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Thread: Cylinder/reel mowers in WA... what's the go?

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  1. #1
    Senior Member conrad's Avatar
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    Default Cylinder/reel mowers in WA... what's the go?

    Hey all,

    I've been hanging out in the QLD Lawn Fanatics Facebook group for a bit - as the name says they take their lawns seriously! Anyway it's rubbing off and I just picked up an old Scott Bonnar today as a bit of a restoration project. Looking around the net I see probably the majority of cylinder mowers, definitely the majority of big commercial cylinders and scarifyers, groomers, etc. coming from WA. Just wondering why that is? Are there that many posh lawns over there, or all the WA lawnies just have a serious love of cylinders?

    Cheers!

  2. #2
    Senior Member Scooby Steve's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cylinder/reel mowers in WA... what's the go?

    Seems to be habit as it's something they have always favoured over there. Mey cylinder mowers are popular over that side. Back in the 70's in Melbourne it was more common my Dad use to run them in his business but gradually common sense prevailed and they swapped over to rotary mowers. The finish is superb when using a well set up cylinder mower. You will miss out on work in WA if you don't have one.

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    Senior Member djkgrounds's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cylinder/reel mowers in WA... what's the go?

    Need to have specialist sharpening to get them right from what I understand? I could be wrong though. I would love to have one, I have a few yards that would come up a treat using one of them. I always seem to miss the bargains when they come up on ebay
    DJK Grounds & Gardens
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    Senior Member Scooby Steve's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cylinder/reel mowers in WA... what's the go?

    Quote Originally Posted by djkgrounds View Post
    Need to have specialist sharpening to get them right from what I understand? I could be wrong though. I would love to have one, I have a few yards that would come up a treat using one of them. I always seem to miss the bargains when they come up on ebay
    Yes pro sharpen unless you know what you are doing. Expensive things to buy new. Cut quality on the right grass is great but not commercially viable in Vic, not suitable for all grass types either if i remember correctly.

  5. #5
    Member bellarinelawns's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cylinder/reel mowers in WA... what's the go?

    In its heyday, Perth was the world capital for cylinder mowers. It has dropped off a bit but Perth is still renowned for cylinder mowers. Western Australia is very sandy, and has a warm climate which ate both ingredients for couch type lawns. If you are ever in Perth, have a look at new housing estates. Each block is squared up and leveled. Because the soil is sandy you could basically just build without any significant foundations. Because of the sandy soil you can achieve a very level surface and fine lawns of couch and bent grasses. And that is why Perth is the world capital for roller mowers. Oddly the big commercial rollers were made in Perth and the "mum and dad mowrr" scott bonnar were made in Adelaide.

  6. #6
    Senior Member conrad's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cylinder/reel mowers in WA... what's the go?

    Cheers guys. I thought it must be something like that.

    I hadn't ever considered owning/using a cylinder mower but they're really not that tricky once you know a bit about them. Yes you really need to get the bedknife and reel professionally sharpened given the precise nature of them, not something that you'd attempt to sharpen with the old faithful angle grinder! But you can backlap at home easily and safely enough. It's just having the right tool for the job really - if you want a level, striped top notch lawn there isn't really any other way. More working having to mow every 3-4 days (or more), then you get into PGR (plant growth regulators) etc., it can turn into a lot of work really fast if you're just used to the idea of bringing out the rotary every fortnight. Probably a bit of a steep learning curve, but once you know you know.

    Kind of makes me want to visit Perth just so I can have a look at the lawns and bring back a Mey...

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