So, I Mowed The Lawn Today......

[Misty_Morning]

Yes, I got up at the crack of 11AM and went out to mow the lawn.

My Dad is visiting and yesterday he was "fixin" my lawnmower.

He replaced the blades and made some "adjustments".

Except he didn't put the new blades on.

So, I had to wait for him to get back from church to find out what was going on.

Seems the blade he got to replace the blades didn't quite fit. So he had to go get a file to make them fit.

Meanwhile I did the trim work.

FINALLY I got to mow the lawn. And his tweekin fucked my mower. It took nearly 3 hours when normaly it takes 40 minutes to mow, trim and blow the trimmings into someone elses lawn.

I was not a happy camper.

But...hey...ya know...

After showering and a few beers... I got on the net and found the blades that I need.

I asked him not to "fix" anything else.


This is going to be a long strange trip indeed.....

 

[starrkers]

But the lizards are rejoicing

 

[Misty_Morning]

But the lizards are rejoicing

Yeah, but I did take out a few grasshoppers....

 

[TE999]

Unless lawnmower blades are balanced properly, they thrash the grass rather than cut it, hence your overlong lawn mowing. Also, one size blade does not fit all and you run the risk of damaging your crankshaft.

Hire the neighbors kid to do it until the right blades arrive.

 

[damppanties]

Yeah, but I did take out a few grasshoppers....

Dammit. Are we going to have to start a grasshopper support group now?!

 

[Misty_Morning]

Already ordered the blades....

They are for a honda Quadra cut mulcher.

I paid nearly $700 for the mower 4 years ago. It worked fine 2 weeks ago.

Gonna replace the blades and then take it in to the fix it shop for a tuning up.


I think I heard the lizards celebrating earlier.....

 

[SlickTony]

We've got a strange problem going on with our lawnmower. Engine works fine, blades work fine, there are HOLES IN THE DECK. Is it worth searching for a new deck or should we just resign ourselves to replacing what's otherwise a perfectly good lawnmower? (In the meantime my husband is going to put duct tape on the holes. I'd thought epoxy but he says the holes are too big.)

 

[DesertPirate]

We've got a strange problem going on with our lawnmower. Engine works fine, blades work fine, there are HOLES IN THE DECK. Is it worth searching for a new deck or should we just resign ourselves to replacing what's otherwise a perfectly good lawnmower? (In the meantime my husband is going to put duct tape on the holes. I'd thought epoxy but he says the holes are too big.)

You need to remove the caked up clippings from the bottom of the deck after mowing. They hold water and rust the deck. A rinse wouldn't hurt it will dry fast if clean. If you can't find a usable deck at a local shop you will need to replace it. The deck is just like the frame on a car, it holds the whole works together.

30 years off and on as a mechanic, 11 years as a golf course mechanic, finally pays off

 

[Elianna]

This is why I pay people to mow my lawn:

1) The gas STINKS
2) I get all itchy from the grass
3) My vaccuum is self-propelled why can't the mower be?
4) I hate edging
5) One of the guys who mows my lawn is HOT! MEEEOOOWWW

 

[Weird Harold]

We've got a strange problem going on with our lawnmower. Engine works fine, blades work fine, there are HOLES IN THE DECK. Is it worth searching for a new deck or should we just resign ourselves to replacing what's otherwise a perfectly good lawnmower? (In the meantime my husband is going to put duct tape on the holes. I'd thought epoxy but he says the holes are too big.)

You're both right -- sort of.

If I didn't want to go down to AutoZone and pick up a fiberglass body patch kit to fill the holes right, epoxy layered over duct tape works just fine.

The Pirate is right about cleaning the clipping out and the structural integrity considerations, but as long as the majority of the deck is solid and not rusting out around the motor mounting, the holes can be patched and filled with with "Bondo" or other body filler/patch products from an auto supply store.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Misty

In defense of your daddy, there was a time when people actually fixed their mowers and cars and appliances at home. Repairs didnt require rocket-science diplomas or space-age parts.

One reason the Russians competed so well with American technology was the simplicity of their military equipment. Any fool could repair it with basic tools and parts.

 

[Handprints]

In defense of your daddy, there was a time when people actually fixed their mowers and cars and appliances at home.

The loss of which should cause more regrets than it does. I passed entire chunks of first-year university calculus because I could visualise odd shapes spinning on a multi-axis lathe. Large oil company divisions only make sense to me because I grew up taking engines apart. I'm not knocking the digitisation of white-collar work but I'm unclear how anyone under 30 develops an intuitive understanding (or at least appreciation for) things like physics, engineering, metallurgy et al, when every motorised thing they see has a sealed engine and modular replacement parts.

Also, they don't get the fun of owning a VW Rabbit with a hemi engine.

H

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

HANDPRINTS

Youre correct. You cant cultivate an intuitive sense of things unless you play with them.

The problem is: If the techno gadgets arent available, youre screwed unless you have the right-brain sense to reveal the problem and a solution. Like you I can visualize complex things in my head, because I spent years and years learning developmental geometry plus making 3 dimensional objects from flat patterns I created.