OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Question on Digging Equipment Rotary Hoes & Tillers GARDENMASTER - My Old Rotary Hoe

This is my old Gardenmaster Rotary Hoe I bought about 20 years ago,I've just finished fitting the third motor for it.
The original motor was a "Villiers" which was worn out when I bought it,I replaced it with a 2HP "Kirby", it ran well until last week. The flywheel turned but the piston didn't move, so that one went in the bin.

Now it has a 3HP "B&S I/C" motor, runs nice & quiet now, looking at the new hoes they don't appear to be built as sturdy as these old ones.




cheers gmax

The hoe part seems to be quickly detachable. Are there any other accessories that can be fitted in place of it?

Not that I'm aware of,it was built in Victoria by Landmaster probably in the 60s, it has no clutch just direct drive.

Another nice toy you have there

Thanks Joe, hopefully it will last a few more years.

Hi gmax
There are a number of attachments that fit these (in England any way) but don't know if sold in Australia. Go to www.allotment-garden.org and look up landmaster lion cub instructions and spare parts manual, alternatively search just the name in the manual they list a number of attachments

Hello exfarmer!

Thanks for posting that link. Appreciated.

I hope to do a story on these at some point...
Yes, they did sell the accessories here - including reel and
rotary mower attachments!

They also had an influence on the extremely successful Masport
4 way Home Gardener still sold today!

All very interesting.
------------------------------
JACK.

That machine has a lot of detail design features in common with the Whirlwind [and later Masport] 4 way Home Gardener machine that CyberJack mentions.

I do wonder if there was some connection between the Landmaster [Ballarat] and Whirlwind [Melbourne] companies involved, at some time.

Hello Mod Gadge and contributors.

This six year old post has come back to life... a Frankenpost!
Gadge, Your question is a good one ... but about as complicated as it gets.

I can only guess that Landmaster (Aust) was a subsidiary of Landmaster (UK)
of Hucknall, Nottingham. L.J. Phillips, the original manufacturers of
Whirlwind mowers, seemed quite keen to copy overseas designs - their famous
slashers were Hayter copies (UK) and their early rotaries were clearly
American 'inspired'. They later became Masport-Whirlwind but I am unsure
of that arrangement. My best guess is that Whirlwind re-badged the
Landmasters, or made them under licence.

What complicates things for me is the relationship between the Gardenmaster
design and the UK's Farmfitters' Versatiller. They had similar transmissions,
and the Versatiller was sold here as well. But wait, there's more ...

Another machine, sold by Villager for a while, was the Vinco Blitz.
THe Vinco was not made by Villager Lawnmowers, but by the Vincent Bros. of Glebe,
Sydney, makers of floor polishers, launches, and their great claim to fame - the
Vinco marine engines.





I have no doubt that the source of the highly successful design of a small
domestic tiller [the 'home gardener'] with direct shaft drive and worm reduction box, was British.

What has frustrated me is not knowing the connection (if any) between the Landmaster's
and Farmfitters' machines. Who copied who? And is the Whirlwind/Masport more closely
related to the Farmfitters' Versatiller, rather than the Landmaster's Gardenmaster?

... I see I've cleared that up

Any information most welcome.

All very frustrating.
-------------------------------------
JACK.

I can offer some clarification on that score, and even a timeframe!

Masport NZ bought out Whirlwind in the 1970's, and took over manufacture of the Home Gardener at that time. They then traded as Masport Whirlwind for a time.

I expect to have an original 1970's Whirlwind HG in my shed shortly for checkover/overhaul, so will get some ID pics then.

Timeframe would have been 1974-75 for the takeover, IIRC.

What makes it stick in my mind, is that Masport then commenced marketing bar blade mowers in Oz, and introduced the Iron Horse 2-stroke engine option.

They also required their dealers [we were one] to purchase a new 'special tool' - a crankshaft straightening setup [basically a bench mounted screw press with a runout indicator] at that time. They had it manufactured locally, and the price was pretty reasonable.
This was to straighten bent crankshaft PTO ends, after object strikes with the rigid bar blade, which no other local manufacturer used at that time.

Masport made the product launch for the Iron Horse a major shivoo for the Vic dealers, at least. It was held at the Southern Cross Hotel in Melbourne, and the dealers and their families were put up there at company expense for the show night! This was a first in the garden machinery game, for those days.

The old man had one of the promo items from that show on his office wall for years afterwards - a 'round tuit'.

Much more closely related to gmax's Gardenmaster, I'd say. The telltale detail design items are a lot closer match.

Hello Mod Gadge,

that's very useful information there.
Here's a rare 1959 photo of the Ballarat factory. The Gardenmasters are on the production line
in the background. There is a small line of engines that appear to be 2-strokes with alloy heads(?).



p.s. I would also like to thank you on using the word 'shivoo'.
It's a great word, but what did those Vic dealers get up to!

Please find below the official ODK Round Tuit.

Not sure what made that one pop up; it just seemed a concise description of the events.

Well, even though it was a family event, I seem to recall that the in-room minibars [a real novelty at the time] copped a hammering, after the official events concluded!
It turned into an unsurpassed networking event, for the country Masport dealers at any rate.

Yup, that's it exactly! For the unaware, you would know the excuse of 'when I get around to it'? This item eliminates that one's validity. Sort of a 'shaggy dog story' rewording...
As in 'as soon as I get a round tuit'...

This is a link to the patent application for the garden master type machine
Regsrds Len

https://worldwide.espacenet.com/pub...580618&CC=GB&NR=796700A&KC=A

It makes you wonder what happened to all of those J.A.P engines lined up on the landmaster 150's

Hello Ishi
Yes, post WWII British Cultivators were popular in OZ.

I don't think we have covered the Landmaster 150s on these forums.
They were sold here, but I note no reference to the ignition system.
Perhaps AUS machines had the conventional flywheel magneto?

Cheers
---------------
Jack

Hi
I have noticed that the both ignition systems on the J.A.P engines use the wipac series 161 it still says on the flywheel use an 018 contact braker gap but other readings say the magestren version should be 012" gap.I ha e two 150's a 160 and a 160 Lion one of the 160's I use on my allotment garden and I find it a great machine I have all the attachments including a tarpin
drive with a hedge cutter and chain saw its amazing how .man attachments they had.Always get the picture upside down when using my phone.

That's interesting Ishi... My understanding was that a shorter duration spark
was integral to the design (and points' gaps would be smaller to achieve this.)

The 'Tarpen' drive is interesting to us as our Scott Bonnar were distributors
of their hedge cutters in this country.

Thanks for the great photo.
-------------------------------------
Jack

I will try and sort out some informagion and sales leaflets.I have quite a lot of tarpen bits will post when I dig them out
Cheers Len