What do you mean by "normal silly banter" this is all deadly serious. You are turning into a right old Billy Goat Gruff and that reminds me, they are, goats that is, quite good at keeping the grass down if not so good at keeping down the other things they scoff. Anyway I shall return to this silly banter on the morrow as have to get on the ablutions run and off out to the bar for a meal and a jig about to the music of the local troubadour.
my trusty scythe does fantastic job.. lol... in fact i have a viking side eject.. aprat from leaving the cuttings every where, nothing stops it cutting.. whereas my Mculloch rear eject blocks every 10m.. sold the bugger after 7 years of aggro and carrying a prodding stick to clear the rear tube.. b&s engine tho.. and original battery from 2007.. and it started and run first and every time..
now,, what's the time.. drat, the sun's gone in.. but it must be over the yard arm by now.. time for a beer.. cheers...
This is turning into a proper SFN thread. Started off serious, 'experts' did some chest thumping & now it's settling down into normal silly banter. Doncha just love it ;-)
The farmer on the other side of the valley keeps a sheep or sheep, in the plural, and sometimes with lambs. Once they have made the grass short they seem to disappear until the next singleton or group appear. I think they form part of the family Sunday Lunch when they have completed the task in hand.
If you aren't scared, you aren't safe!
Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive.
I'd add "only the paranoid survive with all of their digits" ;-).....and they only nibble your fingers, instead of chopping them right off!
Was the neighbour a judge by any chance Mike ? ...............and his name, Justice Thumb ? ......
Having done some 25 years on the professional side of ground management you can imagine some of the accidents i've witnessed !
The worst accidents have involved chainsaws most of which were being operated by experienced staff !
Where's your mower mate? On the spit, basting nicely :-)
And you can eat 'em when they run out of fuel ;-)
Is that your hobby room where you go through your collection by chance?
So much advice... Have you considered a sheep? Cheaper to run than mowers.
All it wants now is a nicely padded lady :-)
This is my idea of a proper Padded Room as noted elsewhere in this discussion.
We also know a Nick and the thought of him also makes me want to lie down in a darkened and padded room. Surely can't be the same one. This one is a 'painter' and general 'handyman' though. Fully qualified via the BFQ exams as in as acquired on the ferry over. (Brittany Ferry Qualification)
Here is a fairly good information site on the MTD range of mowers: http://www.mtdproducts.ca/equipment/topcategory_40500_50500_-1
Sometimes the blades will keep rotating on my machine when you move into reverse and sometimes they don't and the engine then stalls unless you move it back to neutral tout suite. Best bet is to use common sense and don't go near anything rotating.
When still at school in the woodwork class I was turning a bowl from criss cross blocks of different woods and someone stepped too close to the back of the lathe. The jagged ends of the blocks went up his pullover and fortunately for him it stalled the lathe and I hit the emergency stop button. He just stood there in shock with these bits of jagged wood coming through his jumper. Made a nice hole in his wooly but fortunately did not cut into his belly and chest.
Just a little sidetrack - does anyone have views on mower safety?
A neighbor recently lost four fingers because he thought his had a working blade brake. (Hospital managed to sew three back on, but he never found the fourth.) My blade brake is worn out, but I know about it, so I just walk away for 5 minutes before I touch the machine. My machine isn't supposed to mow backwards, but I have found out how to juggle the forward/reverse lever to get out of an awkward spot without raising the deck. The thing is designed to kill the engine if you fall off, but it also tends to cut out if I shift my bum on the seat to avoid an overhanging branch. I have removed the plastic shield over the grass ejector, because it just clogs up.
Are safety devices a real alternative to common sense, or just an annoyance?
Try this uk company for Kevlar mower belts at sensible prices: http://www.bearingboys.co.uk/
Commercial operation yes but it proves my mini point that, in my opinion, Honda engines in general are more hard-working and reliable than other makes like B & S & Kohler etc on the larger machines or the more modest lawn mower. I'm sure other engines are fine too, I can only speak from many ears of land maintenence both commercial and private.
Thanks for reminding me of Nick....................i'm just off to lay down in a darkened room........................................................................
While i'm here, knee doing ok - painful at times but hey, i'm a man, not a mouse !