott Bonnar 45. I don't recall ever seeing one that early before with a Briggs and Stratton engine, of the right age to almost certainly be original equipment on that mower. It's a second design-generation engine, 2.25 hp (first generation 6 cubic inch engines were 2.0 hp). Now I'm wondering if it has the early (single sprag) or late (5 sprag) rewind starter. I know its predecessor, the 60102, had a single sprag starter in 1963. Anyway, it looks to me to be a nice collector's grade SB45, and the reel looks as if it has probably never been resharpened, so it has the potential for a long, long life ahead. However, Deejay is the man, he will look for small signs of non-originality if there are any. He'll inevitably ask you to post a picture of the sprockets, inside the chaincase, photographed horizontally so we can all look at the individual teeth to check for sprocket wear.

I think you've done extremely well there - I hope you give that nice mower a nice home.

Thanks for the info and kind words gentlemen. This might be a bit of a long shot but is there anywhere here in SA that you would recommend to service/sharpen/etc this fine machine?
attached are pics of the gear set and chains. thanks again. mike

not sure where you are though , but a place in gawler does a good job at a reasonable price , not too bad on parts either and helpfull with info when needed . not sure if i can name it so i wont cheers , Dave

Dave, naming recommended suppliers in a thread is a sort of borderline subject. It is best to do it in a Private Message to the person who asked, but if several people ask, it is OK in a thread. We may find a better formula than that - there are certainly people who want to know, but there are also people who don't want to be bombarded with supplier names in threads.

Miguel, thank you for the pictures - that will get Deejay away to a good start. Those sprockets do not seem to have had a great deal of wear - the chains should be cleaned and lubricated though, there is gritty residue around where the links overlap, which means there will also be grit around the pivot pins and that is a bad thing to have. I'm not clear on whether early SB45s normally have that idler to tension the primary chain - later ones have a nylon rubbing block to do the same job. I also thought the long brass nut that adjusts mowing height was usually unpainted, but I'm probably wrong.

None of my business, but do you use Havier as a last name because Australians always pronounce Javier incorrectly?

thought so yup , cheers grumpy

Hi Mike, and a warm welcome to the forum. It's great to have another Scott Bonnar owner on board.
As this thread was in the Introductions topic, I have moved it to the correct forum, as it was 'off topic'

Thankyou for posting the pics, it makes it easier to give you the correct advice.
I can tell you that the cutter sprocket and engine shaft sprocket are nearly at the end of their life and will need replacing in future.

To give you some background, the Scott Bonnar Model 45 was first introduced in 1968 and manufactured at the factory in Thebarton, South Australia.

This machine being the 14 inch cutting width version; was powered by a 2.25HP Briggs and Stratton (its bigger brothers, the 17" and the 20"were powered by the Kirby-Tecumseh HK30, 3HP engine....changing to Briggs and Stratton later in the production life)
I can tell you that your engine and chain tensioner are original to this model, as is the painted height control handle and that your machine is an early example of the 14" machine. Well done on a great score there mate!

Re: cylinder reel and bedknife sharpening, you should contact your local Bowling Club and ask to speak to the greenskeeper....they are usually a friendly bunch and will tell you who does their greens mowers reels.

Then all you have to do is remove your reel and soleplate complete with the bedknife still attached and forward them to the engineer who will do the spin grind for you (and supply and fit a new bedknife if necessary)
Instructions for the removal is contained HERE Please check the sticky topics in this forum, you will glean a lot of knowledge from them.
Please let us know how you get on.
Once again Mike, to OutdoorKIng.