OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Question On Scott Bonnar Cylinder Mowers How do I adjust cylinder on Scott Bonnar Model 17

Greetings. I have recently purchased a Honda powered Model 17.Supercut .I have it running, but am not cutting paper between cylinder and bottom blade. It seems there is a cylindrical 'nut' that you have to use a centrepunch to undo before you can move the top nut adjuster. Does anyone know what I am talking about?

Hi rayray, and a warm welcome to the forum.
It's always nice to have another Scott Bonnar owner on board.

Your Scotty (Model 17) Supercut was first introduced in 1950 and was considered the 'Rolls-Royce' of cylinder mowers in its day.

You should not require the use of a center-punch to remove anything on a Scotty.
What we require is for you to post some pics to help us to help you.
Instructions for posting pics using our forum 'Inline Uploader may be found HERE

Re: your cutting paper...please read the thread HERE

Looking forward to seeing your pics, and once again,
to OutdoorKing.

Hello rayray, Admin. Deejay and Contributors

rayray, the Supercut is a great mower!
Deejay, I don't want to interrupt your comments on the photo.
I can help with the adjustment instructions though ...

I have just started a Record on the Model 17, and have included the
instructions for setting the reel HERE.

Hope this helps.
------------------------------
JACK

I think there was a partial communication issue early in this thread. The device needed to rotate the reel adjusting nut (Item 3 in the instructions) is not a center punch but a pin punch, or a piece of steel rod of just the right diameter, or a drill bit of the right diameter provided you insert the plain end which normally goes into the drill chuck - do not insert the cutting end. The British traditionally called such devices "tommy bars". You will not be able to rotate the adjusting nut unless you have first loosened the central bolt (Item 2 in the instructions), directly above the adjusting nut but on the top of the mounting rail.

I recommend that you do some reading before you accept the direction in the instructions to bring the reel into light contact with the bedknife. Crude adjustment of this feature is probably the leading cause of blunt reels and bedknives. Whether you choose infinitely slight contact or no contact at all is a widely debated issue, but you never, never tolerate significant contact after the central bolt has been properly retightened. Note that you must have that bolt tight to be able to make any assessment of the adjustment.

If you are able to make the acquaintance of the greenkeeper of a bowls club, you may be able to actually watch him or her making the adjustment on a greens mower. However that is a boon that very few reel mower owners ever achieve - most have to learn the hard way, often blunting their reel a couple of times along the way. Personally I would not recommend watching someone at the local mower repairer making the adjustment, since most of them have never been taught to do it properly.

Hey thank you guys so much. I have been searching all over and found it hard to find much at all on the '17'
My particular mower is 20 inch, cast iron sided, with a Honda G42 engine . Do you think it has been repowered subsequently , or was the Model 17 still been manufactured in the early seventies?

Hello rayray,

I have just added model identification to the record HERE.

It is quite possible that your machine is completely original, but information
is lacking on the later years of production. Best guess is that these machines were
in production till about 1977.

The instructions I have included on the Model 17 page are totally suitable to your
machine, as there was little change over almost two decades - testament to its design.

Hope this helps.
-------------------------------
JACK.

Hi CyberJack,

There is also more models than you have shown on the link made.

Not sure if you had these.

Cheers,
BB

Hello BB,

Thanks for that correction
I don't know how I missed it... old age ...
I still have bladder control though ... hold on ... wai...

Cheers
---------------------------
JACK

Thanks Guys, you have got me gobsmacked, I have nothing else to add.....

Hi Deejay,

You Gobsmacked ??????????
Now that'll be the day.

Also for Jack, this was merely an addition and not meant to be a correction.
That's what we're all about isn't it ?

Cheers,
BB

Thank you Jack.
I have a couple of other questions.
Firstly, Are the appendages on the side of the mower that rotate with the roller designed to fit some transport wheels, and if so, what do they look like. ? Would they be available, or could I improvise and make something to do the same job. I am intrigued as to how they attach. I have attached a photo of the 'appendages' I amreferring to.
Secondly, is it true that the blade on my Supercut is reversible? If so, does that mean that the ground edge of the cylinder blade is ground at 90 degrees , rather than at a slight angle like other mowers to give a bit of relief. That would mean that it could be ground on a normal lathe bed rather than a special spiral job which grinds in a slightly different plane. Your comments would be appreciated.

Hello RayRay,

Yes, SB did offer transport wheels for some models. This carries [no pun] on the long tradition
of manufacturers of precision mowers in making available a carriage or wheels.
The main use was to transport machines between greens on golf courses, thus easing wear and
impact on the machine.

Until I get a full parts list up, I have included just the transport section here:

The SB units were sophisticated in that they were pneumatic tyred, and driven.
Differential action was incorporated by use of a ratchet arrangement on each wheel hub.
It also looks like a carrier frame (foot operated?) was used to lift the mower for the
wheels to be fitted and removed. There were LH and RH wheel assemblies.





None, of course, are available new.
My suggestion: if you don't need to transport your machine over rough ground,
keep the dummy fittings. If you cannot find a s/h set then, perhaps you could
make a set of un-driven wheels running on roller axle extensions, but you
would also have to think about a stand to lift the rear roller.

Now, the reel on Supercuts is reversible; the bottom blade is not.
Because your machine does not have a commercial workload, my suggestion is
that the reel is not reversed between grinds. Second, looking at the photo, your reel
definitely needs a grind. The most common practice is to put a relief angle on
the reel and the bottom blade. However, remember, if you have the reel ground
with relief, it can only be inserted in the machine the correct way, according
to the direction the reel was sharpened.

Hope this helps.
-------------------------------
JACK

I had an electric Model 17 and I am 99.8% sure the reel only went in one way.

I thought it was the Queen that has the ability to remove the reel and turn it around to run in the opposite direction.

Hello Simrice,

The Supercuts right from the first models - had reversible reels.
They may not have looked reversible because the drive sprocket had to be
separately reversed as well.

Here is an extract from an electric machine brochure.



Cheers.
--------------------------
JACK

Greetings, your Kiwi friend here again.
I took your advice and have had the reel and bottom blade professionally sharpened.The tradesman said the blades were 'as hard as hell' and he had to dress his grinding wheel a couple of times to do it. They were a bit rusty, and he had to take quite a bit off the bottom, so I have ended up with a shaver blade !
My question is, upon reassembly I have noticed that there are two springs , one on each side, that I think sit inside the collar that you use for adjustment of the reel. The way they seem to be designed, looks like the springs are not really doing anything, as the collar screws rigid on to the bronze bearing housing at the bottom, and the top gets tightened up against the steel mounting blocks that are held on by two bolts. Am I assembling it correctly? Your comments would be appreciated. One other thing, on the photo above( maybe its below, I have lost it) the two bolts that hold the metal rectangular block in place are didderent. One weems to screw into a threaded portion on the block and the other requires a nut. Is that correct, or has my machine been butchered at some time. It also looks like the bolt that holds the block on the chain side has a thinner head to give clearance for the chain,so I guess that is where I should fit that one.
Thank you boys.

Hello RayRay

The springs provide more sensitive adjustment and absorb shocks.
They do sit inside the adjustment collars.
Hopefully, a Model 17 owner will confirm the arrangement.



Hope this helps.
----------------------------------
JACK

Thank you Jack. Yes it does. They certainly do facilitate adjustment , but I was thinking that I had assembled it wrongly in that I thought the blade was some how sprung loaded to have a bit of give if it hit something hard, but they didn't seem to do that. I was thinking back to an old mower , a Villiers I think, that had a sprung bottom blade as a bit of a protective device.
I am not doing a full restoration by any means, but have cleaned it all up, getting everything working, and hoping to have my first mow within a week. I bought the mower not going and am having a lot of pleasure in seeing the quality build as I work on it.
Will add a photo or two later. Thanks once again.

Hello RayRay,

That's all good news.
You're quite right about some reel mowers having springs for reel protection.
On your machine, that would be achieved in the transmission via belt drive
to the motor.

Obviously, a shaver blade is not really suitable for residential lawns, so
the trick will be not to cut too low in the initial cuts, and then bring the
height gradually down to the intended height of cut.

A photo or two would be welcome when you're ready.

Best of Supercut mowing!
------------------------------
JACK

I don't want to appear a Show-off, but it looks like the Attachment hooks on my Supercut are made of BRONZE !
I guess Gold would have been too heavy