Today I acquired...........

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

I now own a "New to me" old vice.
Just warming up from the car boot sale, when a friend called me to tell me what he has found.
Drove down to his house and found him struggling with a large plastic bag.

I took it off him and I tell you it was a weight.



It has no makers name cast into it.

The handle has bean repaired, thus loosing the Patent number.

It is not a screw lathe, but has some sort of "interrupted thread" move the handle and the jaws slide open. Crank the handle 90degress or so and it locks onto the work piece.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

The missus likes the peace and quiet of the scythe and she's into permaculture, plus it's very steep around here so I can't see it happening but I would have one to play with. I did have a small alpine tractor with fat tyres and a low centre of gravity but I still cringed when in the field

You need to cash in your pension and get her one of these......

http://www.devongardenmachinery.co.uk/aebi-combicut-cc66-bank-mower

 

[Seadog]

Keep an eye out for an Allen power-scythe, they're lovely little machines, something a bit out of the ordinary.

There's a rather ratty one at our shoot, but I came across one today when out on my travels, much better nick.

 

[Cobbler]

<dual plastic level>
I've seen them attached to caravans/trailers for levelling the legs - especially on the bigger catering ones.

I've got a similar one on the step of our campervan, use it for levelling up on the wedges

 

[bigegg]

I bought an old version of this push along flail mower at an auction a few years ago.

Paid £40 for it, intending to use it to start a garden clearance business.
I put my back out lifting it off the trailer, and spent six months laid up.
Used it once to clear the next door neighbours garden - about a quarter acre of roses, brambles, and grass.
Went through it as fast as I could walk and just left mulch behind.
*Much* fun.
Then I got an office job to give my back chance to heal properly, so I sold it - for £600!

But...
Much better than the Allen scythe I had before - that just cut it.
This thing *smushed* everything.


Having said all the above, I broke my hand scythe last year, been looking for a new one - but Im in no hurry, because I don't do much gardening now - I bought a Honda mower for thebits I do now.

 

[gaz1]

mines same but comes with lots of parts

 

[Olderisbetter]

Had to run to B+Q so nipped in to halfords as its right next to it, They had a 3 for 2 offer on the modular tray advance tools so got some to go in the drawers, Its not my fault i had empty space and need a warm.

 

[Scruffywelder]

There's a rather ratty one at our shoot, but I came across one today when out on my travels, much better nick.

View attachment 129631 View attachment 129632

That's a kinda mid-series model, if its all original.
Steel cowl on the Villiers 2 stroke instead of alloy, short axle, leaf guards over the axle, red fuel tank but it still has the earlier clutch (late ones had a weird, semi-effective pushrod thing to help disengage the clutch). It's lost one of its original knife clips and had a red Mayfield (also built by Allen?) one put on instead.

It also has what looks like a Tarpen auxiliary drive for a hedge cutter. I think dad still has a flexi-drive and a couple of cutter heads lying about. Never had the drive end though...

Edit: like the one in @gaz1 third photo

 

[Scruffywelder]

mines same but comes with lots of parts

View attachment 129640 View attachment 129641 View attachment 129642

Nice. Merrytiller?

 

[Tinbasherdan]

Had to run to B+Q so nipped in to halfords as its right next to it, They had a 3 for 2 offer on the modular tray advance tools so got some to go in the drawers, Its not my fault i had empty space and need a warm.

Just got some myself

 

[Scruffywelder]

I bought an old version of this push along flail mower at an auction a few years ago.

Paid £40 for it, intending to use it to start a garden clearance business.
I put my back out lifting it off the trailer, and spent six months laid up.
Used it once to clear the next door neighbours garden - about a quarter acre of roses, brambles, and grass.
Went through it as fast as I could walk and just left mulch behind.
*Much* fun.
Then I got an office job to give my back chance to heal properly, so I sold it - for £600!

But...
Much better than the Allen scythe I had before - that just cut it.
This thing *smushed* everything.


Having said all the above, I broke my hand scythe last year, been looking for a new one - but Im in no hurry, because I don't do much gardening now - I bought a Honda mower for the bits I do now.

One of the dafter things I ever did at an auction was NOT buying a 36" Turner pedestrian flail mower for £30

ISTR I even had a job for it at the time. What's that catchphrase of Doubleboosts???

 

[gaz1]

Nice. Merrytiller?

yes i own one got a nice 5hp briggs and stratton engine on it as well chews through soil like nothing

 

[bigegg]

One of the dafter things I ever did at an auction was NOT buying a 36" Turner pedestrian flail mower for £30

ISTR I even had a job for it at the time. What's that catchphrase of Doubleboosts???

Actually - that's the one I bought. A Turner flail mower.

 

[Scruffywelder]

yes i own one got a nice 5hp briggs and stratton engine on it as well chews through soil like nothing

Quite good wee machines (better than the Westwood, Flymo, Mountfield et al ones that appeared a few years later). Good for most stuff but they don't like much stone in the soil. Been dragged down dads garden by a few Merrytiller Majors and Titans when they hit a rock and decide to trot along the top for a bit. Even had a diesel Howard Gem on its side once from catching a big one (which could've been nasty. Those things are heavy)...

 

[gaz1]

yeah its certainly lean back and hold on when it hits a stone its bounced on me a few times it can really throw the merry tiller major in the air if it digs into a large stone or rock

been dragged a little bit then got control of it and allowed it to really dig in tills soil in 20 seconds

 

[GW8IZR]

I've got a Merry Tiller eith four tines on it which is a bit of a thing to use, I was given it by my now deceased father in law. I was sweating my nads off trying to start it and then haul it round the spud patch when he told me 'my brother was using that just the week before he died.. he was 92' I was biting my lip trying not to say at least we know what killed him!

 

[Turbo]

6 empty gas drums. If I can find some cheap 4" tubing I'm going to try making some chimneas.

 

[zeppelin builder]

Got this from an old established auto sparks in perth for £3 did away with the massive westinghouse rectifier and replaced it with four diodes
Also got this auman winding machine that is very clever and does not rely on gears for the feed rates its simply a roller that turns eiher way and skews iself along the shaft
Its driven by a sewing machine clutch motor .

3

 

[Tinbasherdan]

Quite good wee machines (better than the Westwood, Flymo, Mountfield et al ones that appeared a few years later). Good for most stuff but they don't like much stone in the soil. Been dragged down dads garden by a few Merrytiller Majors and Titans when they hit a rock and decide to trot along the top for a bit. Even had a diesel Howard Gem on its side once from catching a big one (which could've been nasty. Those things are heavy)...

We had a couple of Howard’s, including one with a sodding great JAP hanging off the front, it was an absolute killing machine. I used to stand on the guard holding onto the handles while our dad rotovated the allotment with it

 

[zeppelin builder]

We had a couple of Howard’s, including one with a sodding great JAP hanging off the front, it was an absolute killing machine. I used to stand on the guard holding onto the handles while our dad rotovated the allotment with it

They made a big v twin for the aussie market too
I once got a hacked up triumph speedtwin the guy had fitted to a howard gem but it was way too un contollable