First lawnmower

[orezok]

When I was a kid in the 50's we had a lawnmower that has 3 wheels. Two in front and a single swivel wheel in the back. It had a cast aluminum deck and the old wrap the rope around the pulley and yank. I don't remember if it was 2 stroke or 4 stroke.

What was your first experience?

 

[bcp]

I didn't find your mower with one wheel in back.



Except a riding mower.



Haven't found a photo of my first one yet.

Bruce

 

[orezok]

The deck was completely flat on the top.

 

[orezok]

It looked similar to this.

 

[bcp]

Found a photo of what I had. Dunlap Electric, with slots on front. It worked great for tall weeds. The mower didn't push the weeds flat and roll over them. The slots in front let the blade cut the base of the tall weeds.



Bruce

 

[Thomas]

I remember 3 wheel mowers also dial phones with party lines...whew,reel Toro rope pull mower first than wined up motor push handle down hope it starts.

 

[SirMaxwell]

My first experience was when I was 8 yrs old. I came across and almost new reel push mower (no engine) in the rich folks trash and used it to cut lawns all summer and saved up. Bought a pair of grass Trimmers/hand shears (kinda like scissors with a spring return, remember string trimmers are years away yet) that really upped my game. Usually made a dollar for a yard and sometimes with great satisfaction they occasionally they gave me a cold Bottle of Pepsi or even a 25 Cent Tip! :drink: :2cents:

Luckily I had a couple neighbors guys that were willing to help teach me to sharpen blades and fix what broke (no dad in the picture). Never thought about how hard it was top push the mower, just slow compared to the rich folks and their gas propelled rotary's. Bought 2 slightly broken Gas Mowers that winter and worked on them. These were the old type, where you wrapped the rope around each time (no spring return). Following summer more than tripled customers, which allowed me to buy a used 3 speed bicycle, add baskets and set me on a path of a massive Newspaper route.

Man I can still strongly recall how INCREDIBLE that rare ice cold 16oz bottled Pepsi was, while sitting under a shade tree in August, after hours of pushing that mower. :cool2:

 

[Alan W.]

Don't remember ever seeing a three wheeled mower. The first mower we had that I used was an old Western Auto with the 3.5 horse Briggs. Everyone in our hood mowed their acre lot with a push mower.
Today they all have large zero turns, even dad has one now but he turns 80 this year so I will give him a pass.
I remember how excited I was when dad bought a new Ford 100 garden tractor to mow with. Didnt mind mowing then.

 

[SandburRanch]

I didn't find your mower with one wheel in back.

View attachment 603315 View attachment 603316

Except a riding mower.

View attachment 603317

Haven't found a photo of my first one yet.

Bruce

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The first I recall seeing in the 1940's was like the green mower but IIR it had a hit and miss engine like the red mower pictured.

 

[bunyip]

wined up motor push handle down hope it starts.

We have a Stihl line cutter that works on the same principal, just pull the starter cord and when it has enough tension it releases the energy to the motor, this is a fairly new device and has been around for a little while, no more savage pulling at the cord, just ease it up and when it's ready it fires.

 

[Bird]

We have a Stihl line cutter that works on the same principal, just pull the starter cord and when it has enough tension it releases the energy to the motor, this is a fairly new device and has been around for a little while, no more savage pulling at the cord, just ease it up and when it's ready it fires.

I used to have one of those Stihls; worked great. And now I have a Mantis tiller that works on the same principle.

As for my first lawnmower, I suppose as with most my age, I had to use a reel type push mower; no motor. But when I was 14, I bought a gas powered Clinton and started mowing lawns for my spending money. I had to buy my first set of tools to keep that thing running.:laughing: And then I hit a big bone in a customer's yard that killed the engine instantly, and bent the crankshaft. That was when I bought my first 2-cycle Lawnboy; best walk behind lawnmower ever made.

 

[KennyG]

Originally we had several of the old cast deck push mowers, two stroke and four stroke. However the one I really remember was our first rider, a Snapper. My dad was a Snapper dealer. I couldn't find a picture of it but it was a three wheel mower with one large front wheel and two small rear wheels. It was front wheel drive and steered with a steering wheel that directly turned the driving wheel. It was an early zero turn concept - you could reverse it by turning the front wheel 180 degrees. The weakness, of course, was that it didn't climb hills very well. It helped to get off the seat and climb onto the front end.

 

[Oaktree]

First lawnmower I ever used was a reel mower to cut my grandmother's lawn. I think it knocked over as much grass as it actually cut. Probably just needed sharpening, but I just a kid & didn't know any better back then.

Anyone remember the mowers that used a crank to tension a spring, you'd flip a lever and it would spin the motor to start (or not). My parents had one in the early 60s, I think it came from Sears. ISTR that spring didn't even last one summer before it broke.

Curiously, what was the logic behind a 3 wheel lawnmower? You'd think it would be tippy.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

First lawnmower I ever used was a reel mower to cut my grandmother's lawn. I think it knocked over as much grass as it actually cut. Probably just needed sharpening, but I just a kid & didn't know any better back then.

Anyone remember the mowers that used a crank to tension a spring, you'd flip a lever and it would spin the motor to start (or not). My parents had one in the early 60s, I think it came from Sears. ISTR that spring didn't even last one summer before it broke.

Curiously, what was the logic behind a 3 wheel lawnmower? You'd think it would be tippy.

Me too.

 

[bigtiller]

First lawnmower I ever used was a reel mower to cut my grandmother's lawn. I think it knocked over as much grass as it actually cut. Probably just needed sharpening, but I just a kid & didn't know any better back then.

Anyone remember the mowers that used a crank to tension a spring, you'd flip a lever and it would spin the motor to start (or not). My parents had one in the early 60s, I think it came from Sears. ISTR that spring didn't even last one summer before it broke.

Curiously, what was the logic behind a 3 wheel lawnmower? You'd think it would be tippy.

My maternal grandfather had one like that. It was much easier for him than pulling on a rope. I wonder why it never caught on?

 

[rangerfredbob]

3 wheeled lawnmower for the same reason as a 3 legged stool is more stable on a rough surface, and two wheels in front means it is not tippy since that's the direction the force is applied for pushing. It's the same reason the newer 3 wheeled motorcycles have two in the front, it's more stable than 2 in the rear. I still ride a 3 wheeler off road, they had 2 in the back for more traction not steering, if ridden right when you move your body around it's just as stable as a 4 wheeler and more maneuverable but takes more work...

 

[KennyG]

Curiously, what was the logic behind a 3 wheel lawnmower? You'd think it would be tippy.

When you sat on it, your weight was on the two small rear wheels, which made it very stable. The problem was that since the Snapper was front wheel drive, it also took a lot of the weight off the driving wheel. To go up hills we would kind of crawl up on the front end which would allow you to tip it.

 

[kc5dlo]

There are 2 mowers that come to mind for me. One of my Granddad's had a mower from Whites or Western Auto that was a big wheel more that had a belt driven blade. The deck was longer than a regular deck and the engine was pretty much centered between the rear axle. Made it very easy to move around and worked really good in tall grass as the belt would slip a bit instead of stalling the engine. Today's big wheel mowers are a gimmick compared to that one. Other Granddad had a mower with a wind up start. He was the first to let me mow (with his supervision) and gave me many tip I still use today. Would have been about 50 years ago.

 

[Mendonsy]

I started out pushing a steel wheel reel mower about 1950. At some point later on (don't remember exactly) it was upgraded to a push type rotary with a gasoline engine.

 

[CobyRupert]

I still have what was probably my parent's first push mower. I thinks it has a Briggs & Stratton motor, but it doesn't have a pull cord. The top of the motor has a fold out crank that you to wind up what must be a spring. Then you turn a dial to release the spring and motor cranks over. Hopefully enough to start. Else repeat process.
Slower than a pull cord, but easier effort.