Help to identifying this old mower

Hello

Welcome to the forum, interesting mower, whilst I cannot instantly answer the question, I think we need to perhaps ignore the engine ftb as to me it looks as if its a conversion of an original push mower. I assume on the right side when viewed from the rear the side cover will contain the original drive to the cutting cylinder, chain I would think?

The grooved rear roller is quite distinctive & I am sure someone will recognise it,I will let you know if I come up with any more info.

Regards

Clive

Grasping at straws here but the last time that I saw a knobbly hand wheel such as the one on the front roller adjuster was on a Greens Zephyr  so maybe a Greens?

Hello Again

Just had another thought, the grooved roller reminded me of a Presto Rollmo, as seen opposite

Also the side castings are quite similar, original drive cover on the right side etc.(the engine, handles & strengthening mods done later) They were introduced in the mid 1930's and made by Arundel Coulthard Limited.

Whilst they lack the adjusters Wrispin referred to, this image may be an earlier model.

I may be barking up the wrong tree, perhaps anyone with a Rollmo could take a closer look, I only have images. With the many mowers I have not sure why I don't have one?

Clive

Looks like a Presto (Arundel Coulthard Ltd) Hand mower (either a rollmo or a grassmo, I forget the difference) with a BSA engine to me.

Regards

Seb
Edit: apparently Clive has beat me to the identification by 4 minutes!

"Whilst they lack the adjusters Wrispin referred to, this image may be an earlier model."

There is a similar hand wheel in the centre of the cross bar, presumably to adjust the bottom blade to the cylinder so I guess that they were a proprietary item available to all manufacturers and consequently not a valid  aid to identification!

An interesting post and good see the input that it has created.

I also think it will turn out to be a conversion kit fitted to the mower either from new or during its life. I think that the mower probably is a Presto as has been suggested - the chevron pattern on the rear roller and the handler bar fixings are very similar from what can be seen on the photos.

I am a bit puzzled by the extension shaft protruding from the chain case, my first thought was for transport wheels but there does not seem to be one on the left side.

May be that shaft extension was for a dog clutch to disengage the land roll for doing  the fiddley bits. 

So do we deduce that the original push design drove the cylinder from the right hand end of the land roll and that when the engine was added things were reversed with the engine driving the left end of the cutting cylinder with the roller drive coming off the right hand end.

i would think that, with the amount of re-engineering required,  it would have to have been a production line job rather than an after market kit. What's needed is some period advertising material!

That is a reasonable assumption to make re reversing the drive to the roller. I don't have any information but I believe that there was a market for conversion kits at one time.

I have a Ransomes Ajax that still bears a drive pulley alongside the rear roller evidently the mower at time carried a conversion to electric power.

As you say some info would be nice if it turns up it would be good.

Thanks for all the good replies so far. I will try to remove the cover on the left hand side to see if it should reveal some more clues, as it doesn't look like it's original either. 

Time to revive the post after nearly 5 years & see that I contributed then, have now secured an identical one, have to wait until I'm allowed out before I can collect, but does prove that this was either offered by Presto & perhaps not a conversion? Wristpins comment re the dog clutch is answered as you can see on mine similar to that on the Suffolks?

Sorry about the wonky image tried everything re saving it, loading after rotating etc but it just wants to lie down!!

That is an interesting turn up let's hope you can pick it up before the owner moves it on elsewhere. 

Like you you I have had trouble with photo orientation that function remains elusive, the rotate tab is visible but it does nothing.

A bit of trawling & found it, the Presto-Rollmo Minor Motor Mower ad's found in 1963/4 50cc BSA engine Dual drive to cutters & roller bargain at £28-19s-6d.

So 5 years on & my research has improved, probably with age.

Well done Clive, your research does show a slight improvement.but ask yourself why Presto went this way?

The answer lies back in 1938, when Presto was bought up by Qualcast,also along with other small companies just before and after world war 2.

In the postwar years,there tended to be a trend to modifie post production machines,with new small unit engines,today most of them look half baked.

Look at Qualcasts own modified machine from the same age,the Qulcast PQ,to knock that one into drive,the whole engine was pushed forward..

When researching,its easy to identify a machine,the trick is the knowledge to know why, is it market forces, a new trend,a take over,technical issues within turf culture,or all of the above..

It also helps if you are a professional from the trade

Ask our past President a mine of information on this era, he was a salesman for Andrew's of Sunningdale in that time frame,it always pays to ask,not just to take adverts at their face value.

Yours Sincerely

Archivist

The Hall & Duck Trust

Clive1997: image rotated 90 degrees so now "upright"

hdtrust: Peter was Chairman not President