Lawn mowing is a certain kind of art. However, the attitude of gardening to artistic mastery has long been studied even at the scientific level. English, French gardens, and in the Russian Empire this was also not uncommon.
A neatly trimmed lawn says a lot about the status of a homeowner, and therefore it is impossible to throw such a thing. But taking care of the grass is a complicated and sometimes quite expensive business. The latter is mainly due to the price of lawn mowers.
Even if you take the simplest models, it will be quite a costly acquisition.
Nevertheless, there is a way out. lawn mower, self-designed. To make it, it is enough to have minimal technical skills, as well as some experience in assembling mechanisms. With the latter, by the way, this article will help you. A homemade lawn mower, instructions for assembling it in particular, will be described below. So you don’t have to improvise.
Components
The simplest device of this kind still consists of several parts.
First of all, it is a framework on which all other parts will be fixed. No less important is the engine. you will have to deal with the type itself, since this is only your decision. In addition, you will need knives, protective cover, wheels and handles for control. However, all of the above can be found in your own garage, so spare parts for lawn mowers should not be a problem.
Frame
If you do not bother design delights, it will be just a metal sheet of sufficient thickness. Actually, this will be the case of your device.
You need to prepare it for use before assembly, of course.
The main hole here will be in the middle. it should be left for the motor shaft, which will rotate the knife.
From the bottom you need to make a protective casing. otherwise the lawn mower, made with such hard work, will not work for a long time simply because the cutting surfaces will touch the ground.
Between the wheels you need to prepare mounts for control knobs. However, they can also be fixed on the back surface, but this will not add stability during movement.
Engine
As already mentioned a little earlier, the lawn mower can be made with any kind of engines with its own hands. In the first place. this, of course, electric motors.
The lawn mower petrol, in turn, requires some knowledge of internal combustion engines, since you do not need too powerful a motor. In fact, it’s best to use an engine shot from a lawnmower. As for mechanisms with a different initial purpose, it will be difficult to judge their safety at work.
The lawn mower, made by hand, does not require very large revolutions or power. If we talk about the electric motor, then 500-600 watts together with three thousand revolutions are enough for you. Although the latter must be said separately.
Engine speed and dependence
The quality of the spit of grass is determined just by the number of revolutions. The classical scheme. the higher the number, the smoother the lawn. So, yes, not so: the salt is that an even lawn determines not the speed of movement of the knives, but rather the linear speed of movement of the cutting edge.
For the latter value, the diameter of the knife grip is very important.
A clear example of the choice of power
If the cutting edge of your knife at the lawn mower is about half a meter, then for high-quality work you will need at least one kilowatt of power. However, this is true at the specified total speed. one and a half thousand revolutions per minute.
However, a power of 500 watts will also be enough. at least you can mow the grass. True, you have to take care of the sharpness of the knife more often than it would be with great performance.
Lawn mower petrol
With this you may have some difficulties. They are connected, first of all, with the fact that internal combustion engines, which are used in such devices, are very complex. Therefore, spare parts for lawn mowers of this class are also not easy to find.
This is the basis of the earlier advice on using an engine shot from another lawn mower: this will save you a lot of time. You can find it in almost any parts market. But if you have an old non-working lawn mower, it is quite possible that the motor is fine and can be repaired.
But before installing such an engine, you need to think about whether the motor is too noisy. This is an important aspect, since the lawn mower, so designed by itself, will produce quite a lot of noise.
A few more words about engines of this kind. There are several details that you should know before assembling. Drive the lawnmower should go on the knife. In this case, you have to push it yourself. But if you have the necessary knowledge, then it is quite possible to make a self-propelled device. for this you need to make a drive to the wheels.
Knives. key detail
In principle, anything can be used. The main thing is that the thickness of the tool steel should not be less than two or three millimeters. Of course, thin knives cut better, but do you need it. to change them through each pass or two along the section? But that’s exactly what will happen if you don’t use thick enough steel.
Knife making options
You can make a knife in two basic variations:
- The first is that the steel strip, performing its functions, is equal in length to the width of the grip. It should be fixed symmetrically, parallel to the body of the mower.
- The second option is notable for using two short knives. They are arranged so as to form one long cutting surface. Here you can do a little tilt, without worrying about security. It is also necessary to note the system of fastenings for such knives. You can use one or two bolts. The second method, of course, is more reliable. so the mount certainly does not pop up. But mounting one bolt allows you to work in poor conditions. The trick is that when one knife stumbles upon an obstacle that a stone cannot, for example, cut down, it will simply fold, thus preserving overall integrity.
Wheels
This is a very important point on which the future work of the lawn mower depends. So you need to select everything here very carefully, not sparing time.
The optimum wheel height should raise the knives above the ground by five or six centimeters. So you can create a nice looking lawn. If we take the height lower or higher, the result will be far from that. Either some areas will be skipped, or the entire structure will be covered with a copper basin.
The number of wheels you choose yourself. You can make the design on four, three or two supports. this is not crucial, except that the assembly technologies change a little.
Two-wheeled devices are necessarily equipped with protection against touching the ground. simply because if you let it go for a second, it will bend down. This incident will lead to a breakdown. In addition, a belt for a lawnmower of this kind will not be overkill either. Since they are considered the most maneuverable, it will be even a plus. In fact, it will be much easier to carry it in this way than to try to roll it. That is, to make life easier, you may well use a lawnmower belt.
Units on four wheels can not always be made. the wheels must be of the same diameter. But two pairs of identical wheels do not always roll in the garage. Nevertheless, this design is the most reliable, because it provides high-quality support, and also allows you to work with large areas of grass without experiencing excessive fatigue.
Good advice: the wheels should be big enough, because you have to drive along a rather difficult “road”. If you take an insufficient diameter, the grass mowing will turn into hell.