Follows and Bate Lawnmower Rebuild

[Dieselman 63]

In 2005/6 I was 13/14 and I bought an old mower using my paper round wages. It cost me £10, it was quite heavily rusted and I had zero experience. To add to this, nobody I knew was doing this sort of thing either - parents weren’t in trades, and I didn’t really know anyone with a workshop, only school gave me exposure to machines which we weren’t allowed to use anyway.

I think TV must have inspired me to have a go, anyway the urge was there to get involved, so armed with an adjustable spanner, a chisel and a wire brush, I set to work. My dad bought me Ford touch up cans and I repainted the mower. I did a pretty terrible job but for being 14 it was decent enough and a huge learning curve, and I used the mower too!

We moved to NZ three years later and four years on from that I sold my mower, thinking it unnecessary. Over the years since, I came to deeply regret this decision and wished I’d never sold it. I’ve built a little workshop in the past five years with a lot of restored machines in it, and it seemed a shame that I couldn’t have my first project there with me.

Last week I decided to see if I still had the old emails from when I sold it - I did. An email was fired off asking to buy it back, and one came back saying they’d never actually used it and I could have it for free. I was delighted - for a long time I’ve only had this photo from 2009, and to have the whole machine back is a dream come true.

 

[Dieselman 63]

It appeared that my hasty restoration hadn’t lasted too well as rust spots were all over. The interim owners had managed to chip a lot of paint, too. I picked it up and it still had the same smell - I sunk an entire can of wd-40 into this originally which gave it a distinctive scent! In the car on the way home it was quite lovely hearing it moving around, those noises of metal scraping on metal might sound awful to some but it was pure nostalgia to me!

Its at home now and in many pieces. It’s been apart a few times in its life, firstly when I restored it, then when I shipped it over here as a boxed kit of parts, and now again, for its 15 year service! The interim people managed to lose two bolts which control the elevation of the blade, which is a bit silly as you need them to get a good cut. I’ve bought new ones, and sent all the main bits to the blasters.

I managed to spin up the rollers in the wood lathe and skin the surface, reprofile the ends etc, they’ve come up beautifully. I tried hard when I was younger but I just lacked the equipment.

 

[Dieselman 63]

And so far, that’s where I’m at. I’ve received my parts from the sandblasters today, and they’ve done a nice job. The inside of the wheels was black, I’m not sure with grease or oil? Whatever it was, I noticed rust happening before the blasting, so I’ve used stove black in here to preserve the iron. It seems pretty good. The exterior will be painted. The wooden plugs were turned from scrap wood to be an interference fit, hammered into the wheels. This stops sand going into the machined parts and also protects during painting. It’s easier than faffing with masking tape.

 

[Memmeddu]

That's cool.
The story made me smile and think when I was 14 too (7 year ago) and a friend gave me a Johnson 4HP outboard , eventually I've sold it and I regret too

 

[GrahamGKD]

Agree with Memmeddu - lovely storey - also brought back some memories for me. When I was a kid my dad had a little side-line sharpening mowers - we used to run the blades backwards and put grinding paste on the blade so it kind of ground the trailing edge of the blade against the plate at the bottom. Depending on what nut arrangement was on the blade assembly we either used a big old slow power drill (if the nut was on the LHS) or otherwise I cranked it with a brace while my dad did the business with the grinding paste on a brush. We didn't have a reversing power drill back then.

 

[Memmeddu]

Agree with Memmeddu - lovely storey - also brought back some memories for me. When I was a kid my dad had a little side-line sharpening mowers - we used to run the blades backwards and put grinding paste on the blade so it kind of ground the trailing edge of the blade against the plate at the bottom. Depending on what nut arrangement was on the blade assembly we either used a big old slow power drill (if the nut was on the LHS) or otherwise I cranked it with a brace while my dad did the business with the grinding paste on a brush. We didn't have a reversing power drill back then.

Those experiences would forge our characters .
I've been always taking things a part since I was starting to walk.
With plastic tools I've took a part various objects in my house , when I was 3 or 4 I've took a part the kitchen table , fortunately my mother stopped me prior to kill my self .
Always played with my father toolbox making him angry.
And look to me now I am affected by ITD and compulsive tools shopping

 

[GrahamGKD]

Those experiences would forge our characters .
I've been always taking things a part since I was starting to walk.
With plastic tools I've took a part various objects in my house , when I was 3 or 4 I've took a part the kitchen table , fortunately my mother stopped me prior to kill my self .
Always played with my father toolbox making him angry.
And look to me now I am affected by ITD and compulsive tools shopping

Yeah, when I little my dad would sit me down with a windy handle Stanley hand drill, a blunt drill bit and a block of wood and I'd sit for hours drilling away pretending I was doing something useful ;-)

 

[500e]

Started taking electric things to pieces about same age, found they hurt!! did not cure me though still at it 75 years later.
Clocks seem to be a favourite starting place for a lot never had an interest

 

[andymfell]

it would appear that your mower was originally sold through Littlewoods who started retailing in 1932

https://www.oldlawnmowerclub.co.uk/directory/spinney

a bit of history on the company https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Follows_and_Bate
founded 1868 became part of Qualcast in 1938

 

[Dieselman 63]

it would appear that your mower was originally sold through Littlewoods who started retailing in 1932

https://www.oldlawnmowerclub.co.uk/directory/spinney

a bit of history on the company https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Follows_and_Bate
founded 1868 became part of Qualcast in 1938

This is the mower they sold, it’s the same frame but the wheels have the iron tyres not the rubber ones like mine. I’m sure you’re right though, Littlewoods would fit as I bought it in a small mill town in Derbyshire. For what it’s worth, I think the green/red scheme is nicer than yellow, too.