Step-by-step instructions for making a DIY lawn mower

Description of the device

A homemade mower consists of an engine, knives and a comfortable handle. Since the engine is powered from the mains, you will also need the longest cord with a plug and a switch. For ease of use, it is worth attaching wheels to the bottom of the mower. And in order to hold it all together, you need a frame.

Selection of parts

The most important question is where to get the engine to assemble the lawn mower. Virtually any serviceable engine from old household appliances or power tools will do: drill, vacuum cleaner, grinder, chainsaw, even a washing machine. An engine with a power of five hundred watts or more is suitable, although a power of 1 kilowatt or more would be an ideal option - this will allow you to work at lower engine speeds and sharpen knives less often. In any case, the selection of the engine is interrelated with the diameter of the blade and the overall dimensions of the mower. In short - the more area a homemade lawn mower needs to cover in one go - the more powerful the engine should be.

The next important detail is the knife. This is almost the main working part of the mechanism, and the quality of the knife determines how long your lawn mower will work and whether it will delight you with the results. Therefore, to make a knife, you need high quality hard steel. In shape, the knife can be one solid piece up to 50 centimeters long, with a hole for a screw in the center, and sharpened on both sides, possibly slightly curved, following the example of branded lawn mowers. Another option is a compound knife, when two small metal sharply sharpened segments are bolted or welded to a strip of steel. Also, the strip of steel from which the knife is made can be curly, usually in the form of a trapezoid - this protects the knife from winding up the grass. And, finally, the most unusual knife is a solid round sharpened disc.

Craftsmen advise this form for safety reasons - a knife made of a strip of steel can break and injure if it hits a stone or a stick, and almost nothing threatens a solid metal disc. The handle for a lawn mower can be any. The practice of using the chassis from old strollers is widespread - this solves three problems at once - the wheels, and the frame, and the handle. In the absence of an old stroller at hand, the handle can be welded from a metal pipe or even made from a shovel handle.

The power cord can be taken from any household appliance that is out of order. In principle, with a small length of the cord, you can reach it to the network through extension cords. The wheels can be adapted from a stroller or large car, or cut yourself from a thick wooden board, or use the wheels of an old vacuum cleaner. For the frame, you need a piece of metal or thick plywood.It is also worth making a protective cover so that do-it-yourself lawn mower repairs are required as little as possible. A good casing material is metal.

Assembling the lawn mower

To assemble a lawn mower, we need a hacksaw for metal and a welding machine.

The first step is to make a frame for the engine. To do this, you need to take a metal sheet with a thickness of at least three millimeters. The size of the frame is chosen based on the length of the blade, but the maximum width of a lawn mower rarely exceeds sixty centimeters. Thus, you need to cut a square of metal with a side of 50 or 60 centimeters. In the center of the square, you need to make a hole for the engine. The flanged motor is mounted to the frame with the shaft down. If the engine is with ears, then additional fasteners must be welded to the frame.

Such a frame can also be made from a board or plywood, but metal is still preferable, since it is less prone to deformation. The shroud is designed to protect the motor shaft from debris and grass debris. The simplest casing can be made from a metal tin can. More complex options will have to tinker with. If the finished cover is tall, it will also protect the mower's electrical mechanism. If not, then another casing must be made to protect the connections with the wire.

The cover slides over the motor shaft. Then a sharpened knife is put on and the whole mechanism is fixed with a bolt. Further, wheels are attached to the frame. For this, corners with holes drilled in them must be welded onto the frame. The diameter of the wheels is selected in such a way that the knife passes at a height of five to seven centimeters above the ground. If the knife drops lower, chances are good that it will get stuck in the ground. At higher elevations, the grass is crumpled rather than cut.

Regardless of what the handle is made of, it needs to be adjusted for the height of the one who will use the mower most often. Typically, the optimal handle length is about 90 centimeters. The final stage of work is connecting the power cord. An electric lawn mower with your own hands is ready, you can test it in your own summer cottage. In order to protect against the cut grass, a net is attached over the mower.

The second option is to make the frame in a special curved shape. This technique described how to assemble a lawnmower to a standard shape. Options - a lawn mower from a drill, on which a wide knife is fixed instead of a drill. At the same time, the drill itself must be attached to the frame with a handle - the advantages of such a home-made lawn mower are that you do not have to fool your head with connecting the cord - the drill mechanism is used. Secondly, these lawn mowers can be used to cut grass under trees and near curbs.

In a similar way, you can make a lawn mower from a chainsaw. For it, you need to prepare a special frame frame, for example, weld it from pieces of pipe. Next, move the chainsaw engine to it. The network has both drawings and videos on attaching knives to such a lawn mower. Due to the power of the engine, the lawnmower from the chainsaw copes even with small bushes.

Video "Overview of a hand-made lawn mower"

Video review of a hand-made lawn mower.

Advantages and disadvantages of a homemade option

The main advantage of self-assembly of a lawn mower is its low cost and environmental friendliness, because for it you can use units of faulty equipment, from a chainsaw to a table lamp. Otherwise, the advantages and disadvantages depend on the parts used. As for the engine, the masters actively recommend asynchronous - for low noise. But this is not an absolute option, in the absence of an asynchronous option, any will do. After all, mechanical cleaning of grass is much more convenient than manual cleaning, so you can endure the noise from time to time.

Some craftsmen strongly advise against taking the engine from a vacuum cleaner, because it quickly overheats, and in this case they advise an engine from a chainsaw or a grinder.The correct casing with holes or from a thick metal mesh helps to fight overheating of the engine. The disadvantage of homemade mowers is the inability to adjust the height of the knife. Although, with desire and skill, this disadvantage can be corrected.

To make the knife happy and dull as rarely as possible, use high-quality steel. To keep the motor shaft from damage, the knife must be sharpened unevenly - make it sharp to the edge and do not touch it at the point of contact with the shaft, since the grass near the place of attachment of the knife and the shaft is still poorly cut, but rather becomes soaked and screwed onto the knife. Additional options will significantly improve the homemade lawn mower - an adjustable handle length, safety bumpers that prevent the knife from touching the ground or a grass catcher for cut grass.

Operational safety

A homemade lawn mower requires careful adherence to safety precautions. This is due to both the fact that the tool is electric and the presence of knives. The first thing to do before turning on the mower in the power grid and starting work is to check its serviceability, the sharpness of the knives, the reliability of all bolts, and the free wheeling of the wheels. It is highly advisable to collect debris on the site, as stones or wooden blocks can cause damage to the lawn mower or injury to the mower. Children or pets must leave the work area.

The correct use of the lawn mower is to push it away from you. If there is a need to stop working with the lawn mower for a while, and then return to it, then it is imperative to disconnect the mechanism from the power supply, and not with a button near the engine, but remove the plug from the outlet. And most importantly, working with an electric lawn mower is strictly prohibited in the rain or on wet grass. Cleaning or repairs can only be carried out with the mechanism turned off and cold. If you follow these simple rules, a self-assembled lawn mower will delight you for many years to come.

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