OP
OP
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Aye, ince ive finished the Suffolk's I may tey and find an Atco.
Vintage Lawnmowers, Stationary Engines, and olde Mechanical Tech
- Thread starter Drago
- Start date
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plantfit
Guru
- Location
- Lincolnshire
My Suffolk Iron Foundry engine mounted on a wooden block, the mower was completely rusted through but I saved the engine, complete strip down and re build, starts first time and runs as sweet as a nut
welsh dragon
Thanks but no thanks. I think I'll pass.
My vintage lawn mower is called Mr WD 
T4tomo
Legendary Member
I used to cut our local cricket club pitch with Atco's, The big one had a little seat on wheels or rollers so you rode around behind it as you cut the outfield. Also a small walk behind for precision mowing on the square. Quite satisfying producing a good track to play on.
here is me in 1986...
here is me in 1986...
D
Deleted member 26715
Guest
Just needs an engine
OP
OP
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Whwt is that wheeled beauty in the background?
- Location
- Next door to Mr Benn at No 54
OP
OP
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
The driver had probably reversed over his neighbour while he was doing the lawn.
Tail End Charlie
Well, write it down boy ......
- Location
- In green and pleasant hills.
Is that a Lister D in the background?
Tail End Charlie
Well, write it down boy ......
- Location
- In green and pleasant hills.
Here's my Suffolk Punch which I had until a year ago, when I needed the space so gave it away. It cut beautifully and I loved the sound of it putting away, so much so that I'd sometimes just leave it running for a while, whilst I had a sit down. Clever arrangement with the centrifugal clutch, which you could easily disengage when doing tight corners.
I'd second the museum at Southport, very interesting.
In a similar vein I do find stationary engines fascinating, love the various powered things, like water pumps, logging saws etc. Always look out for them at local shows. Brings to mind a different age.
I'd second the museum at Southport, very interesting.
In a similar vein I do find stationary engines fascinating, love the various powered things, like water pumps, logging saws etc. Always look out for them at local shows. Brings to mind a different age.
Profpointy
Legendary Member
'kinell, that's Alan Millyard isn't it? Give him a couple of months and he'll have upgraded it with a Merlin engine
OP
OP
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Ive met Millyard through a friend of mine. He repairs nuclear reactors for a living, so his stuff with bikes is a bit of light relief for him.
Andrew1971
Veteran
- Location
- Northallerton
I have an atco lawnmower. 14inch cut powered by a Villiers midget engine. Kick start with a grass box.
Andrew
Andrew
Interesting - These machines are all very familiar to me since Bosch Lawn & Garden was still trading as Atco-Qualcast Ltd when I started working for them around 14 years ago I still work on the site in Stowmarket that started life as Suffolk Iron Foundry in 1920 before becoming part of the Qualcast group including Suffolk Lawnmowers. Eventually it became Atco-Qualcast and was bought by the Bosch group in '96. We continued to build machines under the ATCO and Qualcast brands until about a decade ago; we even still had the original cylinder grinding machines in the factory, or at least the "Triggers broom" thereof 
One of my first jobs when I started was to recreate all of the Atco Royale and Club components and assemblies in 3D CAD and create new drawings to replace the old microfiche versions - it turns out this was done to make the brand and designs easier to sell as Bosch wanted to follow an 'electric-only' path for garden tools. The brand and the designs went to different buyers so you can no longer buy a Royale mower with an ATCO badge but to my knowledge they still exist. Sadly the plant ceased production on 31st December 2019 but we still design most of the garden products including lawnmowers and robotic mowers on the original site 
I still work on the site in Stowmarket that started life as Suffolk Iron Foundry in 1920 before becoming part of the Qualcast group including Suffolk Lawnmowers. Eventually it became Atco-Qualcast and was bought by the Bosch group in '96. We continued to build machines under the ATCO and Qualcast brands until about a decade ago; we even still had the original cylinder grinding machines in the factory, or at least the "Triggers broom" thereof One of my first jobs when I started was to recreate all of the Atco Royale and Club components and assemblies in 3D CAD and create new drawings to replace the old microfiche versions - it turns out this was done to make the brand and designs easier to sell as Bosch wanted to follow an 'electric-only' path for garden tools. The brand and the designs went to different buyers so you can no longer buy a Royale mower with an ATCO badge but to my knowledge they still exist. Sadly the plant ceased production on 31st December 2019 but we still design most of the garden products including lawnmowers and robotic mowers on the original site 
