The Cult of the Motor Mower.
Page 27
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MOTOR MOWING machines are now recognized as providing a rapid and efficient means for dealing with large gardens, playing fields, public parks, etc., which are too large to be cut efficiently by manual power and where the upkeep at a pony or horse would be considerably greater than that of a petroldriven mower. At one time these machines were looked upon as something in the -nature of toys, hut with the advances which have been made in design they are rapidly ousting other forms of mowing machine.
A neat and strongly built mower which has recently been brought to our notice is the Governor, made by John Shaw and Sons (Wolverhampton), Ltd., of Wolverhampton. This is a construction covered by patents, and it, is the product of a firm who.have been well known in the hardware trade for many years, having been founded in 1795. They have handled lawn mowers of all types, both at home and abroad, and have carefully followed the evolution of the motor mower, with the result that the new machine has been built through observation of the shortcoming of certain other types. At the same time, simplicity has been considered as an essential, and it has only three controls—on the right the clutch, and on the left the throttle and air levers.
The engine is of the two-stroke-cycle type carried at the left side and being directly attached to the cutters, thus obviating the need for supplementary transmission at this point. The drive to the land rollers is by a strong roller chain running in an oil-bath. Actually, there is only one roller shaft, but on this are mounted three sections, two grooved circumferentially and the centre one crosswise. The centre section takes the drive, the other two providing a differential action on the corners, but if there is any tendency to slip when cutting on banks, etc., either or both of the outer rollers can be locked to the driving one at will by releasing a spring plunger on each. Gearing down of the drive is effected, firstly, throughsthe chain and, secondly, through a sun-and-planet gear, a gearwheel on the chain-wheel shaft forming the sun pinion.
The revolving cutter has five blades 22 ins. long. It is mounted on ball bearings, and rigidity is obtained by having four " spiders " of wide section. The cutters are in motion all the time the machine is working, and give approximately 100 cuts per second.
The clutch is simple and strong, and works in conjunction with the epicyclic gear, for the driven ring actually runs free until it is clutched to the driving roller by means of a contracting band. This clutch permits slipping when it is necessary to manoeuvre the machine me corners or other difficult places.
The equipment includes a large grass box, which is a mesh construction combining lightness with strength.
The use of aluminium alloy has enabled the weight of the machine to be reduced to 21 cwt.
Quick adjustment of the dri /mg chain is provided by a jockey pulley, which is accessible through the chain-case cover.
The price of the complete machine is £65, delivered free to stations in Great Britain and to Irish ports. The machine can also be supplied on deferred terms.