Machinery

by alan

Rare UK Ride-on Mowers

January 3, 2026 in Articles, Machinery

No matter what someone collects, thereā€™s always that one item or model that proves elusive – and garden tractors and ride-on mowers are no exception.

Over the years, Iā€™ve come across makes and models of ride-ons that seem to have vanished completely from the UK, with no surviving examples known to exist.

You might expect that, with todayā€™s internet, social media, online auctions, and marketplaces, even the rarest machines would eventually reappear. But thatā€™s not always the case.

Iā€™ve compiled a list of ā€œunaccountableā€ models in the UK – machines that, as far as I can tell, have disappeared. For this blog, Iā€™ve chosen just five that might still be hiding somewhere, perhaps forgotten in a shed or under a heap of scrap.

So, what exactly is an ā€œunaccountableā€ machine? My definition is simple: these are models that were definitely sold or imported into the UK when new. Photographic evidence of their presence here, or trade or test reports done in the UK with physical machines is always great. But also newspaper adverts and show coverage, and also useful are UK price lists and specific UK brochures.

Listed in date order, the five models I’ve chosen are: the 1961 Gemco Reelrider, the 1964 Gravely Westchester, the 1966 Bolens Suburban, the 1973 ATCO Atcomatic, and the 1985 Westwood Lawnrider.

Somewhere, perhaps, one survives in the UK…

1: 1961 Gemco Reelrider

The USA-made three-wheel 24ā€ Deluxe Gemco Reelrider was advertised in UK newspapers in the early 1960s. Adverts also appear for second-hand models, so some must have been sold from new.  F. H. Burgess, Burton Road, Lichfield, was one of the retailers.

The Gemco mowers were made by the General Mower Corporation ā€“ hence where the Gemco name comes from ā€“ based in Jefferson Avenue, Buffalo, New York. USA.

The Reelrider was built around a tubular steel frame, running on 10ā€ semi-pneumatic puncture-proof tyres.  It had a 2 Ā¾ hp Briggs and Stratton engine through a v-belt clutch to a chain drive.

The rear 24ā€ cylinder mower had five tempered alloy blades, and was mounted on self-adjusting bearings. The cutting height could be varied from 7/8ā€ to 2 and 1/8ā€.

2: 1964 Gravely Westchester

The USA-made 1964 Gravely Westchester four-wheel tractor is an interesting machine. It could be bought in the UK in the mid-1960s.

The Westchester was based on a Gravely two-wheel walk-behind tractor. This meant that several of the front-mounted attachments for the walk-behind would also fit the Westchester as front-mounted implements, including mowers, a snow blade, a sprayer, and a snow blower.

The Westchester was designed by the Studebaker car company, which owned Gravely. It had fibreglass body panels, a Gravely single-cylinder 12 hp engine, and an 8-speed transmission, similar to the two-wheel model, but it featured rear axle steering.

Several UK dealers sold the Westchester, including J. H. Hancox Ltd, Solihull who displayed it at several shows. The importer was Belos Gravely Ltd, Seghill, Northumberland.

It would be assumed that the four-wheel Westchester would be a better solution than the two-wheel with a sulky seat attached ā€“ but for some customers it wasnā€™t. According to Gravely, they agreed to buy back Westchester models from unhappy customers, with many subsequently upgrading to the new 1967 four-wheel Gravely 424 tractor. I wonder if this was the fate of the Westchesters in the UK?

3: 1966 Bolens Suburban

Bolens imported a vast range of ride-on mowers and garden tractors to the UK. However, the 1960s Suburban, which is well documented in the UK, seems to have vanished with no examples appearing to have survived on these shores. In 1968 the new Suburban was advertised at Ā£230.

The Suburban was a basic ride-on mower, powered by mid-mounted 4 or 5 hp Briggs and Stratton engines with a mower deck directly underneath. They have basic tiller steering, but do have pneumatic tyres and sprung and padded seats.

In the mid-1960s, the revised white-painted Suburban (earlier models were painted gold-coloured), was well advertised in newspapers, including photographs of the Suburban in UK showrooms. They even appear in the television series ā€˜The Prisonerā€™ filmed outside at Portmeirion and indoors at MGM Studios at Borehamwood between 1966 and 1968.

4: 1973 ATCO Atcomatic

In 1973, ATCO introduced the Atcomatic rear-engine riders; they were on sale for a few years.

The models were the 26ā€ cut 7 hp 726E electric start and 726R recoil start, and the 32ā€ cut 8 hp 832E. All had forward and reverse hydrostatic drive.

It is currently unknown where the Atcomatic was manufactured; the use of Briggs & Stratton engines often points to the UK or the USA.

Brochures, price lists, adverts and second-hand adverts exist for the Atcomatic, yet no examples of these mowers have reappeared from the back of sheds or garages.

After being discontinued, in 1980 ATCO started importing lawn tractors made by Dynamark in the USA, branded as ATCO. Then, in 1986 until 1992, ATCO manufactured in Stowmarket the familiar classic design dark-green tractor models.

5: 1985 Westwood Lawnrider

Westwood designed, made and imported a range of ride-on machines, but one model has remained elusive: The Lawnrider.

The only photo that seems to exist is on the right, from a 1985 trade report.

The UK-made Lawnrider was announced in 1985. It was to be a revolutionary rear-engine rider encased in a wrap-around body shell. It had an electric height adjustment for the 25ā€ rear-discharge mowing deck, and an integrated rear collector and rear roller.

Models were equipped with 6 hp Tecumseh or 8 hp Briggs & Stratton engines. Prices started at Ā£691.

However, although appearing in trade reports as ready-to-go products with prices, it’s possible that none were sold. But optimistically, there may be one or two test models lurking out there.

This model perhaps led to the creation of the 1990 Westwood Clipper rider – although that was another unusual model which had a limited sales life.

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by alan

When Mountfield Plugged In

August 29, 2025 in Articles, Machinery

A while ago, this blog looked at Vertex engines. These were two-stroke engines which made their way onto Mountfield mowers in the mid-1970s. It was not a success. Around the same time, Mountfield experimented with adding electric motors to their mowers, but this effort also appears not to have been a great success. In fact, one of the models was advertised as “…the first ever British Rotary Electric Mower to be fitted with Power Drive”.

But where have all these Mountfield Electric mowers gone? They don’t seem to appear anywhere. Perhaps a few are lingering at the back of sheds waiting to be discovered?

In the mid-1970s (frighteningly, 50 years ago), lawnmower maker Mountfield, based in Maidenhead, took a bold step with their successful range of petrol mowers by adding a full range of electric rotary mowers; the black and white image shows a 1975 example of the electric 18″ cut M4. As an alternative to petrol-engined mowers, these electric-powered machines promised homeowners a quieter, cleaner, and more convenient way to tackle their lawns. Mountfield’s selling points were clear: no petrol, no oil, no annual overhauls, and no rust.

Mountfield proudly described their electric mowers as ā€œdesigned and manufactured in Great Britain to cut and collect some of the toughest grass in the world.ā€. And they werenā€™t exaggerating. The mowers were not only intended for neat suburban lawns, but also for rougher grass areas where a good finish was still expected.

Mountfield 18″ Standard Electric Mower -using the same chassis as the petrol-powered equivalent.

The range of mowers was based on Mountfield’s existing petrol-powered platforms – the M3 and M4 with die-cast aluminium cutting decks. Swapping petrol engines for electric motors meant that the range could now appeal to homeowners who previously may have entirely dismissed the brand because they only sold petrol machines. These buyers may have instead opted for an electric mower from established players such as Black & Decker, Flymo or Wolf. Just to make sure every base was covered, Mountfield also introduced a 14″ mower for smaller lawns, this was the M35, but it still had a hefty die-cast alloy deck.

The electric-powered M3 Power Drive was debuted at the Chelsea Flower Show in 1980

Safety was high on the agenda. Mountfieldā€™s electric motors were encapsulated in double-skin insulated covers, giving added protection. Even TV interference (how many members remember that?!), a common issue with some early electronics, was eliminated. As marketing described, a simple flick of a switch and the mower easily started ā€”and stopped instantly when the handle was released, with a visible spinning disc on top of the motor indicating when it had stopped.

Every Mountfield Electric featured the brandā€™s trademark ā€œVacuum-Floā€ system. This wasnā€™t just clever marketingā€”it was a genuinely effective innovation. The blade was curved to act both as a cutter and as a fan. As it spun, it generated a powerful airflow that sucked up not only grass cuttings, but also leaves, twigs, and lawn debris. All of this was deposited into a large grass box, leaving behind nothing but a well-groomed lawn. Also included were spring-loaded grass deflector safety guards (optional on M3).

The range was modified and updated over a few years, but brochures generally included:

The Mountfield M35 Electric mower, later renamed as an Emblem.

The 14ā€ M35 Electric (later renamed the Emblem Roller Electric in the early 1980s) ā€“ A compact, hand-propelled mower for small and medium lawns. With a 900-watt motor and five rollers, it was easy to manoeuvre and could even mow right up to the lawn edge. Rear wheels could be used when a higher cutting position was selected for rougher ground or slopes. In 1980 it was priced at Ā£174 complete with a 32 metre cable. Earlier, in 1976, it had been offered complete with a 16 metre cable for Ā£99.

The 18ā€ M3 Standard Electric (Illustrated, second image above) ā€“ Powered by a 1250-watt motor but later upgraded to 1300 watts, this larger hand-propelled mower was aimed at medium to large lawns. Its split rear roller made it agile around trees and borders, while still delivering a striped finish. In 1975 it was Ā£132. The 1300-watt was Ā£249 in 1980, again with a 32 metre cable.

The self-propelled M3 Power Drive Electric mower.

The 18ā€ M3 Power Drive Electric (Illustrated, right) – also with a split rear roller – A real milestone: “…the first ever British Rotary Electric Mower to be fitted with Power Drive“. Driven by a powerful 1800-watt induction motor, it offered both self-propulsion and excellent cutting ability in one quiet, refined package. With a cable, it was Ā£358 in 1980.

Illustrated below is the largest machine, the 18ā€ M4 Electric (1250 watt, later upgraded to 1300 watts)ā€“ A four-wheeled workhorse designed for paddock-type grass, yet equally capable of producing a tidy lawn with its optional grassbox. Independent fingertip height controls gave it adaptability across rough ground or fine lawns. In 1975 it was Ā£110 with cable. The 1300 watt model, with cable, was Ā£211 in 1980.

Mountfield M4 Electric mower. This was a push machine and not self-propelled.

But what happened to these Mountfield electric mowers? The only model which sometimes appears is the smallest, the 14″ M35. Perhaps the M3 and M4 Electrics were not big sellers, or maybe not as good as the competition. Has anyone got any knowledge of one?

Read about the Vertex engines and Mountfield here: https://vhgmc.co.uk/2024/08/vertex-engine/

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by alan

Mowers and Bicycles

February 16, 2025 in Articles, Machinery

It is often overlooked, but many of the manufacturers of vintage horticultural machinery were also involved in manufacturing an array of other items. Just because we know them for horticultural items doesnā€™t mean they didnā€™t have interests (or beginnings) in other products.

One modern example is Honda. We know them in horticultural circles for starting to make lawnmowers in 1978 (47 years ago as I write this!), but they also manufacture across a range of areas, including automotive, motorbikes, marine, aircraft, generators, and power equipment.

Going way back to the 1950s, Nutt Engineering of Cambridge, who made the Hayn mowers, had a sideline in producing wire-framed clothes horses ā€“ a world away from the Honda empire, but companies need to diversify to keep working.

You may know the USA ride-on mower manufacturers Huffy, Murray, and AMF (American Machine and Foundry), but did you know that in the early-to-late 20th century they all had an interest in the manufacture of bicycles? Indeed, there was a booming industry with bikes, followed by a similar interest in ride-on mowers and powered garden equipment. Manufacturers diversified, expanded, and invested where the market and profits were.

Like the ride-on mowers that Huffy, Murray, and AMF sold in the UK, many of the bikes they produced were sold worldwide.

I have found some USA adverts which show the bikes that these ride-on mower manufacturers made:

Huffy

1967 Huffy bikes and a Huffy Sheraton ride-on mower. At the back-left is the British-designed Huffy-Moulton luxury bicycle. In the foreground, the Huffy Rail dragster.

Huffy, who produced bikes throughout the 20th century, is best known in the UK for their diminutive yet well-engineered ride-on mowers in the 1960s and ā€˜70s. Along with the mowers, Huffy was advertising 55 bike models including tandems and trikes in America.

In the mid-1960s, Huffy collaborated with the English engineer Alex Moulton and created the Huffy-Moulton bike (see image, right), this was claimed to be the first basic advance in bike design in 70 years. The bike had small wheels, instant acceleration due to gearing and low inertia, and was said to be nimble with light steering.

Interestingly, in the early 1980s, Huffy signed an agreement with Raleigh bikes in the UK, which gave them exclusive rights to manufacture and sell the Raleigh models in the United States. Huffy also sponsored a professional BMX (Bicycle Motocross) team. BMX started in the early 1970s in the USA, and eventually, Huffy had a range of BMX bikes. The Anglo-American BMX Championship, held in the UK in 1982, included the Huffy BMX Racing Team.

It is reported that bikes for the Huffy brand are now made in China.

Murray

1970 Murray Eliminator

Murray is another name that we associate with mowers in the UK. In the 1970s, many Murray ride-on mowers and garden tractors were rebadged and sold as Mountfield-branded machines. In the 1930s, in the USA, Murray started producing bikes alongside car parts and childrenā€™s pedal cars. However, in 1985, F. H. Tompkins, the owner of the UK company Hayter, purchased Murray for the mower brand and production, then in 2005 Briggs & Stratton took over Murray. According to research, Murray bikes had been produced until the end of the 1990s.

AMF -American Machine and Foundry

The third company that had an interest in mowers and bikes was AMF. The company manufactured some of the Massey Ferguson lawn and garden tractors starting in 1966, as well as the first ATCO ride-on mowers in the early 1980s. They also produced models branded as Dynamark, which Westwood sold in the 1970s before creating their own range of ride-on mowers. AMF had purchased the Roadmaster brand of bikes from the Cleveland Welding Company in 1950. There were 41 bike models in 1970, and bikes were manufactured until the late 1990s.

1970 AMF Roadmaster bikes. The interestingly named ‘Flying Wedge’ on the left, and Aerobee Renegade. The Flying Wedge had a 5-speed stick shift.

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by alan

Vertex Engine

August 26, 2024 in Articles, Machinery

Earlier this year there was a discussion on the forum about how many different manufacturers (or brands) had produced engines that were fitted to horticultural machines. The list became long and would have been longer if I hadn’t stopped adding to it.

The forum topic and list can be found here: https://vhgmc.co.uk/forums/topic/engines-brands-manufacturers/

One engine name that didn’t get mentioned or added to the list was Vertex. Internet searches indicate that these engines had a Villiers connection.

The reason that I mention Vertex is that I have been researching Mountfield lawn mowers and these two-stroke engines began to be fitted to a few models in the mid-1970s – Mountfields own literature and price lists show the use of the 4 hp, 2-stroke engines in 1975. Although I have found a brochure showing these Mountfields with the Vertex engines, I’ve yet to find one of the mowers in real life – what happened to them all? If you are someone who owns such a mower and scouring the internet for info, then you have a rare survivor!

Mountfield M6 Power Drive fitted with a Vertex engine.

In 1977 and while the engines were already being fitted to their mowers, G. D. Mountfield announced they were now taking over production of these engines and would produce them at their Maidenhead premises, they were marketed as ‘All-British Built’. In fact, in 1977 Mountfield advertised for Skilled Production Machinists to start immediately to set up and run the recently-formed Vertex Engine Division at a new production facility being built in Maidenhead – the advertised wage was Ā£4000 plus relocation expenses.

Mountfield were quite upbeat about their engines. Apparently, they had exceptionally high torque over the whole working speed range giving unmatched power. One trade report (AMJ) stated that the engines would be ‘…a welcome replacement to the engines of US and Italian extraction as seen in previous models’. However, people who maintained Vertex engines in their line of work have told me that they weren’t the best!

Classed as medium-sized professional mowers, in the late ’70s, the three models fitted with the Vertex engines were the 18″ M4 Professional, 18″ M4 Power Drive, and the 21″ M6 Power Drive as illustrated. All three machines were fitted with snorkel air cleaners, and polythene grass boxes were optional. In 1975, Mountfield had listed the M6 Power Drive 2-stroke at Ā£177.50 – which was Ā£19 more than the equivalent 4-stroke.

In the early 1980s, the Vertex models were still advertised, but with other new mowers being more important, an always-evolving market, and whatever issues the Vertex engines may have had, they seem to have soon vanished.

One thing is certain: even with relatively modern machines, some do not appear on the scene or on auction websites. Machines don’t have to be old to have disappeared into obscurity leaving only some fleeting bits of literature and adverts behind.

But I do wonder where all the Mountfield Vertex mowers went!

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by alan

The Invention of the Nylon Line Strimmer.

July 22, 2024 in Articles, Machinery

Let’s see a show of hands for everyone who has owned or used a domestic garden strimmer. This tool has become essential in many gardens, selling in large quantities over the years. But just how long has the garden strimmer, with its nylon cutting line, been available? And who came up with the idea, and when?

After the invention of the lawn mower, the next challenge was dealing with the grass that mowers couldn’t reach. While a well-designed garden and lawn can minimize these inaccessible areas, the simplest way to tidy up around shrubs, trees, or obstacles has always been with shears – a method that still works well today. However, if there is a mechanical or powered way to mow the lawn, why not have a similar tool for trimming those difficult-to-reach bits of grass?

1960s Greensleeves Swivel Cut Lawn Edge Trimmer

It’s worth noting a few early inventions that preceded the strimmer, as untidy bits of lawn have long been a pain in the grass. In the 1960s, a mechanical device called the Swivel Cut Lawn Edge Trimmer was marketed by Greensleeves (Illustrated). This tool featured a pair of shears mounted on two small wheels with a long shaft, allowing the gardener to push it along. At the top of the shaft was a spring-loaded, squeezable handle used to open and close the blades. The long shaft eliminated the need for the gardener to work on their hands and knees. The shears could be used vertically for lawn edges or horizontally for flat areas. Around the same time, Wolf of Ross-on-Wye produced a similar tool called the Orbital Long Shears, which had a 40″ shaft and a squeezable handle.

Powered machines for cutting small patches of grass did feature quite early, but they relied on steel blades as their means of cutting, and many were wheeled or required to be resting on the ground.

1957 Trusty Whirlwind

Introduced mid-century, Tarpen Engineering Co. Ltd had the electric-powered Grassmaster and Vergemaster models (Illustrated below). These machines, with long shafts enabling the gardener to work standing, were ideal for mowing awkward places where a mower could not be used and for clearing weeds and long grass.

In 1957 Tractors (London) Limited launched the Trusty Whirlwind (Illustrated). This two-wheel machine was marketed as a weeding tool and at wheel level had a 1/3 hp JAP engine that powered a 6ā€ steel disc via a v-belt; the operator was in a standing position.

Many other machines designed primarily for trimming vertical lawn edges had been developed. These include the battery-operated Andrews Spintrim (Illustrated), which featured ‘fast spinning blades’ that finely chopped the lawn edge clippings, eliminating the need for cleanup. It was claimed that the Spintrim could handle one mile of edging in an hour. Advertisements for the Spintrim also suggested that manual grass shears were ‘old-fashioned’ and ‘time-wasting.’

Tarpen Grassmaster and Andrews Spintrim

Eventually, a couple of entrepreneurs had a Eureka moment and realized that using a thin nylon line would be a much better, easier, and safer solution than metal blades. The nylon line could cut closer and cause less damage to the objects it encountered. It could cleanly cut up to hard surfaces like walls and rocks, trim around small items, and tidy lawn edges, while also being suitable for larger areas of grass and weeds. This marked the decline of small domestic machines with metal blades, as many manufacturers quickly adopted nylon line trimmers. There was likely a lucrative market for branded trimmer line replacement spools, though I can’t prove that!

When did nylon line trimmers appear in the UK?

Trade magazines generally state that nylon line trimmers debuted in the UK in 1975/76 ā€“ thatā€™s nearly 50 years ago as I write this ā€“ although the first two models, detailed below, had been sold abroad before this time. 

The first UK-retailed model is regarded as being the USA-made Weedeater. This was followed by the Adlus UFO from Germany. However, other manufacturers may have seen the nylon line machines abroad and started their versions in the UK but had not yet become mainstream.

The Weedeater, introduced in the USA in 1972, was invented by George Ballas of Texas. He was inspired by the individual nylon brush strands on a drive-through car wash that would clean a car without any bodywork damage. It was reported that a prototype cutting head (a beer can with strands of fishing line) was attached to his electric trimmer instead of the steel blade ā€“ and it was a success.

Initially, the Weedeater models introduced here in 1975/76, which looked like today’s strimmers, were retailed by Allen Power Equipment Ltd, Oxford. The mains electric models included the nicely-named ā€˜Snippyā€™ at Ā£24.95 ex vat in 1978, and in 1980 a rechargeable model with a battery charger became available priced at Ā£47.50. Petrol models were marketed including a 14cc lightweight model suitable for domestic gardens.

The competing Adlus UFO (Illustrated on the right) from Germany was a different machine from the Weedeater yet worked on the same cutting principles. Again, a design by someone who figured that nylon line would be ideal for grass trimming. However, rather than being a standard trimmer design, the Adlus UFO was a handheld device (like a small shrub pruner but with a trimmer head) that had the option of an extension handle to make it a trimmer that the gardener could use when standing. The handle was priced at Ā£4.72 + 12.5% VAT in 1976;Ā  the trimmer was Ā£29.50 + VAT.

The Adlus UFO was designed in the 1960s and sold across Europe. Although its introduction to the UK is often cited as occurring in 1975/76, advertisements for it appeared in UK newspapers as early as 1972. Initially, the UK agent was IXP Ltd, Yeadon, Leeds, which sold the UFO trimmer by mail order for Ā£18.30 in the early 1970s. By 1976, Ameeco-Broby Ltd, based in Basildon, Essex, had taken over as the agent.

Both the Weedeater and the Adlus UFO used nylon line but it was much thinner on the Adlus and would wear out quicker. The thickness of the line was reflected in the price of a new nylon spool ā€“ the Adlus spool cost only 98p + 8% VAT, and the Weedeater spool was Ā£2.95 +12.5% VAT in 1976.

Were nylon line trimmers an instant success?

The Weedeater and Adlus UFO gained popularity, catching the attention of other manufacturers. As a result, nylon line trimmers quickly became the next essential mechanized tool for lawn care.

Manufacturers were falling over themselves to get a slice of the action, this was propelled by Black & Decker who ran TV adverts in the summer of 1978 for their ‘Strimmer’ (String trimmer and thus the strimmer name became often used and now in common parlance) ā€“ essentially anyone with a lawn and a mower was a target for needing a Strimmer. Their models were the B&D D409 (Illustrated) with a 9ā€ cut (Ā£19.95) and a deluxe version that upgraded to 12ā€ and automatic line feed priced at Ā£45.

So popular was this new nylon line idea, that two years after the launch of the Weedeater and Adlus UFO, the Institute of Groundsmanship Exhibition in 1978 had a whole host of mains-electric nylon line models on show, although quite a lot of brand engineering was going on.

Some models at the exhibition were:

  • Danarm had a model that was bought in
  • Flymo (Illustrated below) had two models but the smaller one was a rebranded RotaShear
  • Hyett Adams was selling genuine RotaShear strimmers
  • AL-KO had a rebranded model
  • Toro (Illustrated below), sold by Autoturfcare, had a range of Toro strimmers. 
  • Others at the time were the Graswip Lawn Trimmer from the Village Blacksmith range sold by Thomas. A. Edison, Coventry
  • Solo Power Equipment offered the Solo engine with various attachments including a monofilament safety head
  • Wolf Tools, Ross-on-Wye, marketed their 240w  9ā€ Wolf-Trimit Standard, and the De-Luxe version with a 340w motor and a 16ā€ cut
  • PaiceSetter were selling several petrol models
  • Poulan petrol strimmers had the Trimette grass cutter attachments
  • Husqvarna had petrol models ideal for the handyman and around the garden
Exhibited in 1978, left, two early Flymo strimmers – the small one being a rebadged RotaShear. Right, an early Toro strimmer


Petrol models also marketed in 1978 included the Italian-made two-stroke 28cc Tiger 40 from E. P. Barrus, Bicester, and the brilliant Homelite lightweight model ST-100 2-stroke which utilised the hollow handle as a fuel tank (Illustrated, right). Stihl and McCulloch got in on the lightweight petrol-powered nylon line strimmer idea with many adverts in the 1980s.

The late 1970s Homelite ST-100 nylon line strimmer had a hollow shaft which was the fuel tank. Many manufacturers produced lightweight strimmers which would appeal to the householder, this Homelite model was no exception and weighed just over 7 lbs or 3kg.

Many manufacturers who had previously offered steel blade brush cutters now also added nylon-line heads, in 1977 this included PaiceSetter, East Grinstead, Sussex who advertised their new Elta/Fuji models which had a ā€˜super safe cutting headā€™ and two high-strength, low-cost replaceable nylon filaments.

There were alternatives to the nylon line. In 1980, Hemming & Wood of Lichfield introduced Duralon blades to complement their Sawtec range of grass trimmers and brush cutters. These Duralon blades were pivoted when mounted on a central housing. The blades were claimed to offer a longer lifespan than nylon line and were suitable for both grass cutting and lawn edging.

Other ideas for trimmers included ATCO which in the early 1980s advertised a 12-volt strimmer that could be attached to the electrics on their garden tractors. This enabled the gardener to tidy around the trees and borders when out mowing and away from mains electric.

One of the Wolf ‘Rotomat’ strimmers from 1989, in bright and appealing colours.

In 1987, Flymo observed that many strimmer owners were ready to purchase replacement machines. This segment represented 25% of the market, with buyers seeking ergonomic designs and improved features. In response, in 1987, Flymo introduced the standard Mini-Trim with an 8-inch cutting width and the Multi-Trim. The Multi-Trim featured a twistable horizontal cutting head for vertical lawn edging, assisted by a built-in roller for guiding along the lawn edge. To be fair, other manufacturers, including Wolf with their Rotomat ‘Vario’ in the mid-1980s, had already marketed rotating head trimmers. By 1990, the Flymo Multi-Trim range had expanded to three models with 8, 10, and 12-inch cutting widths. Many of these models are likely still in use today, as they perform all the functions expected of a garden strimmer with ease.

Nylon line trimmers, petrol or electric, can be found in almost every garden across the land. The cutting design and idea haven’t changed much although there are minor advances with guards, guides and handles. One can say that the original strimmer idea was a complete success!

Looking back at the article, has anybody got an original Adlus UFO or one of the first Weedeaters or the 12-volt strimmer that ATCO sold for their tractors?

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by alan

Quiz: Guess the company…#2

May 24, 2024 in Articles, Machinery

This is the second in a series of ‘Guess the company’ quizzes. From the following eight clues can you work out which single company they refer to?

The answer is at the bottom of the page.

The first quiz can be found at: https://vhgmc.co.uk/2024/02/guess-the-company/

Which single company do all these clues point to?

Clue 1: Although a very well-known brand in the UK, this American company was founded in 1910 in Baltimore by two men whose surnames provide the company name.

Clue 2: The company is best known for hand and electric workshop power tools.

Clue 3: In America in 1961 the company started producing mains electric-powered equipment for domestic gardens.

Clue 4: The first UK models of their electric lawnmowers were produced at their factory in Cannon Lane, Maidenhead; the first model was called the Lawnderette and was widely advertised in 1969. Production moved to Spennymoss in County Durham.

Clue 5: In the early 1970s, a small range of 12″ cylinder mowers called Lawnrazor were advertised.

Clue 6: After Flymos’ hover mower patent had expired, this company also started producing a range of mains electric-powered hover mowers in the late 1970s.

Clue 7: The mowers and workshop tools including their foldup Workmate workbenches and power drills were traditionally painted blue. In the 1990s the garden equipment livery changed to dark green, but currently (2024) their branded products are sold in a black and orange colour scheme.

Clue 8: Other electric-powered garden equipment has included grass trimmers, hedge trimmers, lawn scarifiers, lawn edgers, weeders, chainsaws, compost shredders, and leaf blowers. Many have been popular items from retailers such as B&Q and Argos.

Scroll down for the answer……

All the clues point to the company Black & Decker.

The first model of mower in the UK was the Lawnderette, produced at the B&D factory in Cannon Lane, Maidenhead, Berkshire. A range of small rotary and cylinder mowers were introduced and production moved to Spennymoss in County Durham.

The 1969 Lawnderette (illustrated) was a rotary model with a 12″ cut, a single stem handle, two small front wheels, and a rear hidden roller beneath the pressed steel deck. It was priced around Ā£11. A four-wheel model was available as the D485. These models did not collect grass clippings. The early 1970s Lawnrazor models had 12″ 3-blade cylinders and were able to collect clippings.

To complement the mowers, Black & Decker also manufactured a lawn edger powered by an electric motor – it had the simple name Power Lawnedger. It could cut 100 feet of lawn edges per minute, an obvious time and labour saving from using manual lawn shears. In 1972 the Power Lawnedger was priced at a bargain Ā£7.75.

Over the years, many B&D workshop tools have been available in the UK. Vintage catalogues exist showing the range of tools and equipment; these included their range of mains-powered drills which could power additional items such as a circular saw, sander, lathe, sanding table, saw table, jigsaw, fit a bench stand, and also power hedge trimmers.

B&D merged with Stanley in 2010.

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by alan

Lawn Fertiliser Spreaders

March 25, 2024 in Articles, Machinery

Lawn Spreaders - but why the green frog....

You may be wondering why there’s a picture of a stuffed green frog in this article, but more about that later…

I’ve concluded that nearly every garden, certainly those with a lawn, will have felt the presence of a garden lawn fertiliser spreader at some point. In particular, one of those plastic spreaders given away if one purchased a significant amount of granular fertiliser. Several of those plastic freebie spreaders had the unfortunate ability to block up if there was even the slightest bit of moisture on the grass that got onto the distributor. But some adverts worked in reverse where the fertiliser was free when a spreader was bought; and others just offered a free loan of the spreader.

Over the decades there has been a significant number of push lawn spreaders, plastic and steel, which have promised to give the perfect amount of lawn care product to lawns. They all work on much the same principle of non-slip wheels, a hopper, some sort of regulator to distribute the goods evenly, and a handle.

Cunningly, as with most of these domestic spreaders, there was often a range of weed and feed products that also went with them (not forgetting that some of the cheaper spreaders were calibrated for their own products) – and once one had the spreader then it would be easier to keep buying that manufacturers’ products year after year and trust that the system of looking after the lawn worked….and it did work, a foolproof way to look after the lawn with ease.

Briefly, here are a few companies that sold lawn spreaders:

Sisis started to produce a range of their Truspred models in the early 1960s – Click for advert image. These were available in 20″, 24″, 36″ and 36″ Super, although the range was of a professional quality and often aimed at sports pitches and the like. A smaller more domestic-friendly 15″ model was advertised in the late 1960s for Ā£8 15s. Many models were promoted for ‘accurate, consistent spreading of seed and modern fertilisers’ regardless of manufacturer. They were also good for applying lawn or surface dressings and rock salt to de-ice drives and paths in winter.

ICI Lawn Plus Spreader 1970

ICI promoted their ‘Plus’ Lawn Spreader in the 1970s. Often a 12″ model, it was priced at 45s in 1970, but if the gardener had signed up for the ICI Garden Savers Plan there was a 6s refund. By 1980 ICI was selling a 12″ lawn spreader for as little as Ā£8.

Wolf produced different spreaders in the 1970s and ’80s – Click for image. The model WE 16″ distributor had a curved metal hopper with a tough green-coloured stove enamel finish. The WE 18″ had a PVC hopper, while the WD was all steel. In the 1990s, Wolf produced the 17″ WE251 (Illustrated, below), sold in B&Q priced at Ā£29.95.

Fisons is a popular name in the gardening game. The range of chemical products in the 1970s included the Evergreen 80 for a weed-free lawn, also Lawn Food, Lawn Peat and Velvetone Spring Dressings. Accordingly, Fisons also had a lawn spreader, sometimes in a blue paint scheme – Click for Image. But they also had a budget 12″ spreader advertised in 1970 for only 35s when bought with a combined purchase of Evergreen 80 and Fisons Rose Food – an odd combination but maybe the rose food wasn’t a big seller?

Wolf Lawn Spreader model WE251 in 1990

PBI had lawn spreaders through the 1980s, but they could also come coupled with a product. In 1989 the spreader came with a free pack of their Toplawn 600sq feet pack of Weed & Feed for Ā£16.

In the 1990s both Levingtons and Scotts spreaders appear in advertising. Scotts models being the Accugreen and Evergreen. And today, a vast range of spreaders with different branding are marketed.

And what about the stuffed green frog shown at the top of this article? Well, who remembers the Fisons Evergreen TV adverts from perhaps 20 years ago, with a cartoon gangly-legged frog sprinkling some lawn feed around? I think the song went ‘If the lawn is a farce, and the weeds a right pain in the grass….‘. I bought some lawn feed, got a free lawn spreader (which is gathering spiders and dust in the back of the barn), also filled in and sent off a form, and amazingly this stuffed Fisons Evergreen frog turned up in the post – forget expensive vintage sales merchandise and paraphernalia because I’ve got a stuffed green Fisons frog…now that’s proper advertising!

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by alan

Battery Power! Is it the future…again?

August 11, 2023 in Articles, Machinery

Battery-powered machinery has been hanging about in the horticultural machinery world for several decades. Probably the best-known machines with batteries as their means of power are lawn mowers, for instance, in the vintage arena are cylinder mower models such as from ATCO (in the 1960s and ’70s), also Qualcast (see the advert on the right for the 1967 Super Panther 12 volt battery electric), and the 2-speed battery mowers from Webb (1960s and ’70s). But in the eyes of the potential consumer who was looking to buy a new mower, these domestic battery models often straddled the gap between mains electric-powered and petrol-powered models, although in their lifetime the mowers did gain a limited (although enthusiastic) audience.

Battery models certainly have their merits: much quieter than petrol models, the convenience of not having to refuel with petrol (or a two-stroke mix), and no trailing cables or extension leads for electric models; simply plug the battery mower in for a hassle-free and relatively cheap recharge when finished.

Where battery power is really useful is with hand tools, these are mainly shrub and hedge trimmers, lawn edgers, and a few domestic lawn strimmers. Again, there have been models from different manufacturers over the decades but none have really captured the imagination of the public and the models have been reasonably short-lived (apart from the really useful Spintrim lawn edger). Machines have kept being designed, made and advertised over the years and, to name just a few, have included the aforementioned Spintrim lawn edger from Bob Andrews in the 1960s and ’70s; also in the 1960s and ’70s shrub trimmers from Wolf, Black & Decker and Wilkinson Sword (see the 1974 advert below), and Sandvic cordless grass trimmers in the 1980s, and battery trimmers from Flymo in the 1990s. As can be seen, the decades kept on giving cordless machines from many manufacturers.

1974 advert for Wilkinson Sword battery-powered trimmers for the garden

However, over the last twenty years or more there has been a development of 18 volt (and then increasing volts) garden machines with many strimmers, hedge trimmers, leaf blowers and small lawn mowers – many being generic designs or badge-engineered and originating from overseas. DIY superstores have certainly stocked quite a lot and sold them to gardeners across the land to keep their gardens tidy with less effort.

At this point, I confess that I have had two battery-powered Qualcast hedge trimmers for the last five or more years, I purchased them new. The 18 volt machine is fine for light work such as small shrubs where the going isn’t tough. By comparison, the 36 volt hedge trimmer is almost on par with a popular brand of petrol hedge trimmer that I have. But sadly the batteries don’t last forever and the 36 volt hedge trimmer has done a lot of work and mechanically getting worn.

I have now upgraded to 56 volt handheld machines for the garden. I am hoping these will be revolutionary and make technological leaps (I admit the 56 volt power is great) – but will they replace petrol? Remember, the vintage machines also had the potential to become the machines of the future and were not just there to fill a gap in a brochure or look pretty in a showroom, but petrol and mains electric were the winners – maybe better battery power will be triumphant in the 2020s?

Left to Right: new 56 volt battery; 36 volt Qualcast battery; 18 volt Qualcast battery; 1974 Wilkinson Sword 7.2 volt shrub trimmer with integral battery in the handle (it’s a dinky little trimmer!)

Back to mowers, and just having looked at Webb brochures, ‘The Space Age Mower’ was the futuristic (and perhaps optimistic) phrase that advertised the Webb 2-speed battery cylinder mowers in 1970. There were three models in the advert: a 12″ which could cut up to 800 square yards, 14″ that could do up to 1350 square yards, and a 14″ de-luxe that could cut up to 2200 square yards per charge (and work for a claimed 2.5 hours) – will all the battery mowers of today achieve that? Will any new mowers in the 2020s really be ‘The Space Age Mower’ that will be in all our gardens soon?

So, I wonder if the battery-powered machines on sale today will be a great stepping stone to a cordless-powered garden that, without fuss and endless recharging and swapping of batteries, will entirely replace petrol?

Year 2023 56 volt leaf blower shown with 2017 qualcast 18 volt hedge trimmer and 1974 Wilkinson Sword 7.2 volt shrub trimmer

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by alan

Kubota Premises – Then & Now

July 16, 2023 in Articles, Machinery

Recently I have been looking at the history of Kubota tractors in the UK. Although the tractors were sold in many countries in the 1960s, the first Kubota tractors didn’t arrive in the UK until the early 1970s, and the range has continued to grow and develop over the decades.

Many newspaper adverts from the 1970s showed the 14 hp B6100, 16 hp B7100, 17 hp L175, 24 hp L225 and the 25 hp L245. Additionally, the popular and compact B6000 in the 1970s had a 12.5 hp water-cooled diesel engine, four-wheel drive with six forward and two reverse gears, a three-point hitch and a three-speed PTO.

Kubota Tractors (UK) Ltd in North Yorkshire originally sold the tractors, but eventually, Kubota set up their own division in the late 1970s and, in 1982, moved to Dormer Road, Thame, Oxfordshire.

Photographs exist of the original Dormer Road premises with the ‘Kubota’ name proudly on display. The premises still exist and (in 2019 with Streetview) look almost identical, even the planting with conifers and trees are the same – although they have grown! The 2019 image shows the premises occupied by another company, however, Kubota is shown across the road in a fantastic modern warehouse.

The location is: https://goo.gl/maps/nzoYkjgPu9znocR16

The early Kubota premises on Dormer Road, Thame, Oxfordshire. Newer offices and warehouse are now across the road,
The same premises in 2019

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by alan

The Perils of Collecting…..

November 22, 2020 in Articles, Machinery

Whatever you are collecting the machine may be out there!

We are possibly all guilty of wasting time looking through classified adverts in the tractor or vintage magazines or browsing online auctions, this is usually done under the guise of ā€˜research purposesā€™ even if we sometimes just accidentally end up purchasing the item. The purchase can then be further justified as saving another piece of history and the item joins the ever expanding collection without any sin being committed.

These are my personal thoughts on collecting all things horticultural. Easy and from the comfort of one’s own home, one of the best places to find things is online. But I find online auctions can sometimes be a complete muddle of contradictory statements. For instance a heap of rust for sale doesnā€™t correlate with its dubious glowing description of a machine needing nothing more than a bit of TLC, or the fact that the engine is scattered between several Tupperware boxes doesnā€™t necessarily constitute an ā€˜easy DIY repairā€™. Other adverts can bring a smile to the face of the people who know the seller is trying to big up their merchandise like a street trader hustling items from a suitcase, making it sound like itā€™s a once in a life-time opportunity, which it rarely is. Conversely, some rare or unusual machines have passed under the radar, sadly their sales description letting down the unknowing seller from getting a better price or a potential buyer missing out on finding that desired machine.

My favourite online auction machinery description to justify the potential that a machine is still in working order is: ā€œWas working when last usedā€. Quite frankly, I hope it was working when last used! I often wonder if the rest of the selling statement could be ā€˜…but not working nowā€™ or possibly ā€˜…but we cannot get it to start/run/move since itā€™s been sitting in the shed for thirty yearsā€™, which rather puts a damper on the auction.

There’s a huge range of machines out there – but will they run and work as intended once they’ve been brought home?

In this Northern household we take the view that anything with a petrol engine isnā€™t going to run when purchased, accordingly ā€œWas working when last usedā€ is taken with a pinch of salt. If it does run then itā€™s a complete bonus and we celebrate by taking the whippet for a pint downā€™t pub.

Iā€™ve also been dismayed when clicking on a garden tractor advert thatā€™s still at its 99p starting bid only to find that the seller is actually selling the machine for spares. Acting like Arthur Daley of the mower world the seller cunningly announces one is bidding ā€œfor a wheel nut onlyā€. Iā€™m always tempted to ask to buy all the wheel nuts, thus hopefully leaving the buyer with a wheel-less and immovable machine in the middle of his garage floor that he can fall over for the foreseeable future.

Having a machine that is moveable is pretty important. It reminds me of a trip one spring to somewhere south of a great metropolis to collect a non-running garden tractor that turned out to also have a couple of flat tyres. Google Street View did a tragically poor job of warning us of the front-garden-cum-municipal-tip-devastation we had to extract the tractor from. We knew we were in trouble when even the owner went out for the day and left us to sort it out for ourselves. A challenge wading through a sea of pizza boxes, beer cans and half a scrap yard, including the ubiquitous car up on bricks and a safe with the door jemmied open, and all at the front of a semi-detached house. Iā€™m told itā€™s called character building but Iā€™d call it unfortunate; yet we did rescue a tractor and that means itā€™s another guilt-free purchase. Ā 

The tractor we rescued had one additional label, it was that of an auction. Over the years we have had a few machines that have obviously been bought for tuppence at a local sale and then put online in the hope of bagging a magnificent profit. Iā€™m all for enterprise and if people can find a bargain then sell it on for a profit then good for them and I wish them every success. Itā€™s possible that many machines that are now in collectors hands may have been sourced from agricultural sales, house clearances or free-ads before filtering down through online auctions. I wonder how many machines and tools have been saved from the scrap man because they ended up on online auctions, their last chance of rescue before being dismembered or going to the crusher?

Perhaps collecting hand tools would be an easier option?

But this collecting lark is not without perils. If you are into collecting hand tools with no moving parts then you are very sensible and on to a winner, probably spotting all the bargains I blindly overlook. The most problematic that simple hand tools can get is rust, broken welds or woodworm. However, if any collectable has an engine, gearbox or anything of mechanical importance to the machine actually working as intended, then the money can start flowing and all hopes of saving up for that holiday in the Maldives vanishes. Who needs a foreign holiday anyway? Hours wasted whilst sat idly at an airport when instead one could be back at home trying to source no-longer-available parts for a knackered Tecumseh engine!

Of course the machines we collect are getting older and for some the original spares are getting rarer and some aftermarket reproduction parts can be a potential gamble. Sometimes this can mean turning to the lucky dip put forth by the internet and sticking our oily hands into the digital bran barrel of parts that may or may not fit. Iā€™ve found that cross-referencing part numbers between different machines and manufacturers is a skill, itā€™s almost an art form; Iā€™m getting good at it.

Once parts have been identified and ordered itā€™s at this point that doubt could set in, especially if the confirmation email says that the parts arenā€™t located in the UK after all, the website plainly lied. Imagine if Google Street View comes up trumps this time and, with glee, informs the buyer that indeed the heavy crankshaft for the twin cylinder engine isnā€™t coming from a seller in a picturesque Cotswold village, instead itā€™s coming from a bedsit in a backstreet in China that looks scary even in daylight. Will the purchase turn up? Estimated delivery time: Eventually. Plus the frightening thought of import duty and VAT. But thatā€™s a story for another day.

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