OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions On Turf Care Equipment & Accessories Accessories Model 46 Scarifier

I am now the proud owner of a model 46 scott bonnar scarifier.
I had the chance to get it as a buy it now for 200 but ended up in a bidding war and payed 450
It is in great condition and I will end up sripping it back and doing a reno on it but want to use it to dethatch my 1000m of grass first.

Happy to see parts are still around so should be able to keep it going for years to come.

Does anyone have ant advice for using it as I have never used anything like it. also any info on it like year of make ??

Here are some photos.

Most Scott Bonnar products have Briggs & Stratton engines, which have a date code on the cooling air cowl. I don't know whether SB made your scarifier with that Honda engine or it was fitted later, but since I also don't know how to infer the date from a Honda serial number, it doesn't make much difference, I wasn't going to get the answer anyway.

We have had one or two past threads on SB grooming machines - deviosi is the man - but he only used SB45 mowers with a special reel, not a purpose-build machine.

WOW a good old machine. the general rule of thumb when scarifying is to do it in a diamond pattern and you only just want to be cutting in to the lawn so your only cutting in to the grass. i will say though ive never seen those blades on a scarifyer. main thing is jaust take it light over the top then run the mower over it to pick up the thatch.

It come from a golf course and the bloke that sold it told me the hight had never been ajusted in the 10 years he used it so I am hoping it should be fine to just use as is. Although it is set to take it down to dirt. The blades are about half a mil off the concrete when its in the shed. He also said to do straight runs with it, clean up the mess then do straight runs on a 90 degree angle then clean up again then top dress ????

The blades are r and r prouducts in NZ and they still sell them but I should get a while longer out of these ones anyway.

I thought the same thing about the motor Grumpy but also thought that it might have been because of the export quality it has the honda??

I have been told you get a bout two or three trailer loads of thatch off 200m of lawn so I am in for a big job.

That depth should be about right, you will get a fair bit of thatch off it but the general idea isnt to rip the guts out of it. ive never heard the straigh runs idea, i got taught to go diagonally one way then back the opposite way that's what the bowlo's say. if you replace the blades the "verticut" blades are the go.

I don't know why it has the Honda G200, but I think the engine is pretty old. I have nothing against side-valve Hondas, they are probably at least as good as equivalent Briggs engines, but I wouldn't call them a premium product (unlike the pushrod OHV Hondas).

That scarifying reel seems to still have its carbide tips in place, and is probably good for another 10 years of commercial service - you'll never wear it out in home service, unless you hit something pretty solid. There is a picture of a very similar reel in the archives - if you search deviosi's threads you'll probably find it. From memory he had it specially made.

Hi bdaearth, on getting yourself a Model 46 Scarifier. That is a good score at that price mate, they were worth a lot more than that brand new!!

Here is some info for you....we can give you an approximate date, as the machine itself gives us some clues.
(1) The machine is finished in the same colour hammertone green as the original Scotty 45 with the wheels in the same Scotty orange as was the 45 reel and engine. The 45 was released in 1968

(2) Model numbers (not serials) ran sequentially and as this machine model number is after the 45, we can presume late '68, early '69.

(3) The brass ID plates, I believe, were discontinued by 1971 and replaced by aluminium alloy. Scott Bonnar won the export award in 1966 and the sicker was applied to a lot of machines, in the late '60's.

(4) When released, they were fitted with a Briggs and Stratton. Unfortunately I can't find out which model....but one would presume, because of its job, it would have to be at least 3.5HP or larger.
The Honda is 5HP and the lack of power maybe the reason why it was retrofitted....although most petrol engined equipment on golf courses and bowling clubs that I have seen, are Honda powered.

(5) Rover continued production of the scarifier after the take-over in 1980.
Here is a pic...not terrific quality, but is all I could find.


(6) You will see that this model now has a late model Briggs, plastic wheels, and a complete V belt guard...(OH&S, I'd bet!) and now painted in Rover red. (Not as good as the original colour scheme, I reckon)
Hope this helps...

Thanks for the info Darryl

I thought it would have been a bit younger than that but I am happy to beleive the late 60's early 70's call.
It is very well made and would imagine it will out last me.

deviosi's Thread was what originally got me looking for one and it has taken me untill now to find it.

Grumpy there are a lot of the teeth missing but still enough there for it to work fine. The problem is the blades are paper thin and look like the rest of the teeth are ready to break off at any time. I am in no hurry to put new blades on it just happy to know they are there if needed.

A new dethatcher is anything up to $5000 but most are around $2500 so happy with what I paid. To Hire a dethatcher it is around 150-170 a Day so I think I got a good deal because it is going to take me a lot longer than a day to do the lawn.

Cheers
Brenden

What kind of grass are you going to de-thatch, Brenden, and when? Some pictures of the process would do a lot for this thread, even if you snatch the whole lawn bald and leave bare earth. We could then discuss what went wrong.

Hi Bda, eventually you could purchase new tynes for it, but it the meantime are you going to restore it? If you do decide to go that way, please post some pics as you go along...as this is the first SB Model 46 we have had on the forum. It looks like it could do with a bit of TLC, plus you will learn a lot about your new machine along the way.
mate!

Hi grumpy the lawn is 70% winter green and 30% legend. I won't be doing the yard till around september when the weather starts to warm up. I will be taking lots of photos along the way and will post them on here at the time.

Deejay I wasn't going to do any work to it besides giving it a degrease. But since being on here and learning how rare it could be I am starting to think about it. I have a 20" scotty that I have repowered with a 3.5hp B&S and it is so much nicer to use now. The honda runs really well and I don't think it needs ant engine work just a good clean up and some paint.

Just so you know what the lawn looks like now before I put the 46 over it here are a couple of photos.
1.Cylinder v Rotory
2.Stripes
3.Cylinder v Rotory
4.Shaded area Hard to get the grass to go well here
5.Legend
6.Legend
7.Legend
8.Legend
9.Fake v Real
10.Veiw from the cubby
11.Winter green while battling mites

After seeing that I hope you don't snatch it bald after all - it would be like scarifying the Mona Lisa.

Most impressive grass.

Wow! You do have some lawn to look after and looks fantastic with the stripes.
If I was contemplating scarifying a nice lawn in that condition, I would perhaps contact my local bowling club, speak to the greenskeeper and ask his advice....they are usually a friendly bunch of guys, and they do this procedure as routine...this may save you some heartache down the track.

BTW, on the nice hedge....that must take some work as well, it looks really cool!

Thanks for the compliments guys. It took a bit to get it to this standard but it really doesn't take to much to keep it there. The hedge was my answer to the wife wanting a fence there to keep the kids for falling down the back.
As you can probably tell I get more satisfaction out of the lawn than working on the mower.
You would be surprised how thatchy it is and really is in need of a good dethatch.
Don't worry I won't be doing anything silly and will be doing a lot more research between now and then.

Can't wait to get stuck into it and taking lots me photos and some video as well

Cheers
Brenden

A History Record is available for the Model 46:-
https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/u...-scarifier-groover-c1960s.html#Post94767


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