Video description:
This video is the final part of the Coldwell "Model L" Lawn Mower Co. of Newburgh, NY, USA in the late 1920s.
The other half of the restoration of this machine was much less frustrating than the previous half. Most repairs were just cosmetic painting issues although a few pieces were cracked and needed to be brazed back together. I did end up remaking the drive roller cover as the previous one had a large hole in it. The largest issue was the need for a new drive shaft that was longer than the max capacity of my lathe so I had to hire that job out.
I was incredibly grateful that the radiator did not leak and actually worked, although I did use RV anti-freeze instead of water as I didn't want the whole cooling system to start rusting again.
The helical cutting blades were a "reel" pain to sharpen as I used grinding compound and spun them by hand twelve million times to make sure they worked perfectly.
As for the actual function of this mower, it's insanely fun to use and has a surprising amount of power. The lack of reverse makes it somewhat difficult to maneuver if you happen to get stuck, and the whole thing weighs 350 lbs so pushing around when it's not running is tough. Having super smooth rollers is great for flattening the grass, but if it hits a patch of gravel it gets stuck immediately. I really wish this had a chair and some steering as I would have loved to drive this around my lawn.
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