The ultimate lawnmower

Hi folks,

Just thought you might like to see some pictures of a particularly cool lawnmower. A neighbour kindly gave me this machine because he had seven of them...

1947 Dennis Bros. "Z Type" lawnmower:
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It dates from the days when British engineering truly was great. Weighs almost 700 lbs. Needs a new carburettor and a repaint, but the compression is good so I'm hoping to have it working for the mowing season.

I'm looking forward to it. Modern mowers can't touch this monster :-).

Enjoy!

Chris

Reply to
Christopher Tidy
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What exactly does it do?

i
Reply to
Ignoramus24392

Ignoramus24392 fired this volley in news:Eo6dnSmPXswAghPUnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

Iggy, that conformation will only be a flail or a reel mower. Given the drive ratios for the traction drive vs. the cutter drive, it appears to be a reel mower.

The OP was wrong. There are several good gas powered reel mowers available today. They use them to mow golf greens.

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

I've seen most of them. At least, most which are available in England. They're mostly the descendants of this machine. They're good. Very good compared to everything else in production today (and for the record, they're not the mowers I was talking about in my original post). But not quite great, in the way that this mower is an example of the finest and most durable craftsmanship. The manufacturers compromise more with the latest machines, even the high end ones, and they aren't built with the same classic style. If you don't believe me, do you think they'll still be around in 62 years?

Best wishes,

Chris

Reply to
Christopher Tidy

Nice pix, Chris. Nice neighbour to just give it to you! British engineering IS great. Hats off to GB for giving us the steam engine and Rolls razor.

Just thought you might like to see some pictures of a particularly cool lawnmower. A neighbour kindly gave me this machine because he had seven of them...

1947 Dennis Bros. "Z Type" lawnmower:
formatting link
It dates from the days when British engineering truly was great. Weighs almost 700 lbs. Needs a new carburettor and a repaint, but the compression is good so I'm hoping to have it working for the mowing season.

I'm looking forward to it. Modern mowers can't touch this monster :-).

Enjoy!

Chris

Reply to
Robert Swinney

Christopher Tidy fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@cantabgold.net:

England.

Chris, there are _necessary_ tradeoffs for specific applications. You can't mow a golf green with a 700-lb behemoth using a crimping roller for the traction drive. It would carve the green to ribbons!

Yes, I agree. Some old technology was better built, if only because they didn't know or didn't have the materials to build lighter, smaller, tighter. But metallurgy is MUCH better today than when that was built. When's the last time you saw a car that needed a valve job every 40K miles?

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

IS great. Hats off to

This machine certainly dates from that era. Those two big forged clutch levers operate cone clutches. You can see them under the cover next to the gearbox and 600 cc engine. They feel like something off a steam engine. Each of the clutches must weigh a good 10 pounds. You've really got to see this machine to appreciate it. If you're ever in England, let me know... :-).

The neighbour said I was doing him a favour as he had so many. Once it's running, I'm going to invite him over to see it in action.

Best wishes,

Chris

Reply to
Christopher Tidy

Are golf greens that much different to cricket pitches? I've seen this exact type of mower in use on cricket pitches.

Sure, technology improves. Hardened valve seats are great. It's just a shame we don't seem to be able to have all the good stuff at the same time!

Best wishes,

Chris

Reply to
Christopher Tidy

Christopher Tidy fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@cantabgold.net:

The entire surface (if well done) is hard-packed sand with a scant 1/8" to 3/16" of grass thickness above. That "ravioli maker" on the back of the Dennis would indent the base further than the height of the grass, and make putting "interesting" to say the least.

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

On Sat, 07 Feb 2009 17:56:13 -0600, the infamous Ignoramus24392 scrawled the following:

Silly wabbit. It appears to be a self-powered, self-bagging reel type mower on steroids. Don't you know?

-- Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity. -- George S. Patton

Reply to
Larry Jaques

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Reply to
ATP*

It takes a VERY brave man to use the terms "British engineering" "great" and "carburetor" in the same paragraph.

I still recall the SU's.....

Reply to
David Lesher

When you said 'ultimate mower', I thought of this gem:

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hp Cummins diesel, mows an entire 18 hole golf course rough in one 8 hour shift.

But here is the current replacement for Christ> Hi folks,

Reply to
RoyJ

Like senior son's electric mower in the other London, it appears to have front discharge. The only way to mow close to an object is to mow alongside it, and heaven help you in the corners. Gerry :-)} London, Canada

Reply to
Gerald Miller

The ultimate mower was the one Dennis (the neighbor from hell) Quaid had in the Richard Pryor movie "Moving"

Reply to
Calif Bill

And remember the Titanic, that was a triumph of British engineering too - old British bikes and cars are only owned by enthusiasts because of the constant maintenance required - and you do have a set of Whitworth spanners, dont you? - and, being English, there will be some absolutely horrible way of fitting a part that is not designed to be removed, ever....even using the specified special tool....

Still, "Charisma" justifies a multitude of bad engineering.......

Andrew VK3BFA.

(who occasionally has to fix "things", mainly LUCAS, on his elderly friends Mk2 Jaguar......)

Reply to
vk3bfa

IS great. Hats off to

And Lucas Electrics.....

chortle....

"Not so old as to need virgins to excite him, nor old enough to have the patience to teach one."

Reply to
Gunner Asch

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"Not so old as to need virgins to excite him, nor old enough to have the patience to teach one."

Reply to
Gunner Asch

IS great. Hats off to

Actually, only the pre-war Dennis had a Lucas magneto. After the war, a Wico magneto was used.

Chris

Reply to
Christopher Tidy

Pretty Cool! I wouldn't want to put it in the trunk of the car to go mow (insert other person that you cut the lawn for) lawn.

It reminds me of a "Locke" mower that we used to see here in USA, Massachusetts years ago. Big heavy beast with reels and a sort of roller that went the width of the machine. It packed down the grass after cutting. From the looks of it, you would have to be part mechanic to operate the beast. Not that that is a bad thing,

Andy

Reply to
andy

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