My reel mower cost about $125. After shopping around we found this one on sale at Sears. Since this type of mower is so inexpensive compared to the gas powered models, and since it is so doggone easy to use, the tendency is to think it is a toy. I assure you that it is a precision cutting machine. There are three adjustments on my mower which keep it working efficiently.
The first one is the drive wheel height. The wheel is unbolted and rotated to put one of the holes on the peg which sets the height. I have mine on the lowest. The mid and high holes are visible.
Second is the trailing wheel height, similar to a regular mower. It is the one with the red handle. You can see its range. In this picture it is at "high". That is where I put it when I'm not mowing for ease of moving.
The third adjustment is the cutting bar. On the inside of the frame, two screws beside one another are visible between the front and back wheel. These screws adjust the cutting bar to the reel. If you look closely between and below the two adjustment screws the pivot point for the cutting bar is visible. The reel spins forward and lightly contacts the cutting bar. It cuts just like scissors.
The cutting bar is adjusted with the two screws. Tightening the front screws pushes the cutting bar down, or away from the reel. Tightening the rear screws lifts the front of the cutting bar to contact the reel.
To effect adjustment you slightly loosen all four screws on both sides then, little by little, tighten the back screws to get the bar to lightly contact the reels evenly all the way across the bar. All the while you are tightening and loosening the front screws to find the best position of contact. When all four screws are tight the position is set.
To first learn how to do this takes a little patience and a couple of tries, but mastering adjustment is essential to keep the mower cutting properly. Soon this adjustment task becomes easy and automatic. Keeping the bar properly adjusted will keep the thing sharp. I usually give it a quick adjustment when I put it away after mowing.
This can give a good idea of why it is important to get rid of sticks and stones, because they will hurt this mower.
You know it is correctly adjusted when the wheels still turn and it will slice a piece of paper effortlessly.
1 comment:
That is interesting info about the mower. We bought an old one like that from the thrift store a while back but it was dull, and I don't think it had the adjustment possibilities that yours does. You said it wasn't a toy...the guy at the thrift shop showed us his half-finger and said that he had made the mistake of putting his finger in the blade of one of these when he was a child! Yours looks very sharp! There's something really nice about mowing without the roar of an engine and smell of exhaust.
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