Originally Posted by
Bigrig
Just to hijack another thread - and this is true as I have photos somewhere to prove it - must drag them out!!
Years ago I owned four acres and needed a ride on. Walked into the mower centre at Brendale and started looking around ... they were all very 'pretty' looking and then I saw it, the perfect ride on .. it was a McCullogh, it was bright yellow and ugly as a hatful of arseholes ... I fell in love straight away and as it turned out, it was one of very few with a steel housing/hood - this was very important to me. You see, I had seen the yard done (about 1.5 acres of grassed area to be mown) by Jims mowing when I first moved in, and it took them about 2 hours to do - I figured that was a 'casual 6 pack' of time and subsequently, I needed to be able to carry 6 beers (and keep them cold!!!) whilst I mowed. Now I'm not the best stick welder on the planet, but hey, its a mower! So literally within the hour of my new yellow pride and joy being delivered I proceeded to knock up an open top steel frame that would comfortably hold a 6 pack and half a bag of ice, and strong enough to withstand the movement and vibration, so used a 20mm square tube as a stem (like a letterbox). Made a mount that locked into the hood on both sides of the base, as the hood metal was too thin to weld and not strong enough to support the weight. It gets better!! I then figured the beer would get 'frothed' up from the vibration so I thought this through for a while ... Hmmmm ... What to do ... DING (lightbulb coming on!! LOL), I've got it!!!! I welded another flat plate onto the top of the stem and rather than put the actual container on the stem direct, I drilled holes in the bottom of it to let it drain, and 6 holes around the perimeter to put 75x6mm screws through with butterfly nuts on the bottom ... in between the plate and the actual container I glued in (to the plate on the stem) 6 squash balls to act as suspension, and then sat the container on top and put the screws through and locked it in place with the butterfly nuts till the tension was just right. VOILA!!!! A self draining, cushioned 6 pack holder mounted to my little yellow pride and joy!!!
It still gets better - when I moved and sold the mower, the guy buying it asked me what it was for, so I took him through the story and gave him a live demo (a fee beers and ice!!) whilst we pondered all things 'ride on'!!! He asked did it come with the mower and I said for an extra carton it would - he proceeded to get in his truck (a cruiser - little wonder he was easy to use Jedi mind tricks on!! LOL) and go back down to the bottle shop and buy me a carton!!!
Ahhh, those were the days ... no yard before nor since has ever looked so good as I was constantly on the McCullogh mowing the lawn just so I could avoid conversation, be on the move, and have a beer, all whilst being perceived by the missus to be working hard and keeping the place looking good!!!! LOL
I miss that mower ....
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