The final cut
It is done!
A few days ago I decided to try fixing the lawnmower. All I had to do was replace a belt, and I even had the correct belt to hand.
All I had to do, my arse!
I got all my spanners, hammers and various other tools of destruction together and upended the mower to access the underneath. The first thing I discovered was a very nice design feature – any screw nut or bolt that slipped would promptly fall straight down into the engine area and would fail to drop the whole way. So I spent a fair time poking around for bits of fallen metal, where I wasn’t even sure what had fallen.
I eventually got everything unscrewed and unbolted and there in all its glory was the remains of the old belt. I removed it and stuck in the new one. That was actually quite an easy job. The hard bit was working out where all the various nuts, bolts, washers and brackets went when it came to reassembly. To my astonishment I actually ended up with no spare bits which must be a first.
I set the mower level again and tried to start it. No joy. The oil had leaked into the engine or something and it just wouldn’t catch fire. I killed the battery trying, so I left it charging yet again.
Yesterday there was a strange bright light in the garden and I realised it was an almost forgotten phenomenon – sunshine. So I wheeled out the mower to see if the belt worked. It did! Not a problem. I drove around to the field and started from where I left off previously.
It took about twice as long as usual as the grass was so long that it hadn’t dried out, so the mower kept getting jammed up with mulch. However the belt stayed where it was supposed to so I was happy.
I’m sitting here now with the doors to the garden open. The smell of cut grass is almost overwhelming. The lawn would look lovely too if only it wasn’t ankle deep in cut grass.
Any farmers out there who would like a couple of tons of silage?
All you have to do is rake and remove it.
You could save yourself some work in the future GD by leaving the ankle deep cut grass where it is. It will smother the lawn underneath and kill some of it off making it easier to mow next time.
If I left it there, there is so much it would probably kill off the entire lawn. I have done that in the past and there are great big bare patches as a result.
Maybe I’ll just cover it in wild flower seeds and turn it into a meadow……
Send out invites for a vegan dinner party?
Not a bad idea. How do you cook a vegan?
I wouldn’t recommend cooking a vegan near an exposed flame, the gas-content could be hazardous.
As most vegans have limited flesh evident, it’s possibly best to mince what there is, although you may need to bulk it out with a few additives to get enough material for a modest burger or two. The wine need not be full-bodied, as the meal won’t be, so the Aldi Merlot will suffice. Cheers.
It’s in the mid fourties here. Spring is winter. The grass won’t need cutting for quite a few weeks yet. Lucky you having a warm spring.
Hah! It was long because it hadn’t been cut since last August or September. Don’t forget we had two major snowfalls [by Irish standards] only last month. This week has been the first sunshine we have had in a very long time.
If you REALLY don’t want the hassle of dismantling to change a belt, have you considered something like one of these?
https://simplybearings.co.uk/shop/Belts-Nutlink-V-Belts/c4601_5367/index.html
They may not particularly cheap, but if the alternative is hours of work, they can be a godsend.
Disclaimer: I am a satisfied customer of Simply Bearings, and used one of these belts to repair my friends tractor/front end loader, where a crankshaft mounted hydraulic pump makes changing the belt a MAJOR undertaking.
That is interesting looking material. It’s the first time I have had to change the belt [as distinct from just replacing it after it jumped off] so I’m hoping the new one will last a good while. In fact the problem now is rust – I have to get a major part replaced, but if that’s too expensive I may just buy a new [push] mower.