OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums The History Forum Model Histories UK & EUROPEAN Power Reel Models QUALCAST - Commodore - c1960

Hello ODK history lovers

The Qualcast Commodore was a 14-inch reel lawnmower made by the British
Qualcast Group and it entered service in the UK in about 1960. It was an
updated version of the Suffolk Punch (c1954) … with Qualcast having
acquired the Kaufmann Group of companies – owners of the Suffolk Foundry -
in 1958.

Qualcast’s first use of the Suffolk 14” design would have been the
Qualcast Royal Blade De Luxe of c1958. That machine was powered by
a JAP 2-stroke engine. The Commodore would be powered by the brilliant
little Suffolk 4-stroke engine – the 75G – but shared all the other features of
the Suffolk Punch, and then the Qualcast Royal Blade derivative.



In Australia, Qualcast was a key player in the inter-war years,
but it lost its way post-WWII. During the UK’s re-building phase,
Qualcast designs were really interwar designs, and they were
showing their age by the mid-1950s!

It was only through acquisitions that the Qualcast Group maintained
its position as a key player in the UK and Europe. In Australia, there
was too much competition from AUS-made mowers. New post-WWII
designed pushies from Pope and Ogden, and brilliant designs from
Scott Bonnar marginalised Qualcast here.

Qualcast’s early rotaries were USA inspired and lacked features
being developed on these shores. Australia led the world in rotary
lawnmower designs at this time.

Nonetheless, the Commodore was part of Qualcast’s modern 1960’s
fleet – the Commodore, Captain and Admiral. These were lighter
‘lightweights’, combining lighter steel plate, pressed steel, and alloy
components. This fleet had dual clutches and were quality designs.

TO BE CONTINUED …

PART TWO – Features
The Suffolk-based Qualcasts were great, solid designs.
The Commodore was a dual clutch design, but with the landroll
plate clutch reliant on the primary engine cone clutch being
engaged for roller drive. The primary clutch was engaged by
a lever located at the handle crossbar.

There are a couple of issues here. The first is the lack of a
deadman control on the roller drive. The machine could easily
drive itself. The second issue is the lack of any differential action
on the rear roller. This was a one-piece steel roller that would
scuff on tight turns.

On the plus side, this machine had good serviceability – the reel
could be removed without frame dismantling, and the reel had
self-aligning bearings.

An uncommon feature were the ‘swathe indicators’ on the catcher…
this was a domestic mower! Folks do drink at home ...


SOURCE: https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/173932634

The brochure I have is a challenging design – involving a trifold and
then a double fold design – a very large brochure [50cm x 24cm]
in a compact package [20cm x 12cm]. It’s a bugger to scan and
reproduce. You get the idea here …



The gallery below covers the main stuff. Note the address of Qualcast (Aust)
Sales Pty Ltd … this was Ogden Industries. Qualcast was being distributed in
Australia by Ogden at this time.

PART THREE - Manual
This manual comes courtesy of the Old Lawnmower Club.
It’s a large manual dating to about 1962, and covers operation,
maintenance and spare parts. Part 1 covers operating and
maintenance; Part 2 covers spare parts.