[davidbliss]

The one on the right that did have governors just has the one small brass plug carburettor side, I found you had to hold the governors open to be able to prime in a reasonable time and when it did the governors just opened the carb to full throttle so they were of really no use so did away with them. However the engine started to knock in only two hours of use, the white metal in the big end shell had just been squeezed out and it looked as it was very soft. The other engine been running ok for around thirty years and never had a issue, took a good look at the carbs they were slightly different the un-governed the butterfly only partially opens so it got the revs to prime but reckon it restricts full constant overload, so I welded a bit on the butterfly rods arm to stop full throttle and ran them side by side so got same revs under load. I also noticed the spare shell sets look a very white colour where the failed shell was dark grey and just thought they had deteriorated laying about all that time. Now the un-governed block is very different in several places, instead of the one small brass plug for the governor rod carb side its got one large ether side and casting bumps filler cap side looks like other attachments for working the governors if it had any. The crankshafts the same as the one that was in use filled its sump with water and found that the metal had rotted away where the seal sat so swapping them was a quick fix, later skimmed a bit off the crank and slid a bit of stainless pipe over and further mods to take a modern seal wasn’t that easy, the old type was just a very thick carbon washer with a bit of rubber held tight against it by a spring still watertight in nearly 80 years. They are particular painful to start with the small rope pulley and light in weight both had there oil filler caps shared off as they lept up the pull-start rope and fell on there caps. was told were probably ment to run on the 100 octane so higher compression?.

[davidbliss]

When we had one never gave it a thought and fitted the free swinging blades the other way up so like all rotary mowers.

[davidbliss]

The air chisel is a very good idea, I still have a old CP9 with some tin weevil chisels thats ideal peeling spot welded tin off things, although powerful struggles at a 1/8 inch tinwork will throttle back and split a pencil line in thinner tin. With things on a taper a straight gentle pull may not work. A friend had a Alvis car wheel hub well stuck, not only did they have the very strong standard puller but also a legged hydraulic one over the top to no avail. With the standard puller pulled up tight, flash heat and the burrrrrup of the air chisel was off with no damage, I have seen quite a few things that were just forced to be shifted like time as often leave over night under load and carful treatment would have worked.

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[davidbliss]

I have an idea I once welded a fine threaded nut on the existing nut end as was still captive in the flywheel, but you must use a very tough ended draw stud or you will damage the crankshaft, tighten and warm with a hot air gun and leave, do this several times before giving the draw bolt a sharp tap, small hammer only as many small taps better than something to do damage.

[davidbliss]

Looks a early engine, as it has the separate valve caps, twenties to early thirties. A bit odd seems to have a air filter snorkel and pipework, but carb not for having one, I had a similar thing with I think Villiers engine and Albion gearbox with reverse.It had a small plow and cultivator, as completely worn out apart from the gearbox that was the same as I think Douglas motorcycle so only motorcycle with reverse and the rest ended up as a really handy thing to mount a pressure washer on.

[davidbliss]

Bolens used stock bearings but to gain a few £s they had the ODs taken down so a standard one wouldn’t fit without the housings altered. Bearings are usually all good, think in the 80s there was some Russian ones and for some reason we had a shortage and had what was available, they were so soft if heavily loaded stationary after fitting just sounded terrible. So there are bearings and bearings and today am amazed how long some go with heat and horrendous speed. But for some applications you still need if possible the old solid brass cages as if anything goes belly up the strong cage keeps the balls or rollers all in there positions it is also noticeable the bass cage laps the balls or rollers to a better finish, where in certain conditions a steel cage will seize very quickly or nylon will brake. A 4.3 Alvis ran roughly 400 miles shedding teeth off the crown-wheel but done little damage, a nylon or light steel caged would have let go with the amount of metal chips going through. the replacement is a easy off the shelf twin ball type like some FWD cars use. I would not use one of those and said why, well they found a genuine old stock, and blow me it had the Alvis part number etched in, I said how many do you have and got 25, I payed £90 and knew some were asking £400 for the same bearing so always try firms that know what you are asking for and helpful so you don’t just get the this is what we have also firms that are spread about they may have inherited old stock and I always say why I want a particular type so its reliable like originals if possible.

[davidbliss]

If you could post the exact sizes I could look in my archive of old bearings, as many old bits of equipment ran those small bearings.

[davidbliss]

I have run two Bolens mowers now 43 years, and rebuilt the decks a few times, I went to replace the bearings and found they are a odd size, one firm said couldn’t I get the housings turned out to take a standard bearing, well they are not that strong to start with, so I tried Hayley’s Norwich, they have other branches. they said we keep them specially for you old boys. However I could have machined down a standard bearing and then ground to the finished size. as have done several for replacement obsolete bearings for early cars. The Bolens bearing sizes are, bore 3/4” OD 1.780 width .608. photos of Bolens, 1905 Rover gearbox bearings being turned down to size.

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[davidbliss]

They often keep to same BSP thread pitch for pipe fittings, however if you have a gauge it saves guessing. if its of US manufacture they use NPT thats only one thread per inch different, I get the odd motor cycle they often used cycle rate 26 tpi for there oil fittings thats not good into alloy being so fine. I often make my own taps and dies and a easy metal to machine then harden is EN24 works quite well as can go up a few thou without going up to next size. I recently was repairing a 1924 French car gearbox that was very poorly designed that allowed a non captive bearing to work partly off, as there is a French odd ball metric pitch I did that at a imperial 1/2”size to be equally awkward.

[davidbliss]

As nobody tells me that can’t be done without certain machines, I just do it on clapped out old things some rescued from the scrap, spend hours making a press tool for a thing that would have cost pennies, but get satisfaction no one else have ever bothered, its often funny the crudest made tool can turn out a complicated to form the metal boys say impossible, then say would cost thousands just for the tooling, if my idea of a tool didn’t work it wouldn’t matter but has so far. It isn’t just machining I will have a go at tin work, and make parts by just welding, I had made a engine manifold, sent a photo to a friend in the States saying there you go casting by mig welder, well blow me they do just that continuous welding with a CNC mig water cooled, annoying thing I haven’t the knowledge of how to program. Door capping’s for a 1915 car, was told a very difficult part to make as had a slight curve, well D shape railing top bent to give a curve and a block of Elm wood, four G clamps, one hour to fold up four mark free.The cast exhaust manifolds metal was shot so bent pipe and a few drawn metal elbows, cut and lots of welding and finish inside is as good, no one would ever know they weren’t the originals and they haven’t warped. like the cast ones do.

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[davidbliss]

I have had some of those taps and were alloy not Die-cast metal that can be very difficult sometimes as with age and what metal mix its made from on that day or even hour so can get very bad internal corrosion and expands, had some new 1940s carbs still in there original greased packages just a myriad of cracks, warming the stork a few times might help just be carful as the die-cast melts at a low temperature, and have shifted some frozen parts from carbs by boiling them in a saucepan with ordinary washing powder as it dissolves the old varnish left from the petrol.some I have welded (more like soldering than welding) with some special low temp rods and some leaded solders will work, messing with the 100+ year old of unobtainable parts some times a needs must and worked to save the day. or I make patterns and get them cast and machine or machine from the solid so its fit and forget.

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[davidbliss]

I’ve just looked again and can see the plug, and can see the oil filler plug and looks more or less plastic modern Briggs but the alloy case looks shaped older stile and not on any briggs i have seen.

[davidbliss]

Is that a injector in the head.

[davidbliss]

If you have a problem see if you can find and ask a vintage motorcycle enthusiasts lads as motor cycles have much smaller bores than most Briggs engines, going back to when they started to use all alloy non sleeved engines was told they couldn’t be bored, but an old engineering friend used to do them without fuss and seem to remember them saying after boring used a different hone.

[davidbliss]

When I dropped the carb into boiling water I should have known what was going to happen. When a float has a pin hole in and has sunk with petrol in thats how I get rid of it by firstly unsoldering the pin hole that all floats have then just warming it a few times will soon empty the petrol, with a cool float I then solder the pin hole up. This is how I find any holes that can’t be seen, placing under in warm water and watch for bubbles, clean and before soldering the leak unsolder the the breather hole. solder the leaking hole and again cool and then solder the pinhole and test in warm water again. With some floats with the manufacturing process of drawn metal to cause stress cracking all over, would clean and tin all over, if done properly doesn’t cause any detrimental weight increase, a friend used to electro plate floats, I could see how a float would implode like Sidevalve mentions, in full sun things can get very hot indeed and one day left a jug with petrol in out in full sun, as I went to pick it up noticed the petrol was boiling away quite well and thats the same as air expands, thats how water gets into seemingly sealed parts like gearboxes, rain water cools and then is sucked into a part. If the carb had a bit of water in and the float had the smallest hole air would escape but if cooled water wouldn’t get drawn back in and would then implode.as not very structurally sound with pressure on the outside.

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