Mowing ..

[roddy1960]

This is my latest Makita addition ...It's next to my cheap Rockwell blower that I bought last Christmas ..

Leaves it behind , well actually it doesn't 'leave' leaves behind ...sorry , bad joke ... I used it this week a few times and worked great doing around buildings entrances and walkways..and it cleaned up a 200 sq metre artificial lawn pretty easily too of leaves and paper ..I like it a lot for that kind of work but haven't tried it on wet grass clippings yet.

DSC00057 by Rodney McGiveron, on Flickr...Not a pro machine by any means but good for me.

On the older Rockwell one , wasn't happy with the really short pipe so I found an old shop vac with a plastic wand section . to my surprise it fits perfectly over the original end and helps it direct the air a bit better..Might need to mod the end a bit by flaring it a little like the Makita..Apologies for the blurry photo but it's an old camera i used that was the only one with a working battery pack.

[DFB FGXR6]

Sounds good Roddy.

I have the shorter nozzle version of the Makita (DUB182Z) for drying off my cars after a wash. With a 3.0Ah battery, I can blow down one car on 1/2 a charge.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by roddy1960

This is my latest Makita addition ...It's next to my cheap Rockwell blower that I bought last Christmas ..

Leaves it behind , well actually it doesn't 'leave' leaves behind ...sorry , bad joke ... I used it this week a few times and worked great doing around buildings entrances and walkways..and it cleaned up a 200 sq metre artificial lawn pretty easily too of leaves and paper ..I like it a lot for that kind of work but haven't tried it on wet grass clippings yet.

imageDSC00057 by Rodney McGiveron, on Flickr...Not a pro machine by any means but good for me.

On the older Rockwell one , wasn't happy with the really short pipe so I found an old shop vac with a plastic wand section . to my surprise it fits perfectly over the original end and helps it direct the air a bit better..Might need to mod the end a bit by flaring it a little like the Makita..Apologies for the blurry photo but it's an old camera i used that was the only one with a working battery pack.

Im interested to hear how you go with it after mowing beside concrete areas. If it delivers, id deffinately consider buying one as a skin. I have a long 2 pad driveway, a turning circle and a garden path, so sweeping after mowing takes a little while. Id only be after the skin, i have 3 x 5 amp hour batteries and a 3 amp hour battery for my drill and impact, so that side is well covered.

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Sounds good Roddy.

I have the shorter nozzle version of the Makita (DUB182Z) for drying off my cars after a wash. With a 3.0Ah battery, I can blow down one car on 1/2 a charge.

image

I never thought of using it for that but what a good idea ...Saves a fair bit of wiping ...Will do that myself next wash ..Either that or take her for a quick run somewhere..That's fun too...

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

Im interested to hear how you go with it after mowing beside concrete areas. If it delivers, id deffinately consider buying one as a skin. I have a long 2 pad driveway, a turning circle and a garden path, so sweeping after mowing takes a little while. Id only be after the skin, i have 3 x 5 amp hour batteries and a 3 amp hour battery for my drill and impact, so that side is well covered.

..Yep ...I will too . I know on speed 3 she has some power ...almost too much if you give her the herbs .Speed 2 is about what full power is on the cheap Rockwell ..Speed 1 is not something I'd use much. Been watching a few YT's on brands like EGO of late just for fun . They are mostly back pack powered for fully commercial work ..Geez....Exxy but they could move a jumbo jet I reckon . Look at this ..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YniukvI1fWY...

Also noticed that Milwaukee have a battery powered chainsaw that runs some heavy duty petrol saws pretty close these days too .

I'm with you on the Makita skins though..My combo set had a brochure in the case with SO MANY tools that run on the LXT platform and many of those skins aren't that expensive . My blower was $109. A mate of mine got one at Bunnings for $99. I have four Makita batteries so far and plan to add a couple more by the end of the year because I have a funny idea I might be buying a few more Makita tools over time .Cheers..

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by XB GS 351 Coupe

First start up of the old Victa!

Just so cool.....lovely..

[DFB FGXR6]

Pruning season is in full swing. Once the mowing slows off, I'm living with a pair of secateurs in my hand. I love pruning roses, surprisingly therapeutic.



Having said that, roses are still in fragrant bloom. Snapped this today, I think I will give this one another week though, I didn't have the heart to give this my brutal treatment whilst it's still looking so good.



Still finding things to mow though........

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Pruning season is in full swing. Once the mowing slows off, I'm living with a pair of secateurs in my hand. I love pruning roses, surprisingly therapeutic.

image

Having said that, roses are still in fragrant bloom. Snapped this today, I think I will give this one another week though, I didn't have the heart to give this my brutal treatment whilst it's still looking so good.

image



image

image

The mower looks like a little beauty ..What exactly is she ? ..

I take my hat off to you ..Pruning roses is an art to do it properly , way out of my league although I try and do the two I have here at home . I did save my old 12 ft tall dicksonia manfern though.. After the gale we had late last year snapped it off I cut the head off and trimmed the fronds right back and re planted the trunk and trimmed head in a sheltered area near the garage . I watered it every day , gave it sugar as suggested by a landscaper friend and she looks like new fronds might come and open up soon..I'll be over the moon if they do..

On Makita ...Does anybody recall these pearlers from many moons ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-XDpGdLKSk.. and this one involving a rather famous Western Australian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSdGFVi0Pds . Great old ads .

[DFB FGXR6]

The above mower is a Victa Mastercut 460 with the mighty Powertorque 2 stroke engine. Basically the old school Victa utility, still available new today. Very light and easy to handle.

Yes rose pruning can be a challenge, but once you get in a rhythm its rather easy. The biggest mistake people make is not pruning HARD enough or by pruning to early.

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

The above mower is a Victa Mastercut 460 with the mighty Powertorque 2 stroke engine. Basically the old school Victa utility, still available new today. Very light and easy to handle.

Yes rose pruning can be a challenge, but once you get in a rhythm its rather easy. The biggest mistake people make is not pruning HARD enough or by pruning to early.

She looks like a really effective mower to use, just as a mower needs to be especially in your job . As a kid I remember our side throw Victa . It had a dark green body and the ratchet start ..Went for years and years..We had a lot of rough rocky ground to cut and she never stopped . One day Dad decided to buy a Scott Bonnar with catcher (novel thing for us at the time) and the old green Victa was pensioned off .. When we moved she stayed there . Oh I wish we'd kept the old girl . As for the Scotty , also a pretty good mower as I recall but didn't rev it's ring off like the old Victa .

When I was greenkeeping in the mid 1980's the club ran two Scott Bonnar 24's Supercut's as our greens mowers with 5 hp I/C Briggs and Stratton engines .
They now use quick wide cut Toro triplex 's but I can say that a well cut green with a walk behind Supercut was a superior cut to a heavy Toro . It used to take me about 3 hours to single cut the 9 greens and practice green and a bit under 5 hours to double cut for tournaments etc..but the checker board appearance and precise cut was a thing of pride for me .

Like dear old Dad used to say Do it right or don't do it at all.

[.:4:.]

So far my lawn strategy seems to be working. At this time of the year the grass isnt a 2 week mission, its probably 3 to 4 weeks before it starts to look tatty. But for the past few weekends ive done a section at a time. Mowing high. So it was 3 feet high a couple of months back, but due to injury, time constraints, the bloke who rents my granny flat used to do the grass with me being unable, but he also is time poor, and equipment failure, it was an effort to scalp it. So since equipment is fixed, yes i scalped the grass, but its coming back nicely. So now im just keeping it in check. For the week to week 1 section, its pretty easy to break down at my place. Theres the driveway (its long), the side yard, the lower backyard and the upper ex pool area. So an hour per weekend on a different section per week, in winter, should keep things neat and tidy. Biggest issue is summer. I took next to nothing of the top of me lower backyard and that still filled my green bin. Summer will mean ill have to do 2 sections per week. Hmmmm.

[danzvtil]

Ok, kinda combining this thread and the what made you feel good today one, I’ve picked up a new client, today was his second mow, ultra modern house, not a leaf out of place, but today his missus was there with their young child. So now I have 2 lawn visits with very tidy ladies offering me coffee while we chat. Both are still wearing slinky night gowns at that hour of the morning ��
Yes, I’m here to cleen zee pool!

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by danzvtil

Ok, kinda combining this thread and the what made you feel good today one, I’ve picked up a new client, today was his second mow, ultra modern house, not a leaf out of place, but today his missus was there with their young child. So now I have 2 lawn visits with very tidy ladies offering me coffee while we chat. Both are still wearing slinky night gowns at that hour of the morning ��
Yes, I’m here to cleen zee pool!

Reminds me a tiny bit about this spectacles advert ..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTIWjR2GpFo..

[Rallye Sport]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

So far my lawn strategy seems to be working. At this time of the year the grass isnt a 2 week mission, its probably 3 to 4 weeks before it starts to look tatty. But for the past few weekends ive done a section at a time. Mowing high. So it was 3 feet high a couple of months back, but due to injury, time constraints, the bloke who rents my granny flat used to do the grass with me being unable, but he also is time poor, and equipment failure, it was an effort to scalp it. So since equipment is fixed, yes i scalped the grass, but its coming back nicely. So now im just keeping it in check. For the week to week 1 section, its pretty easy to break down at my place. Theres the driveway (its long), the side yard, the lower backyard and the upper ex pool area. So an hour per weekend on a different section per week, in winter, should keep things neat and tidy. Biggest issue is summer. I took next to nothing of the top of me lower backyard and that still filled my green bin. Summer will mean ill have to do 2 sections per week. Hmmmm.

Tweaking your watering program might slow it down. Most retic shops give out or supply catch cups for a few dollars. Ramp it down over a month or so until its holding colour but not growing too quickly. Mines down to two, 7mm waterings a week. Seems to be my sweet spot between presentation to maintenance input.
Saying that I'm slowly getting rid of my front lawn and planting natives. I put all that water, fert and labour into it just so I can wash my cars on it so I don't feel so bad about wasting the water, strange psychology that

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by Rallye Sport

Tweaking your watering program might slow it down. Most retic shops give out or supply catch cups for a few dollars. Ramp it down over a month or so until its holding colour but not growing too quickly. Mines down to two, 7mm waterings a week. Seems to be my sweet spot between presentation to maintenance input.
Saying that I'm slowly getting rid of my front lawn and planting natives. I put all that water, fert and labour into it just so I can wash my cars on it so I don't feel so bad about wasting the water, strange psychology that

I dont water it. We are under water restrictions anyway. But it rains often enough. I just want to keep it under control. With working 5 to 6 day weeks, a bit here or there if its in check is way easier then finding the effort after a hard week to do the lot in 1 go when its getting out of hand. Also not letting garden equipment sit helps with reliability i have noticed.

[deesun]

Well if that's the case, "what makes me feel good" is walking out my front door looking at my front lawn which is the same green every day of the week. You see our lawn used to basically be a dust bowl. I'm not a gardener and I want some more time on weekends so we had fake grass laid. OH Lordy Lordy Lordy is it great, we love it. No mowing no watering, yes it gets hot but my wooden back deck gets hotter. Shame the council wont let us lay it on the nature strip so the Mrs still has to mow it and whipper snip. Love my fake grass.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by deesun

Well if that's the case, "what makes me feel good" is walking out my front door looking at my front lawn which is the same green every day of the week. You see our lawn used to basically be a dust bowl. I'm not a gardener and I want some more time on weekends so we had fake grass laid. OH Lordy Lordy Lordy is it great, we love it. No mowing no watering, yes it gets hot but my wooden back deck gets hotter. Shame the council wont let us lay it on the nature strip so the Mrs still has to mow it and whipper snip. Love my fake grass.

Dangerous ground here mate mentioning fake grass on a mowing thread, wish I could get some.

[.:4:.]

My place being a battle axe, off the street you cant see anything but driveway, so provided the driveway is presentable, the place looks good. Having said that. Im really pleased with how the whole yard looks currently. As a whole, yes ive put in a lot of effort, but not in 1 go. So a bit here or there over a few weeks and now its really easy to maintain. Im down to the list of things ive been putting off for years. So last week after 10 minutes of mowing a section of grass just to keep it in check, i trimmed the lower limbs off my reputable trees. Yesterday after work i spent 10 minutes mowing the useless area thats in constant shade where my fuse box is. The meter reader has been there more times then i have. But in that area there is 1 reputable tree and 3 weed tree things. Ive known about those for years but never got around to doing anything about them. So i attacked the biggest with the wrong tools (i dont have a wood saw, so a hacksaw was my weapon of choice). Chopped the best part of it back then almost gave up on the main trunk. I have a cracked rib so upper body stuff hurts. So i grabbed my drill with a 51mm holesaw and felled it with that. Got half way into the next but my mate next door popped over and i agreed that going to the pub was a better idea. And it was. But he passed comment that the place is looking good. And prior so has the bloke who rents my granny flat. So im happy that all the work put in shows.

[Tassie f100]

Hey 4 what is a reputable tree??

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by Tassie f100

Hey 4 what is a reputable tree??

One thats not a weed. Like my bottle brush trees. Theyre native and not an invasive thing. The ones ive cut down are weeds. They're called a wondering something. Cant remember the name, but they arent a good thing to have theiving the ground from real plants.

[.:4:.]

And cutting them down doesnt solve the issue. So 3 trees is one thing. But theyre an invasive weed that has a common root system, so 3 trees is the same weed. So progress on my behalf? Sort of, but its a battle which it looks like i have won, but its a war i have not conquered.

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

And cutting them down doesnt solve the issue. So 3 trees is one thing. But theyre an invasive weed that has a common root system, so 3 trees is the same weed. So progress on my behalf? Sort of, but its a battle which it looks like i have won, but its a war i have not conquered.

Drill hole. Insert Roundup. No more Tree.

[Work Horse]

Originally Posted by GasoLane

Drill hole in Cambium layer*. Insert Roundup. No more Tree.

*Google 'Cambium layer' to understand the best place to driil a hole to get the tree to take up Glyphosate.

[.:4:.]

Poisoning parts doesnt rid the issue. It may kill part of the section of root. But being that of a weed, its crafty and like a virus, it just turns into sections. I have previously dug up and ripped out a section of the runner. Problem being the bit i pulled i couldnd go any further as it went under my turning circle. Im not breaking up concrete just for a wandering anything.

[.:4:.]

After for lack of anything to do as all the good parts of my yard are looking good, i spent maybe 40 minutes in the ex pool area. Thats the work in progress, but nobody sees that anyway. There is one bush/tree that annoys me in there. Its a reputable bush, but serves no purpose. So tomorrow i want to off it. Anyhow i left that alone and set to chopping up the pile of weed tree in my driveway. My ancient hedge clippers are blunt, and i dont even own a wood saw, so i half gave up. By half i mean went and bought new hedge clippers and a wood saw. And just to make it easier, i bought the cheapest 2 stroke chainsaw they sell. So $99 for that, $12 for chain spooge. Havent tested it yet. For what i want to cut, 90mm trunks at the largest, it should atleast last for the 3 things i want it to. I have started it and it does run. After it does what i want ill throw it over the fence. Not literally, but next door want to cut a few small trees down. Im happy to supply the equipment, just not the labour.

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

After for lack of anything to do as all the good parts of my yard are looking good, i spent maybe 40 minutes in the ex pool area. Thats the work in progress, but nobody sees that anyway. There is one bush/tree that annoys me in there. Its a reputable bush, but serves no purpose. So tomorrow i want to off it. Anyhow i left that alone and set to chopping up the pile of weed tree in my driveway. My ancient hedge clippers are blunt, and i dont even own a wood saw, so i half gave up. By half i mean went and bought new hedge clippers and a wood saw. And just to make it easier, i bought the cheapest 2 stroke chainsaw they sell. So $99 for that, $12 for chain spooge. Havent tested it yet. For what i want to cut, 90mm trunks at the largest, it should atleast last for the 3 things i want it to. I have started it and it does run. After it does what i want ill throw it over the fence. Not literally, but next door want to cut a few small trees down. Im happy to supply the equipment, just not the labour.

I've got an old Poulan 2100 from 1994 or 95 so it's around a quarter of a century old now . Can't remember what I paid for it but it was a fairly cheap saw at the time . It's only for smallish jobs and only has a 14" bar and used it a fair bit initially and since then from time to time. Still goes okay and will start after a fair bit of tugging and choke manipulating if it's been a while since the last time .

The one you bought will probably do a good job for around the house and home . Only accessories I have is a good quality fuel mix bottle and a file set. I have a very old pair of chaps and gloves , ear protectors , mesh face guard and stuff that I also wear when I do a lot more frequent brushcutting ..
Not sure if or when I'll replace my old saw but if I ever do I might look at a battery one because some of them now are getting pretty useful for the home owner . Also pole saws are pretty handy too . No hard starting and only requiring chain oil fluids sounds pretty good to me .

I've used a spade bit to drill several holes with a brace and bit and whacked in diesel into the odd larger tree stump but the round up method is good too but with small wattles and such I've just dug out the tap root and ripped them out . Good ol' mattock and probably way too much elbow grease...and stupidity too I guess in my case .. Enjoy the new saw and clippers without any frustration ..

[Rallye Sport]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

Poisoning parts doesnt rid the issue. It may kill part of the section of root. But being that of a weed, its crafty and like a virus, it just turns into sections. I have previously dug up and ripped out a section of the runner. Problem being the bit i pulled i couldnd go any further as it went under my turning circle. Im not breaking up concrete just for a wandering anything.

The best way is drilling and poisoning before the tree is cut down and leaving it until it dies. That way it's still photosynthesizing and pumping sap, spreading the poison to every area.
We deal with some stubborn ones, jap pepper, wild olives and yes if you cut then poison the roots just sucker and it makes the problem even worse. Your also killing any seeds that could drop when you lop it by poisoning first.

[Fed]

If your talking about Wandering Jew rip out as much as you can by hand then use roundup every couple of weeks until it's gone.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by roddy1960

I've got an old Poulan 2100 from 1994 or 95 so it's around a quarter of a century old now . Can't remember what I paid for it but it was a fairly cheap saw at the time . It's only for smallish jobs and only has a 14" bar and used it a fair bit initially and since then from time to time. Still goes okay and will start after a fair bit of tugging and choke manipulating if it's been a while since the last time .

The one you bought will probably do a good job for around the house and home . Only accessories I have is a good quality fuel mix bottle and a file set. I have a very old pair of chaps and gloves , ear protectors , mesh face guard and stuff that I also wear when I do a lot more frequent brushcutting ..
Not sure if or when I'll replace my old saw but if I ever do I might look at a battery one because some of them now are getting pretty useful for the home owner . Also pole saws are pretty handy too . No hard starting and only requiring chain oil fluids sounds pretty good to me .

I've used a spade bit to drill several holes with a brace and bit and whacked in diesel into the odd larger tree stump but the round up method is good too but with small wattles and such I've just dug out the tap root and ripped them out . Good ol' mattock and probably way too much elbow grease...and stupidity too I guess in my case .. Enjoy the new saw and clippers without any frustration ..

Gave the new chainsaw a run today. I had no expectations as ive never used one before. Compared to a decent one its probably crap, but all i can compare it to is a wood saw. So for the stuff i did today it would probably take 3 hours by hand. The little 12 inch homelite took all the physical effort out of the work and did the same work in about half an hour. So that was cutting a few small stumps lower and sectioning part of the pile of tree on the driveway. So its already payed for itself. Had to tighten the chain a couple of times in the initial few minutes, but that would be the new chain stretching as it stayed tight after that. So i do not regret buying it at all. I did doubt the purchase last night, its another thing to go wrong. But it made light work of what i bought it for.

[roddy1960]

Good thing ...Sounds like a useful item to have ..You'll probably use it more than you expected .. Don't do what I do and leave old fuel in the tank for too long ..Buggers to start if old 2 stroke sits for too long IMO.. Cheers