MOWER OF THE MONTH
Number Seventy-Nine
RANSOMES CUB
The Ransomes Cub was a sidewheel mower made during the
1930s, 40s and early 50s. It was one of the company's least expensive
mowers of the period and was aimed at the mass domestic (ie home user)
market.
The design was simple and effective. In its catalogues and
brochures, Ransomes described the Cub as "These are light but strong
side-wheel mowers at a competitive price, and they represent excellent
value. Thousands are in the hands of satisfied users. The latest model has
high driving wheels with overtyres. and a lipped bottom blade."
The Cub incorporated a number of features which, while not
innovative, showed that Ransomes thought carefully about the design of
even its most basic models. In the 1939 catalogue the following features
were highlighted:
-
"High driving wheels with overtyres to prevent
dirt entering the gearing" - the main side wheel had an
additional outer rim (the overtyre) which made the overall diameter
larger. There was a gap between the outertyre and the main wheel which
helped keep lawn debris away from the mechanism. Earlier versions of
the Cub do not appear to have had this feature.
-
"Welded cutting cylinder with five Sheffield
steel knives" - on earlier mowers the blades were pinned or
wedged into the spider or frame, probably because this was the only
way of doing it, which allowed the blades to be replaced or
repositioned more easily if they became damaged or worn. Welding the
blades in place was easier and cheaper (when the technology to do so
became available) but meant that the whole blade had to be replaced if
anything was damaged.
-
"Lipped Sheffield steel bottom blade" -
Sheffield was still the world's centre of steel making expertise and
the association was clearly intended to provide a positive endorsement
of the design.
-
"Adjustable cutting cylinder bearings" this
feature, which was common on many of the more expensive mowers,
allowed adjustment to compensate for wear in the bearings which would
otherwise make the mechanism less precise. As the bearings wear away
the shaft at each end of the cylinder can move about which makes it
difficult to adjust or set the bottom and cylinder blades. The
adjustment eliminated this movement which meant the mower could then
be set properly.
The Cub was available in 10in, 12in and 14in models.
Prices ranged from 36/6 to 44/-. As usual, the grass box and front
delivery plate was extra. A longer handle was also available to allow the
Cub to be used for mowing banks and other areas where the operator could
not easily walk directly behind the machine.
Ransomes named a number of its sidewheel mowers with a
feline theme during this period, with models including the Lion, Lioness
and Leo as well as the Cub. Much of the advertising for these machines
included images of the associated animals and might be considered an early
attempt at "branding" mowers.
The Cub is not the rarest mower but it is less common that
the Lion or Leo models. However, many mower enthusiasts have examples in
the collections.
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