Sorry for the long delay in finishing this off but I promised I would document the whole build and show the end results.
I must say I'm proud of the finished results and I'm not one to blow my own trumpet but this edger looks top notch and one of the best I have seen.
Like my 45 it's as close as you can get to an origional factory build of its era. I even got the hand leaver re-chromed ($20.00 what a bargain) The only thing is the on/off tap decal which I managed to salvage off the tank with the heat gun and soaked it in rubbing alcohole to clean the old glue off, once I can work out what adhesive to apply to the decal it will go back on.
I really don't want to use it now as it's so nice and don't want to get it dirty but hope this helps and inspires others looking to do the same.
I now have a matching restored pidgion pair, 45 & 38
It looks absolutely fabulous, without a doubt the best one I've seen over the years. 3 years ago no one would've ever looked at a 38 but now they are the hottest property besides the Model 45 in the lawnmower landscape.
I totally understand where you are coming from about not using it and to be brutally honest I feel that most people that will restore one of these will probably never use it either as they don't fit into the gardens of today as I've previously mentioned, but regardless of my thoughts over the matter it's a beautiful piece of gardening machinery, just like the EH Holden is to the road, the Model 38 is that to the traditional garden.
Well Done young man, you should be proud of your efforts !
Cheers, BB.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
Your not wrong about these edgers now being the hottest thing to buy next to a 45, everyone seems to want one and are now paying top dollar. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be as many model 38's out there in comparison to 45's, so for those so called collectors or people who want one just to say they have a set are desperately killing each other to get their hands on one.
Personally I have always used these style edgers and picked this one up in Brisbane while I was on holidays purely for the Kirby engine incase I needed parts for my 45. Silly thing is you can pick up any brand of these older style edgers that do the exact same thing for $20.00-$50.00, I currently have 3 rover edgers and just sold a Jetfast edger. Only reason I buy them is for parts as it's cheaper to buy the whole machine than the part itself.
I'm tempted to keep using my daily rover edger as it's a left sided blade which I think will work better in my yard with certain edging directions due to fences, sheds and other objects getting in the way of the handle bars. As for those other edgers one is equipt with a circular saw blade which I use to cut small tree roots out of the ground and grind small tree stumps just below the dirt and it does the job fine.
I'm not short of edgers so I might keep this one as my EH Holden considering it's a more desirable series with the Kirby engine and white handle bars.
Hope everyone enjoyed this one as much as I did. Below is a pic of the belt pulley system prior to the guard being installed as I don't think I posted any pics of the blade system re-installed
There's not to many of them out there with the Kirby engines, wide tires and hand leaver the majority are the later Briggs series which most people are picking up and not many have restored them. I think if you going to have a model 38 edger and your going to spend the dollars to restore it your wanting to get your hands on the early white handle Kirby series as in my opinion it's the unicorn of Scott Bonnar edgers. It's a great looking machine when done properly and that Kirby engine gives it that vintage look which I love. I'm going to keep this one as a museum piece as I know there's a few of those obsessed Scott Bonnar lunatics with dozens of machines in there shed but don't have an edger let alone the earlier series. There's no way I will sell it as I'm an edger person and maybe I can pass it down to some grand kids one day and show them what quality Australian engineering is and how I restored it to its former glory. Who knows at the way prices are with these things now it may be a little investment in another 50 years.
Not quite sure If I'd hold my breath on that ???, currently there's still quite a few of these Model 38's out there. They show up every second Auction down here in Good Ol' Scott Bonnar town.
Like I suggested in another thread, I'd say in 50 years there won't be a substance called "Petrol". All these items will simply be static display pieces to merely look at.
Cheers, BB.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
