MOWER OF THE MONTH
Number Eighty-Three
PENNSYLVANIA ROLLER MOWER
The Pennsylvania Roller Lawn Mower was manufactured in
various forms during the years either side of the First World War. It was
designed for mowing fine turf found on golf courses and bowling
greens.
The mower was available in 10in, 12in, 14in and 16in
cutting widths priced from £7-0-0 to £11-10-0 including the grass box
and a choice of handle styles (1926 price list). The standard fit was the
wooden T handle which is more commonly seen on side wheel mowers although
conventional steel side handles used on most roller mowers were also
available. Almost all known surviving examples have the wooden T handle.
The original Pennsylvania side wheel mower was introduced
in the 19th century in the USA but the design was soon exported to other
countries. In time, the phrase "Pennsylvania Quality" was used
to designate that the mowers were superior to other models. More
specifically, the term referred to the quality of the steel used for the
blades (in much the same way that Sheffield steel was recognised in the
UK).
Lloyds of Letchworth originally resold Pennsylvania
sidewheel mowers imported from the USA but soon started making their own
versions under licence. By the 1920s the company was producing a number of
different mowers with the Pennsylvania brand name, including the roller
mower, various side wheels, trimmers, gang mowers and even lawn sweepers.
In its 1926 catalogue the company stated that the Pennsylvania roller lawn
mower was ideal for surfaces where "an extremely close, smooth cut,
combined with a Billiard Table finish is essential".
The Pennsylvania Roller Lawn Mower was one of the first
designs to feature precision gear drives. The gears on all early mowers
were generally made from cast iron which did not lend itself to precision
mechanisms although the design and engineering of such machines did
progress somewhat from the 1830s to the 1900s. But it was only when high
grade machine steels became widely available and inexpensive that they
were used on utility machines like lawn mowers. To an extent the skills
and materials developed during the First World War were transferred to
manufacturing peace-time machinery in the 1920s. This explains partly why
so many manufacturers were innovating with lawn mower design during the
decade immediately after the Armistice.
The Pennsylvania roller mower is much less common than the
side wheel mower with the same name.
|
