OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Tech Talk Pushmower Home Made Service Stand

Keep the pics and and plans coming. This looks like a very useful and inexpensive device to make. I will certainly be giving it a red hot go.

My main concern at the moment is if the screw jack will be able to push it up from the fully closed position or will it just bend it because it is pushing in too much of a horizontal plane.

Hi Norm,

What sort of a deck will you have on that? Something that only supports the wheels or the edges of the mower I suppose. Will any mower fir includung a 24? Or will it just take 18-20 inch mowers? You would have to be able to get underneath to undo the blade disc. Neeed to use a rattle gun or the whole lot will come tumbling down. I keep trying to imagine a lifter with a rotisserie included. Difficult but not impossible. Might have to clamp to the front of the mower. Only needs to rotate 90 degrees so handle could stay on.

Hi NormK,

The formula to find the force needed at fully close.

F(kg) = (Mower Weight + (Platform Weight/2)) / (Tan Angle x 9.8)

Assuming Mower = 25kg, Platform = 15kg, Arm Angle = 5 degrees, Gravity = 9.8 m/s

F = (25 + (15/2)) / (Tan 5 x 9.8)
F = 38kg

Find a cross member that can withstand a 38kg of horizontal force of the scissor jack in the the middle of let's say 60cm long of cross member. It shouldn't bend.

Cheers,
TheCarbyMaster

Jeff Do you mean more of a Lazy Susan idea so that the mower can be rotated around on it. As for getting under the mower to get to the blades etc, I just tip the mower on an angle on the bench and I have a rope hanging down from the roof, I tie that around the handle with the mower at about 45 degrees and I'm good to go. I would not even think about trying to get a 24 up onto the bench, they are not too hard to work on, standing vertically isn't too bad. The ones I have real issues with getting onto the bench to work on are the Honda self propelled. Last one I worked on I lifted up onto the bench with a chain block
CarbyMaster, I have plenty of heavy steel here, that is not the problem, it is when it gets to the point where the bottom scissor arm is nearly horizontal, once you start pushing on it it doesn't want to lift. The alternative is to stop it from coming all the way down and then that sort of defeats the purpose, although even if it was 300mm off the ground you could still get the mower up onto it with little effort

Hi Norm,

On reading a little more of the original posts I see that the reason you are thinking of this idea is that you are in a lot of pain at times and movement is restricted.. I'm sorry to hear that and offer my sincere wishes for a speedy recovery.

I was thinking of something more like a rotisserie. My mate made one for the chassis and the body of an old Chev he was working on. If you get the balance point right you can rotate the chassis with one finger so its easy to weld underneath, and paint etc. I do not think you would need to be so accurate for a mower, they are not that heavy. All I can think of is a solid post in the ground with a frame that goes right round the mower with a couple of sliding attachment points that clamp to the mower frame. This frame would rotate on some type of axle.

Lifting would have to by something sliding up the post maybe pulled by a boat trailer winch.

I wonder if we could adapt a rotating engine stand.

My concern with your idea is that it might be unstable unless the base is very wide, particularly if you are going to lift mowers on their side on it. If it is very wide you will have to step over the base rails when working. I suppose you could just use the scissor lift to raise the mower high enough so you easily push it on to your existing bench. That might work.

Even to change the oil in a Briggs you have to tilt the mower. I usually end up with it right upside down to get a complete drain after sucking the fuel out first and removing the air filter. Its a good idea to drain the tank anyway at service time.

Anyway I can not think of a practical way of building this thing yet,

All the best and look after yourself,

Jeff

We had a block and tackle and girder running along 3 mtrs off ground to move products........ in the factory. Worked well after years of two blokes lifting the things off our benches,,,, after too many back problems.
Simple block and tackle $43.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/0-5T-Bl...-Hoist-Crane-Chain-Lifting-Pulley-500KG/
Girder Roller $59
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Girder-Trolley-1-Ton-1000kgs-Crane-Push-Type-I-Bar-Beam-Track-Girder-Trolley/392290824312?hash=item5b565af078:g:a8oAAOxy3NBSeyON
Don't know how much 3 mtrs of old steel girder......
Those chain pulleys work well, easy lift and just roll along the girder to bench.......
There is also a ute tray lifter thet would work pretty well, and can swing an item.......
I met a cockie who invented his own with a boat winch and ran the cable through the upright pipe..........
My ramp and bench works for me and I often lay mowers on their sides , tie the down...
Beats a sore back for 3 or 4 days.
cheers
speedy

Hi Jeff,
Thanks, yes be glad to get this hip problem over and done with, it has got a lot worse since Christmas.
Hi Speedy, I have a girder through the garage with a trolley and chainblock on it. million motors have been changed on that over the years. I also have a small electric winch I have never used, I was thinking of having my bench pivot on hinges one end and the other end drop to the floor, push the mower up up the bench, put a block behind it and then winch the table back up. All these ideas spinning around in my head at the moment

Norm,

The pivoted bench sounds a good idea. It should be be very stable and nothing on the ground to fall over. As Speedy says a ramp would work but you would need enough room which I do not have

All the best
Jeff

Here's another interesting site, might be of interest.
https://www.sitecraft.net.au/produc...trolleys-logistec-scissor-trolley-300kg/
speedy

Hi Jeff,
I tried the ramp idea which worked well for me getting the mower onto the bench, my issue was with the mower coming down the ramp it would nearly push me over because I am unable to walk backwards quickly enough, I had to give up on that idea.
Hi Speedy
, Those trolleys are good but a bit too expensive for my cost neutral hobby

Hi NormK,

I would like to correct my previous calculation on how much force you need to push the car screw jack in kg. This formula has a very long calculation and derivation and to simplify, here is the formula below.

Fh = (Wm+(Wp/2)) x cos A / (2 x cos (90 - A))

Where:

Fh - Horizontal Force of the screw jack
Wm - Weight of the mower
Wp - Total Weight of the platform/arms excluding base
A - Angle of the arm with respect to horizontal base

Assuming: Wm = 30kg, Wp = 15kg, A = 5 degrees

Fh = (30+(15/2)) x cos 5 / (2 x cos (90 - 5))


Fh = 214.3kg or 2102N of force

The actual force is much higher and needs a cross member that can withstand 214kg or force.

Go ahead on building this one. This is for you to make your life easy to work with mowers. You only buying your time to build it. Use a welded rectangular angle bar for your base and platform and place a rail on the platform for the mower wheels to seat so the middle of the platform is clear to access the blades or engine mounting bolts if you want to work on the platform. Attach a flap on the front of the platform that will fold down when fully up or open up when it's full down for the mower to ramp up. Wish for your full hip replacement recovery.

Cheers,
TheCarbyMaster

Hi CarbyMaster, the 214kg of force is not excessive and the cross member will easily carry that. There is probably about $60 in materials that at the moment are a bit difficult for me to go and pick up.
Thanks for the thoughts regarding my hip, just makes simple things so difficult at the moment