Qualcast B1 mower

[PaulC7]

My man had a great lawn and as a kid/teen I would often enjoy cutting it using her push mower.

As I got older and got my own lawn I remembered past times and hoped one day I may find one, of course there is eBay but the right priced ones were too far away.

Well I had forgot about getting one a few years ago but my luck changed today at a local car boot sale.

There happened to be this one which I'm pretty sure is what my nan had and for £4 I couldn't say no.

Done a little research and it turns out I'm missing a grass box so shopping round for one.

I also just assumed it would be green and red but that's not the case so I'm in two minds to change it or not.

Dusted it off and made a start on one wheel, not fully restoring it to pristine condition just stripping back and repainting.

How mine should be.

 

[brokenbiker]

nice find. I personally would go with a green frame and red blades and wheels. dunno why it just suits a push mower in those colours lol. my father had one when I was young as he only had a small patch of grass in his garden but after digging it out and turning the whole bottom half into a pond he gave it to the pikeys

 

[pedrobedro]

Ours was green and red as well but I think that it was an Atco not a Qualcast.

 

[Robotstar5]

I did my apprenticeship at one of the foundries in the Birmid Qualcast group and some years later visited Qualcast at Derby to repair a robot.

 

[rtbcomp]

My dad shortened the handle on ours so me and my brother could mow the lawn.



This was taken c1955, the handle was T-shaped and made from wood.

 

[Robotstar5]

Nice pic, I'm sure I had a trike like the one in the background

 

[rtbcomp]

This is my grandpa making sure their lawn was in good shape. You get a good shot of the handle.

 

[Robotstar5]

Did the men in your family ever mow the lawns themselves?

 

[brightspark]

This is my grandpa making sure their lawn was in good shape. You get a good shot of the handle.

View attachment 42907

looks like he was keepin ya gran in good shape as well . her mowing the lawn

 

[seriesonewelder]

I did my apprenticeship at one of the foundries in the Birmid Qualcast group and some years later visited Qualcast at Derby to repair a robot.

I was about to ask were you at the works at Quinton but I dont think it was a foundry (I'm thinking of Birmabright)

 

[TechnicAl]

This is my grandpa making sure their lawn was in good shape. You get a good shot of the handle.

View attachment 42907

In Sheffield.......... Your Grandad had a suit and a lawn.....................must be Royalty or almost

 

[PaulC7]

I'm probably going to go with the green/red it is British and the blue/red looks more like a toy but green and red says British so much better.

Trying my best to get the parts cleaned nicely but I know its going to take a lot longer than I would like so shall be getting a quote for shot blasting.

 

[mike 109444]

Ref cleaning. Read up on the forum, there is plenty on rust removal from using cheep cola/white vinegar also molasses. Then there is electrolysis (batter charger and washing soda)

 

[PaulC7]

Had a try at electrolysis today as its simple and via YouTube the results seem to be pretty good.

Although I didn't have a large container I thought the results should hopefully be the same in any amount of water.

I used the washing up bowl filled with 7 litres water and some washing powder and left for 7 hours... After 2 there was a nice amount of rust on the surface so it was looking good.

And indeed the result was a lot better than I thought, didn't look like anything had happened but with a little rub down with a soft wire brush all was revealed.

 

[mike 109444]

Just be aware it will flash rust very quick

 

[PaulC7]

That's not something I knew of... Till you mentioned it then I done a quick bit of reading, it seems like it may be a problem and it may not be just done to people's opinion either way I will keep an eye on it.

I'm cleaning all the parts before I think about painting anything so they will be getting another clean/sanding but that won't be for another week or two

 

[norlander]

There was something relaxing/satisfying about those push n pull mowers-deffo relaxing when you heard next door mowing their lawn when yours was already done, it was a nice sound, nowadays most folks fire up some electric hover or something.

 

[Premiershipman]

Funny you should have this kind of project as I am on a similar one.

Dragged out my dad's old Hayter Harrier 41 out of his garage the other day as he still has my mountfield that he 'borrowed' last summer.

Needs a fair few parts - clutch cable, maybe a new throttle assembly, plugs, filters etc but it should clean up nice and gives me the opportunity to try out my new ultrasonic cleaner toy delivered yesterday !