OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums The History Forum Model Histories SCOTT BONNAR Models MODEL 43 - 20" POWER REEL MOWER

PART THREE - Domestic Range & Usage
In the post-WWII era, Scott Bonnar expanded - with a keen desire to engage
both the new domestic market and the traditional professional one. It wasn't
that Scott Bonnar hadn't made machines for residential areas (they most
certainly had done so), but that a much larger market of more prosperous
consumers could buy - for the first time - a power lawn mower.

It could be argued that the Scott Bonnar Company didn't think this through
for their domestic models. They had learnt (probably from Atco) that a good
lawnmower design had to have scalability, a design principle whereby the same
basic design could be made in various cutting widths. We see this in their
first professional lawnmower design - the Model 17 Supercuts that were
scaled in various sizes from 14" up to 24" in that model's history.

However, that principle was not followed on the domestic model side.
Their first effort - the 14" Model 19 of c1953 - was built for a specific
market on a budget. It was a flawed design that could not be scaled-up.

Neither could the replacement - the 14" Model 40 of about 1960. However,
by 1960, Scott Bonnar did have a domestic range of mowers. Without scalability,
the ridiculous thing was that the range - 14", 16" and 20" machines - was
comprised of three separate designs: Models 33, 40 and 43.




In the above brochure (c1960) we seen Scott Bonnar's cohesive attempt at
unifying the domestic range - there was a common aqua green colour. Apart from
that there is little commonality between the three diverse models.

The Model 43 portrayed here is most unusual, and none have been found in modern
times. It has an engine-mounted fuel tank and a Model 17 style handlebar.

USAGE - Large Residential Lawns
There should be no doubt that the Model 43 was part of the domestic
Scott Bonnar range in the 1960s. It had a higher specification in that
it had an 8-blade reel and it certainly had a heavy duty specification.

It would not have been a golf green mower on professional courses - the
Model 17 was the machine for that. Nor could the 43 be fitted with transport
wheels. Its width of cut was too narrow for bowling greens.

Its main purpose was for the cutting of larger residential lawns.
It certainly could have been used commercially - for club house surrounds,
practice putting greens, croquet lawns, contract lawnmowing, and the like.

TO BE CONTINUED ...