PART TWO - CONTEXTThe
Mark 7 continued the tradition of the revolutionary
Mark 6 (c1951) but with one major exception.
The Mark 6 popularised the idea that modern reel lawnmowers should be
lighter, have a lower
centre
of gravity, and be
easier to operate.
To this end, the Mark 6 introduced the centrifugal clutch that made the lawnmower be managed by
only one control - the throttle. This 'fully automatic' approach was used to maximum advantage in
advertising, expounding the idea that even children could use this wonder, post-war machine, as we
entered the modern age, and the 'automatic' period of mower design.
The biggest selling feature of the
Mark 6 turned out to be its most significant drawback:
'one control'. Because there was no separate
land-roll clutch, these machines could not be manoeuvred
around tight or demanding gardens. They lacked delicacy in that they behaved like 'on-off' switches
and were not so easy-peasy for the kiddies after all!
The
Mark 7 introduced the
separate land-roll clutch that permitted separate control of the
self-propelling of the machine. This connected
'Dual Clutch System' would influence future
residential reel mower designs.
Scott Bonnar engineers, for example, would have taken a very close look!
TO BE CONTINUED ...