First lawnmower

[Oaktree]

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.

And the spring is still good?? As I noted in an earlier post, we had one of those in the early-ish 60s and I don't think that spring lasted one summer. Father replaced the spring once, new one didn't stand up any better, finally he said screw it, removed the start-spring assembly and would just manually wind a pull rope around the pulley to start it.

 

[Industrial Toys]

The quality of those machines just jumps out at me from the pictures. Now everything is just such junky and often unecessary plastic, upon plastic.

 

[CobyRupert]

And the spring is still good?? As I noted in an earlier post, we had one of those in the early-ish 60s and I don't think that spring lasted one summer. Father replaced the spring once, new one didn't stand up any better, finally he said screw it, removed the start-spring assembly and would just manually wind a pull rope around the pulley to start it.

Yep, spring is still good.
I'll start it up every once in a while to see that it still runs. Which reminds me, it's that time of year again....

 

[Jstpssng]

The quality of those machines just jumps out at me from the pictures. Now everything is just such junky and often unecessary plastic, upon plastic.

Like so many things, one reason they are so junky is because that’s all we are willing to pay for. The higher quality mowers are still out there;Commercial Grade Self-Propelled Mowers - Heavy-Duty High-Performance Professional Self-Propelled Mowers - Bad Boy Mowers but why spend over $1000 for a mower when you can go to Walmart and get one for $150?

 

[Oaktree]

The quality of those machines just jumps out at me from the pictures. Now everything is just such junky and often unecessary plastic, upon plastic.

Like so many things, one reason they are so junky is because that痴 all we are willing to pay for. The higher quality mowers are still out there;Commercial Grade Self-Propelled Mowers - Heavy-Duty High-Performance Professional Self-Propelled Mowers - Bad Boy Mowers but why spend over $1000 for a mower when you can go to Walmart and get one for $150?

Let's not forget, they made junk back then too. The quality stuff lasted, the junk got taken to the dump long ago. I don't remember my father ever getting more than 4-5 years out of a lawnmower when I was a kid.
As Jstpssing noted, will that $1000 mower last 7x as long as the $150 made-in-China one from the box store? Maybe, maybe not. The suburbanite will get by just fine with a cheapie, professional landscaper not so much.

 

[Mace Canute]

The first lawn mower we had back in the 50's was a two wheel Simplicity garden tractor with a front mount sickle mower. in the 60's we had a push type rotary mower that had the crank windup starter system on it; slow but worked well.

 

[bunyip]

bought our first house in about 74 and the neighbour had a manicured lawn that he ran a flymo over every couple of days, it was about all they were good for but if he went away for a week it would probably be too long for it to cut.
It was a very small area and it was not fast and you were limited by the length of the power cord.

 

[GeneD14]

When I was in grade school my dad bought a small Rugg riding mower. It had 6hp and I got to drive it. I felt like "king of the world"! It was identical to this one.