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| American made lawn mower! |
This lawn mower was made at the American Lawn Mower Co. I love the name of the company. And, I love this mower ... as much as any girl can love a lawn mower.
When we moved here 2 1/2 years ago, our kind neighbor across the street brought this over and I think Gene gave him $10 for it. I was thrilled to pieces about it. I used one of these to mow the lawn when we lived in Seattle for a brief time when I was about 10 years old.
We also have a gas powered lawn mower that the same neighbor gave to Gene for $20 but I refuse (emphasis added) to use it. I'm hoping he'll clean it up and put it in the yard sale we're having in a couple of weeks. It's taking up space and I will never use it as long as I have this baby.
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| Blade sharpening compound |
Yesterday, I got this mower out and finally got to sharpen its blades. I had purchased a sharpening kit last year on Amazon.com and have been itching to use it. Gene helped me get the wheel off and we placed the mower in a vise. I then painted onto the blades this really gritty, pretty turquoise colored compound which is very abrasive and then Gene used his power drill to turn the blades so the compound sharpens the blades against the bottom metal plate. He also showed me how to adjust the blades so they are as close to the bottom plate as possible so as to cut the grass evenly.
After sharpening the blades, I was very happy to mow the lawn yesterday as it was in bad need of it and I got to be outside just a little longer. I was thinking of my friend, Jane, and how proud she'd be of me outside getting my hands dirty, sharpening those blades.
Although I had no idea how this simple mower works, I watched Gene pull the wheel off and then inside the wheel is a simple gear that makes the wheels turn the blade. Such simple technology. I helped him with the whole process so I feel confident that the next time those blades need sharpened, I can do it.
With the price of gas fast approaching $4 a gallon, I'm even more thrilled to own this mower. Mostly, using it reminds me of those days when I was 10 years old, living in Seattle. My dad could send us out to mow the lawn and not worry about us getting hurt by a gas-powered engine that spits rocks out and makes a lot of noise.
You can still buy American made products. These babies go for just a little over $100 and are very low maintenance. They store really easy and for me, it's one less thing I have to put expensive gas into. I can mow my lawn late in the day and not tick off my neighbors.
I wish I had a franchise on these ... I'd sell you and your neighbor one!
love, susan
Not to me I'm afraid....we have a big yard and I quite like my gas powered, automatic lawnmower (the kind you don't actually have to push, it moves forward on it's own, not sure what that is called.) It's STILL work to use it and we have to use it a lot - with all the rain we get our grass grows fast.
ReplyDelete@ Kathy - Self-propelled ~ I think that's what you're talking about. Yeah, if you have a big landscape, a non-motorized, push-mower would not be a good sell. I imagine in Juneau you probably have to mow almost twice a week. I can get away with once a week here. I do love mowing though! It takes me about 30 minutes to do both front and back lawn. Good exercise ~ I always feel better after mowing!
ReplyDeleteThose old mowers live deep in my memory. When I was little, our neighbor used one of those - even when everyone else was buying the power mowers. In my mind, I can still hear the way it sounded as the blades spun and the grass flew out of it. Our property is fairly large, so Steve would never agree to a push mower. But if I was still living in my townhouse in PA (with the small back yard), I'd opt for one of those!
ReplyDeleteWow... seeing that mower was like stepping back in time. I remember using one of those when I was a kid too! I like the sound it makes as it snips across the grass.
ReplyDeleteMy husband hates yard work, and I rarely have time to take care of a yard, so we live in a condo now.
Yes, I am so proud of you!! Sharpening your own lawn mower blades??? That's something even I wouldn't do!!! You are some kind of woman, my friend. ~smile~
ReplyDeleteActually our neighbor first sold me the power mower, and then I saw the other one and asked how much he wanted for that. He looked at me like I was nuts, as he could not understand why anyone would want it. He just said, "Hell, just take it, I will never use it." We had the opposite situation at our house. Susan has never used the gas powered one. So I will most likely be offing that one. The push mower does push with about half the effort a gas rotary mower, that is NOT self-propelled. The cutting action is actually much better then a rotary, as it actually "cuts" like a pair of scissors rather then whacking the grass and in many cases laying parts of it down. Much more even cutting.
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