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Collection, Preservation and Display of Old Lawn Mowers

Wizard Barn Find

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Well actually 'Greenhouse Find', that's where its been for last 25 years.

Quite a rare mower so had to rescue it, manufactured by Shanks of Arbroath from 1923 to 1937. The 1927 catalogue state 'The best small motor mower in the world' as used at Buckingham Palace.!!

Not sure of plans yet as we do have one in collection, so possibly Spares? Leave as is? or someone who wants a brave restoration it needs new mag, tank etc, but it does have original starting handle!

 

Forums

Lee Smallwood Wed, 31/07/2019

Well saved Clive,  wonderful mower,  hopefully a brave soul would get that back to working condition again,  I'd need a magic wand.

oldiron Fri, 02/08/2019

Hi Clive

Ricky Gowen here, i would be very interested to buy this from you, A shanks is high on my "would like" list.if its still available or you wish to sell then im all in

Ricky

Seb Sat, 03/08/2019

Great find clive! I think it's definitely worth restoring, some parts from a spare atco standard engine and a big tank of diesel and away you go. If it does go to a restorer then I think I've got a spare fuel tank.

I've long thought the wizard was the best 2-stroke mower out there, certainly the best small motor mower that shanks made.

oldiron Fri, 25/10/2019

Its been a while since i posted images to this forum so bear with me whilst i figure it all out again!. So i have wanted a Shanks now for a long time as most club member who know me know this,finally got one in August of this year from Clive ( thanks Clive).

Work has started on her and as we stand now, the rear roller has been removed, freed up and replaced, the chains have been removed and are semi free and bathing in Diesel( have been since September)

Currently the layshaft is being worked on, sprockets are off, clutch drum is still solid but has been left under pressure with lots of penetrant and occasionally i heat it and let it cool ,its slowly starting to move but im not rushing it as i can ill afford to shatter the clutch drum. Work is as and when but i do fully intend to have it at Mk and running in May. As per whether i repaint, im not sure as im in a preservationalist  mood at the moment. There is some small areas of paint still left so she may just get the clean up and oily rag treatment but with mechanical resto to allow here to run and cut

wristpin Fri, 25/10/2019

Wonderful, oily rag or Owatrol is the way to go and as you say, proceed with care.

oldiron Fri, 25/10/2019

Heres some of the nests i found and shook out of the roller alone! Also you can see that the fuel tank is questionable, might have relent to make a new one or source one ... Seb...you there?????

Clive1997 Sun, 27/10/2019

Good work so far Ricky, yes couldn't agree more, defiantly conserve rather than restore.

We are seeing many working original machines with good colour & original transfers being re-painted, this I feel can sometimes de-value in both monetary & historical terms, although it is of course personal choice. 

I have several mice running round in my shed wondering where their home has gone!!!!

Hopefully Seb with help with the tank, we do have a Shanks box with the ornate handles, so perhaps I need to get a few cast?

Cheers fopr now & look forward to seeing the Wizard again at MK.

 

Triumph66 Mon, 28/10/2019

I can highly recommend Owatrol as I have used it on several of my Bolens to accentuate its patina as well as conserving its originality and keeping the rust in check.

oldiron Tue, 29/10/2019

Thanks Clive and Triumph for the interest. Im not familliar with Owatrol , so i shall look it up. My collection has a mix of restored and unrestored machines ( as Clive and a few others have seen)

I will explain my current preservation mood, about 2 years ago i restored a machine and it looked great but i was so underwhelmed by it, i felt that i had completely took all its history away! I felt it looked like it had just come from B&Q, like id lost all its scars and stories. Some machines i believe warrant a full resto, however by the same token, some are best left but preserved. 

wristpin Tue, 29/10/2019

Owatrol. For rust to form the steel or iron has to be subjected to air and moisture, Owatrol excludes both while leaving the original age related patina in tact and preventing further deterioration . If used neat from the tin and applied heavily it can look a bit glossy but a little dilution with white spirit tones it down - and makes the tin go further! It is definitely a product for preservation rather the restoration.

The word Restoration is banded about but if it is accepted as meaning “restored to ex- factory condition”  which often involved fairly muted colours and no polished pipes or hardware , it should possibly be a guide to a good restoration. High build primer and two- pack finishes never entered into it.  However we are all entitled to do what pleases us.

 

 

 

oldiron Fri, 01/11/2019

Wristpin, before i go pull the trigger and buy some Owatrol,tell me, which one from there range do i want? Is it the Owatrol oil? 

wristpin Fri, 01/11/2019

Yes, Owatrol oil. Use thinned (a little) to preserve rusty iron and steel or add to paint for brush painting. If you are good with a brush and the atmospherics are right it eliminates the brush marks.

oldiron Sun, 03/11/2019

Heres some more pictures taken today of some more progress. The starting spur is now free and shaft has been cleaned so it now spins as it should. Its hard to see in these pictures but i have started cleaning with WD40, red scotch brite ( softer than green) and a tooth brush and some of the original and remaining paint is starting to show through in places

 

oldiron Mon, 06/04/2020

Done a little more to the Wizard the other day, actually i have done a lot of little bits over the weeks but havnt fitted them back to the machine. I had some spare time on Sunday so fitted some bits and bobs back on. The clutch assembly and layshaft have been free'd up and are now active again. Had a small mishap when freeing up the clutch drum,in my haste i neglected to support the drum correctly in the press and actually cracked the clutch drum all the way from hub to teeth. That was a major disapointment mostly with myself as up to that point it had been going good. After time and much thinking i just ended up banding the drum and making a thin support ring thats bolted to the drum internally and holds the drum together as an added measure as i would rather not throw a shattering cast iron clutch drum at myself or anyone else. So apart from that we are back to normal work

 

 

 

 

oldiron Sun, 05/04/2020

With the lockdown going on it has given me time to continue with the Wizard. Im not on full lockdown as i am classed as a key worker but with that i have changed my shift so that im finished early which has given me more playtime in the afternoons. So work has been a pretty nice distraction. The carb has been fully rebuilt with a new brass float, full clean up and a new fuel needle made by myself. A brand new throttle cable was sourced and modified to suit also adding new slide spring. Just made and varnished new rollers this weekend to get her fully rolling, attention will go on building an ignition system this week hopefully

Clive1997 Mon, 06/04/2020

Looking good, will see if I can get that fuel tank organised for you.

Will be in touch.

Adrian Mon, 06/04/2020

Considering where you started, that's damn good progress.

I can't get over that exhaust pipe - it looks like something off the Queen Mary!

oldiron Mon, 06/04/2020

Hi Adrian, thanks for your comment, yes that exhaust is pretty overkill, no doubt a cost saving to have the same diameter pipe all the way down, it also has internal baffling(well once it did) so its pretty neat in that respect. I have a shanks 1927 catalogue which depicts this machine with a cable operated clutch and a smaller villiers type silencer so im not sure if mine is pre or post 1927?????.

Shes coming on pretty good, i have restored many machines before but found myself increasingly underwhelmed by the results, so im in a preserve/make work kinda mood at the moment. I have the original wooden toolbox to repair refit and also need to fit the replacement fuel tank from  Clive hopefully soon( when the world starts turning again). 

To be honest there is actually not much difference in time spent doing this verses full paint job, alot of restraint has to be exercised though as its way too easy to loose all its patina/character but on the other hand it has to function correctly. Im trying to achieve old but loved.

I will have to make a new grassbox because im not likely to come across an original at least not imminently 

Rick

hdtrust Tue, 07/04/2020

Clive are you sending mixed messages again on restoration!

Just put every ones mind at rest,all these mowers were made by man not created! They came from the dealers all shiny and new,no paint scratched.

Lets face it, when in traction engines has some body said, as its painted its not worth as much,or is it something else! Perhaps the lack of your knowledge to correctly restore something.Lets face it, if its rare enough it does not matter if its badly rusting or fully restored,the money will defiantly be produced out of someones pocket.

Now for my knowledge that machine would have been stripped by now into its various parts, I have a little tool around here that would make the job so easy and probably retain most of the original threads on the bolts.Oxygen and propane mix with a rose bud on the end of the torch

Then again you are talking about new castings, so which is it!

Kind regards

The Hall & Duck Trust Professional Restorers since 1982