OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Reel-Type Mowers Double SB45 restoration

bb,
because it looks better IMO
yes, and his father in law also made up the new deflector plate out of the same heavier gauge zinc plated steel. not sure the green i used is period specific either way.

the 1970's decals looked cheap and understated compared to the 1960's decals.

i like to think it was rebuilt better than new so sticking with original colours and decals would not be true, especially with a new engine.

Hi Mikeo,

Yes He's pretty good (Dennis that is). I think that particular 20 inch catcher was originally manufactured for me but some how negotiations broke down over shipping. Sadly shipping is just so over rated nowadays and most times ends up costing more than the item itself does.
BTW the colour choice wasn't a criticism, rather more so merely a question as to why the colour change.

Regardless, it looks superb and will give someone many years of trouble free mowing.

Cheers,
BB

This isn't really relevant, but that's the prettiest SB45 I've seen.

Hello all

I've got to agree with Grumpy, it's a very nice job indeed.
That's a very pretty 'Bonnar green' too! I personally like the
old chaincase logo - a machine with something old; something new.
I bet that engine is a sweet little runner!

Smooth operator.
-------------------------------
JACK

Thanks very much BB, grumpy, Jack!!

I'm just planning out the 17" rebuild, the reel is in fair condition, bends and broken bits(repairable). its more cost efficient to buy a nice new 8 blade reel and bed bar with new knife good to go from OPE, so I was wondering if there was a market for the old reel and bed bar? and what sort of dollars they should sell for?

in the front roller bar assembly where the height adjuster bolts through, the hole seems flogged out so roller assembly can move up and down. probably not critical to lawn height but still could be worth welding up and re-drilling for tight fit. anyone else done this?

i don't think i will paint the front and rear rollers on the 17" knowing it will be put to use regularly and will wear off quick. I can't think of any other surface treatments that would be strong enough other than rubber lagging?

Hi Mikeo,

Honestly I don't really get it ? why would you spend an extra $50 on the sole plate if yours is OK and not cracked or bent out of shape. For standard lawn work you're not going to have anything better with an 8 blade reel opposed to the standard 6. If yours can be repaired and has plenty of life left on it then that's the way I'd go. It all depends on what contacts you have at your disposal I guess as my reel sharpening and bed knife replacement and machining only costs me $75, so you can see why I wouldn't go down the road you're thinking of.

I've just scrolled back to your original photos you put up and your bed knife is very serviceable indeed with a couple of machinings still left its belt and that reel could be easily repaired and thus save you quite a bit of money that could be required on the machine itself.

Yes I'm a tad frugal.

Cheers,
BB

Cheers,
BB

Hi Mikeo,
Congrats on a fantastic looking mower. That 3.5 with the red cowl is just the perfect engine and have to say looks like it should always have been there. I also love the old school decals as they do look better but I did succumb to peer pressure and purchased the later style ones! Look forward to the 17".

The 17" resto is stalling a little at the moment. I've been doing some investigation into making it a groomer/verticutter setup as other members have done on here. I've done some 3D models of some ideas based on whats commercially available. I managed to clear a lot of space in my shed so now easily have 3 mowers stored in there which means the push to sell the 20" machine is less from the wife. I managed to get a hold of a worn out 17" reel which I intend on removing the blades and plates and using the shaft as the base to mount new vertical blades on.

At this stage I will also be keeping with the original 3HP b&s motor. I combined the best parts of the two that I had and i must say the engine is running beautifully, even starting first pull!!

I have wintergreen couch and during summer months up here in Brisbane it thatches up very quickly and leads to scalping the lawn which is my main desire for a groomer mower. Just to try and limit the horizontal growth and clear out some of the thatch. Thats the plan anyway.

Hello mikeo

Yep, it's amazing how lawns can be improved with regular de-thatching.
Here is a post you might be interested in:

https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=64804#Post64804

(One of the cartridges may be cheap enough for the components you need)
Please keep us informed of any progress.

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

Here is a couple of pics from the 3d model i've been working on. I was planning on getting the blades laser cut out of 1.2mm thk mild steel and folding out the three fins on each blade. The fins act as spacers between each blade as well as generating the wind effect to clear debris. I also went with a slotted hole to mount on shaft to be able to replace individual blades if damaged without having to remove the assembly. I was going to weld each blade to the next on the fold out flaps, and weld every 5th or 6th blade to the shaft. not huge amounts of welds, just tacks.

The quotation for the blades to be laser cut from 1.2mm thk mild steel sheet is $2.55 each. I need around 44 blades for the assembly so would order 15 or so for spares.

It seems verticutter blade spacing is around 1" and groomers around 1/4" so I was going to space these around 3/8" which is somewhere in between.

Hello Mikeo,

I can't really comment on the blade design or the spacing (I have no idea).
I can say that the pricing (for laser cutting) is way below any retail price for
commercial cutter blades.

It appears to me, for residential use, mild steel blades are the way to go.
At your pricing, a replacement set after a couple of seasons would be very economical.

p.s. I love your generated drawings. I'm a cad when it comes to those things

We look forward to following your progress here.

All very interesting.
--------------------------------
JACK

surprised no one else had any comments about the blade design?

Hi mikeo,

You seem surprised ? I'm gob smacked that there hasn't been any activity regarding Scotty's full stop.

In regards to your grooming reel, I want to have one 17 machine purely dedicated to this function and a couple of others for just normal cutting. So how much do you think it would be all up to make one reel to slide straight in to a 17 inch machine ?

Cheers,
BB

BB, I got hold of an old 17 inch reel as a donor for the shaft for $35, plus blades is $150ish all up for materials. Cutting apart old reel and welding is my time. A lick of red paint ought to finish it off. Its not too big and outlay to get a one made up as a prototype. I'm doing some work for a machinery company at the moment which is getting a lot of 1.2mm plate laser cut so I may be able to get some blades cut out of leftover bits for less dollars.

Design is based on having soul plate installed but no bedknife, so as in your case, my case would be as a dedicated groomer set up, leaving the 20" for cutting duties.

Hi mikeo,

I've got plenty of 17 inch machines laying around here (about 20 of them to be accurate) and one of them has a totally buggered reel (blades only damaged) so I could use that machine as the groomer and remove that reel for the transformation.

This would lower the cost by $35 I'd say.

Cheers,
BB

BB,

As I make the necessary modifications to the reel I will try my best to document the steps on film

I still need to pick up a 17" catcher off Dennis too.

I will weigh in on this discussion as I have made a similar reel.

I initially went with a tri-blade configuration, and while it worked well at every low HOC (less than 6mm) as soon as the lawn got too thick it tended to chop and rip rather that cut smoothly. Think of it like an actual saw blade; more cutting tips equates to a smoother finer cut.

Also, I would be pretty wary of having a fast rotating assembly (potentially under a fair degree of stress) without the all the blades physically attached to it. Personally, I think there is a potential for a blade to detach.

100% of the verticutters that I have seen have been mounted on a shaft (hex, square etc) and secured such that there is almost zero chance of blade detachment short of a catastrophic failure.

Just my 2c.

I have had some blades laser cut out of 2mm mild steel and tracked down some 10mm spacers through Golf and Bowling Melbourne. I went with slightly thicker material encase I want to do some deeper verticutting into the soil.

It is now a dead-ringer for devosi's reel, except for the cut-outs in the blade to help clear debris.

Simon

That looks an absolute ripper ! pardon the pun.

Cheers,
BB

Thanks for the input simrice. I'll take all those good points on board and have another play around with it.