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Collection, Preservation and Display of Old Lawn Mowers

Webb 14" drive shaft coupling

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Hi this my first post on the forum and also my first refurb of a cylinder mower.

I'm stripping down a Webb 14" mower with a B&S 2HP motor. The motor number is 60102 0140-01 6612073 so will be 1966 vintage.

I can't see any id on the mower itself to set it's date.

The bearings on the cutting drum seem to have seized up so I want to take the whole frame apart. The only thing that won't budge is the coupling on the main shaft.I have taken the grub screws out and flooded it with WD40 and tried various tricks. Is there a knack to getting these off? I'll try some heat next.

Apart from a liberal coating of surface rust the mower seems in good condition and has been well looked after. I also have the grass box which is not shown.Should be an interesting project.

Regards Duncan

Shaft coupling  

 

Forums

duncangasmith Sun, 04/11/2018

Thanks. I'll have another look and see what you mean. I may still want to strip down to do the painting through I guess getting the frame back square is a consideration. Generally the engineering on these mowers is a pleasure to work with, everything is logical and nicely done. 

wristpin Mon, 05/11/2018

Alignment of the frame should not be a problem as the heavy cast iron combined throw plate and sole plate will keep everything where it should be. If you are concerned just do the final tightening with the machine standing on a thick piece of ply, block board or similar. Same piece of board is useful when leveling the the relationship between the rear and front rollers and the bottom blade to avoid wedge cuts.

Going back to the muff coupling on the drive shaft . WD 40 is not a particularly good releasing agent . Diesel oil or Kerosene is as good as anything but of the proprietary releasing agents Plus Gas gets my vote. Another option is "shocking" it with two large hammers. Slacken the engine mounting bolts and the hold the larger hammer against one side of the coupling and strike the opposite side hard with the other one. Rotate the coupling 90 degrees and repeat , then again several times. The bigger the stationary "reaction" hammer the better - ideally a small sledge hammer. That has the effect of "springing" the coupling and may help the releasing agent to creep between it and the shaft.   

duncangasmith Mon, 05/11/2018

Many thanks, the frame is completely disassembled and slowly getting cleaned. Painting has never been my strong point but as long as I don't rush anything I should be ok.

Piston and valves are coked up but that is known territory for me on the Briggs engines. I've found the engine decays on the internet for that engine which I will print on to glossy labels and then coat in lacquer. I'm not familiar with the carb on the 2hp engine so I hope a good clean will suffice. 

I don't know about the rest of you but I think the Webb logo on the grass box was hideous on these models. I may go back a decade and find something more pleasing or just leave it blank. I'm lucky that the plastic parts are still in good condition though the handle grips need replacing.