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Old 02-15-11, 12:27 PM
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Commuters and Mowers

Has anyone started treating their mower like a project bike?

My wife and I have always had an agreement that she does laundry and dishes and I cook and do lawn work. That has always worked out to my advantage as we have been living in a condo with no yard.

We just bought a new house (with a lawn). I'm going to go with a used reel mower from Craigslist. Of course I'll probably spend some money on some accessories.

Mower:
https://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/grd/2195000838.html
with these:
https://www.amazon.com/ACTION-GRIPS-M.../dp/B001ILZMQM
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Old 02-15-11, 12:31 PM
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No. Haven't put the snowblower away yet...
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Old 02-15-11, 12:42 PM
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Well I kinda started collecting reel mowers like I collect bikes. Of course there are fewer reel mowers out there and I only really need 1, but have 2. I have had 4 total over the past 3 or so years. One I gave to a friend and another I sold on CL.

That Scotts mower will serve you well. I need to sharpen the blades on the one I have becasue they are all jacked up possibly from some "sharpening" in before I got it. I haven't bought anything for my reel mowers, but I have considered rigging up a grass catcher. These mowers are fun and a great conversation piece.
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Old 02-15-11, 12:43 PM
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Old 02-15-11, 12:53 PM
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When I got my first house 5 years ago, I bought a push mower from Sears.
Wasn't really happy with the performance, it would leave clumps of grass uncut.
The year after that, I got an electric mower from Costco. Much better performance.
Very little noise, no exhaust. Still have it. This is the corded version, not the battery
model.
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Old 02-15-11, 01:09 PM
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Start to worry if you fit it with carbon fiber accessories....
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Old 02-15-11, 02:43 PM
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https://www.robomow.com/
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Old 02-15-11, 02:58 PM
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I have that mower and love it- but you will never get those Oury's on there.

I have bar tape on my handle.

Reel mowers are great - I wish I could get a bicycle based riding reel mower.
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Old 02-15-11, 03:26 PM
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I used an old Scotts until last year when a frame weld separated, and rather than making it a project, I just bought a new Brill, which has been fantastic. But last year also marked the transition to paying my stepson to do the mowing, so now not only do I not get to enjoy pushing the mower around, but I have to fork over $10 a week.
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Old 02-15-11, 03:37 PM
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Originally Posted by wisaunders
I'm going to go with a used reel mower from Craigslist. Of course I'll probably spend some money on some accessories.
Don't forget a helmet. Mowing can be dangerous.
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Old 02-15-11, 03:41 PM
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Sweet mower. I keep thinking I need to buy one like that.
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Old 02-15-11, 07:37 PM
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Oh you mean like this badboy I built up, at the time it matched my commuter. When i got the mower it was red and beat the hell up, went with a sweet black and gold paint job.


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Old 02-15-11, 10:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Fizzaly
Oh you mean like this badboy I built up, at the time it matched my commuter. When i got the mower it was red and beat the hell up, went with a sweet black and gold paint job.


That is bad ass!
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Old 02-15-11, 11:24 PM
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We have a 30 year Huskvarna reel mower I found hidden in the garage. Before I found it, I think it was sitting forlornly and rejected for a lawn service for the last 12-15 years. When I used it last summer I liked how quiet it was compared to the neighbours' gas powered mowers.

My question: how do I sharpen the blades?
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Old 02-15-11, 11:27 PM
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A blade file and loads of spare time
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Old 02-16-11, 09:30 AM
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Downtown highrise == no lawn to deal with == more time for riding.
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Old 02-16-11, 10:00 AM
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To sharpen the blades you backlap them. Basically you put some type of compound (I bought valve grinding compound at the autopart store) on the blades and spin them backwards. You can order a sharpening kit or you can DIY something to spin the blades with a drill or some other machine so you don't have to turn a handle yourself. It does take time, but from what I have gathered its the best way to do it.

Fizzaly that lawnmower cracks me up. Nice work. =)
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Old 02-16-11, 12:27 PM
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Put the reel mower where the front wheel attaches to the fork, pedal and mow.
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Old 02-16-11, 01:31 PM
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I put cork bar tape on my lawnmower handle. Really. It works nice to minimize vibration.

I've been thinking about buying a reel push mower because our lawn is not very large and getting smaller. Main issue for me is that we have a lot trees that drop sticks that would jam up a reel mower if not picked up. Also, you can't let your lawn get too high or a reel mower won't cut well.
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