Ransomes Auto Certes Shaver Blade

Welcome to the Old Lawnmower Club,

To answer your question yes the cylinder and the new shaver blade will need to be ground to true them up in order to achieve an accurate set up.

When you fit the shaver bade you may need to extend the length of the cylinder drive chain also be aware that the cylinder adjuster tension springs may become fully compressed before the cylinder reaches the bottom blade, if so remedial action may need to be taken like shorten the springs.

You don't mention the number of blades in your cutting cylinder but to produce a half decent wicket you will need the ten bladed greens cylinder also a possible conversion.

We have other Marquis men on the forum so if I have missed anything hopefully we shall have the gaps filled in.

nope, MBA7057 is probably the one you want, provided your Certes is actually a 20" Auto-certes, this should be easy to identify. Does it have an engine and if you measure the cutting cylinder is it approx 20 inches wide, if neither of these match, then yes, you do have Certes push mower ;-)

I could never understand why they bother with a mower on a cricket pitch, surely you might just as well kill off the grass and roll it hard, they cut the grass that short it dies anyway ;-)

Oh and you will have to replace the bottom blade at least once a year, more often if you top dress.

I am now awaiting for the 'how do I get the cutting cylinder out' question.

Hi, thanks for the replies. It's an 18 inch drum with blades, so what machine have I actually got? It's definitely ransomes with the villers sloper engine.

For info on cricket pitches, you need to cut the grass short (almost completely gone) to prevent variable bounce, but if you kill the grass it will cause the roots to break down and the pitch will turn into a dust bowl/mud bath depending upon the weather. As soon as a game is finished, you need to let the grass grow back to hold it all together.

I will ask about dismantling the drum, but as it will need regrinding anyway, my local man will do it all for a reasonable price. I did look at taking it apart and couldn't see where to start. Any advice for the fuiture?

The Ransome Auto-certes was available in 18" and 20" sizes, but there was also the Marquis, again in 18" and 20" sizes.

To identify which you have, on a Marquis the front roller is made up from wooden sections, the rear roller is made from cast iron and has (or should have) 6 cylinder blades.

The Auto-certes has a one piece tubular steel front roller, aluminium rear rollers and an 11 blade cylinder, it also should have a shaft stuck out of each end of the rollers, the front ones are to take roller extensions, the rear to take transport wheels, though a lot of these are cut off, due to being just the right height to take your ankles out.

If you have an Auto-certes then you should be able to obtain the shaver blade, just tell your supplier it is for a cricket pitch, if it turns out that it is a Marquis, don't bother, your machine will never cut close enough, no matter how thin a bottom blade you fit.

it's an 18 inch auto certes then, have the wheels for transport. i;ll get the blade done, thanks