Lawn Mower

 

This hand-pushed lawn mower was the predecessor of modern mowers.  It was narrow because the force required to push it increased in proportion to the width.  A characteristic of the reel-type mower is the uniformity of the cut.  A modern design of the reel-type mower is still used today on golf courses and places where a fine, uniform cut is needed.

 

The rapidly rotating cutter-reel was powered by gears located inside the wheel.  A fairly high coefficient of friction between the wheels and the grass was required to cause the wheels to turn and drive the reel.  The design of the solid-rubber tires on the above mower would not have been the best design to provide the maximum friction – but, obviously, it worked.

 

Photo taken 2005

 

Provided by Dorothy Bayes

 

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