Sunday 8 April 2012

Trimmer Trouble

Spring cleanup around my house is underway...
The gardens have been raked, tilled and planted and now I am trying to clear some "scrub" around the house.
Things aren't working out according to plan though...
I tried starting my brush trimmer this morning and its motor would not kick into action...
The spark plug is not sparking which means
that I will have to disconnect the kill switch to find out if it is a wire problem or a coil problem...
Either way this is a problem until I can fix it...



I use this tool for trimming sucker growth...
If you don't keep the sucker growth under control the forest will grow in around you...


My trimmer is old and
I'm hoping that parts are still available.
Although its frustrating not being able to get to a job at hand right away...
The process of problem solving this type of scenario is in itself curiously satisfying?

-Martin 






4 comments:

Andrew von Zuben said...

Hello Martin,
Have you ever considered buying a proper scythe? There are the fancy twisted handle type, but you can buy just the tool head and build your own staff. In many parts of the world, the staff is simple and straight with a handle.

Martin said...

Andrew
I have a scythe and have used it for cutting fields and I also have a bucksaw that I used to use to cut my winters wood "sans chainsaw"

Robbie Coltrane some years back had an amazing series called Planes and Automobiles. (Did you know that before acting he used to be a mechanic?}

http://docuwiki.net/index.php?title=Planes_and_Automobiles

In the episode "The Noisy/Smelly 2 Stroke" ...he
heralds the 2 Stroke engine (attached to a chainsaw) as one of the most important practical labor saving inventions in history. I wholeheartedly agree! A two stroke attached to a bush blade is equally so...

Clearing bush with a scythe back on my old "homestead" has taken the romance away from this tool for me. The couple of acres of sucker growth that I have to at my new "homestead" will be cleared with 2 stroke technology.
It will be a big job even so!
LOL
Cheers!
Martin

Andrew von Zuben said...

I will assume that your scythe was kept
razor sharp. (literally shave the hair off your arm sharp)
Do you have a straight handle or
twisted?
Broad blade or narrow?
I use a four-stroke brush cutter. I can't say anything good about it though.
Sucker growth really is a challenge.

Martin said...

My Scythe has a broad blade and a twisted handle. If you cant find your razor you are welcome to borrow it...the blade is beyond sharp. Although it will cut a field I find that when you get suckers growing off of short stubby stumps or your suckers have become "pole wood" its time for some mechanization. I have cut pole wood with a machete but the work to cut 2 acres of sucker growth is a big job!