What to do with a knackered lawnmower?

[worms]

Hit a major stone with the petrol mower and the plastic body/chassis is now pretty sick. It will see me through the season but will need sorting, one way or another. It was a cheap generic one from one of the multiples but is only a couple of years old and the motor seems good.

So what to do? Patch it up? Throw it away? Find a replacement body (where?)?

And if I end up having to buy a new mower what innovative uses could I put the old engine to? I guess I could build some sort of garden shredder out of it. As a kid I always fancied making a small hovercraft...

Suggestions please!

 

[Penners]

Just how sick is the 'chassis'? Can you not stitch/staple/glue it?

My mate, James, reckons there are very few things in this world that can't be fixed with a combination of nylon twine and Evo-stick. Build up the adhesive in layers, including a patch of fibreglass mat in each layer.

Otherwise: http://www.hovercraft.org.uk/showthread.php?24284-Can-I-power-a-Hovercraft-with-a-lawnmower-engine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjG4JiLj6W0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwZbOBXyBSM

 

[MdB]

Depending on exactly which bit broke it could be worth looking for a replacement. I had a plastic bit break on the bottom of my mower and the shop had a box full of replacements. If it commonly goes, there is a chance you can get hold of it.

 

[Flyfisher]

A photo of the damage would be helpful but I agree with the other suggestions that it should be repairable.

Bonding a fibreglass patch to flexible plastic might need a bit of mechanical assistance, depending on the type of plastic, but a possible alternative could be some aluminium sheet and pop-rivets. It depends on the amount of damage really and whether the affected area is a structural component of the mower.

Otherwise, it's amazing what can be done with a roll of duct-tape: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10434561-1.html

 

[angrybird]

Attach the lawnmower engine to a home made Go-kart, that was my dear old Dads use for a knackered lawnmower, I was the envy of our village :lol:
Not too sure if it would pass the "elf and safety test"!!!

 

[JohnB]

Otherwise, it's amazing what can be done with a roll of duct-tape: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10434561-1.html

A lot of people think the tape is for repairing ducks, but that would be quackers .

 

[worms]

Thanks for all the advice. I guess it is all fixable to an extent and it won't be the only thing around here held together by duct tape and twine! I guess I am just guilty, having paid less than £50 for it new, of thinking from the very beginning that its life expectancy was not going to be great, so I was probably less inclined to put the time and effort into it that it requires. (Of course, if I had paid a lot for a very good mower, I would probably have looked after it better and not hit the rock in the first place!)

Its a shame it means postponing the hovercraft, though!

 

[Penners]

A lot of people think the tape is for repairing ducks, but that would be quackers

John - go and stand in the corner.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Its a shame it means postponing the hovercraft, though!

I think you're missing the obvious solution - a hover mower combination. Now that really would be a cool ride-on mower! 8)

 

[philpjuk100]

Go on! you know it makes sense!