how many of you repair small engines as a hobby? $$

[twinfords]

let's see here!! i fixed 7 mowers maybe more, Craftsman self propel, Craftsman self propel, Toro front wheel drive, Toro Commercial rear drive, John Deere (installed Honda engine on it), Scotts Big Orange, Craftsman rear drive, fixed a Wild Thing chainsaw, fixed a few trimmers. Planted some of my garden, cleaned the shop up a little. everything from flywheel keys to carb rebuilds, also the new automatic

I sold, Toro, Troybilt, Ryobi trimmer as well. a baby Yard Machine 20" also

 

[hanyoukimura]

Just finished fixing a coworker's Lawn Boy 7229 and a Toro Recycler 20511 that I got for $5

Nifty trick if anyone's interested: A quick and easy way to make the black plastic parts look nice is to use some tire shine. Works like a charm.

Tomorrow before work I'm going to try and clean up a Black & Decker before I put it for sale. After that I'm going to tackle this Craftsman:

 

[Flintmotorsports]

I fix lawnmower/atv's/boats for a liveing and my shop is about a week behind and stuff is still rolling in like crazy
This is a very good thing i have been open for three years and i have never been this busy befor this is going
to be a good season i hope the grass grows like crazy this year i need to work.

 

[mmanter]

I just started to get in to them. What started out as trying to get a mower pieced together so I can cut my grass has turned in to a hobby. I plan to frequent here more, gaining information to fix the ones I have, as well as the ones I pick up to repair. Saw hanyoukimura's 29 page posting & it got me inspired to try to do the same thing. Currently have 4 mowers & one runs. My goal is to keep the old beat up craftsman for a "beater mower", fix the rest & keep one of the 6.75 HP self propelled mowers I got. Figured what the heck. I like to tinker anyways.

 

[twinfords]

Hello Ladies & gentlemen, I am back, I have been away for over a year, I see everyone is doing ok for the most part. I have been fixing mowers still and finding them has been up & down. This year it has been tough to find mowers except for my landscape customers continue to bring them to me.

I will follow up with pics etc of projects. I am working on a Husqvarna Royal 53S (fiberglass deck) with a open grate system on the deck. I switched the manual choke set up to a automatic choke set up (muffler, carb springs etc) works great.

 

[twinfords]

here are some of the things I have been working on lately, enjoy

 

[twinfords]

a few more

 

[exotion]

Nice looks like fun

 

[Vervepipes]

I've probably repaired around 30 this year as a hobby, it's nice to have a little extra cash for weekend family trips or small home renos. I started out with one mower that I got running to replace an electric mower, and it took off from there. In the process I now have a small collection of "keepers", an old Sunbeam Lawn Champ with twin blades, a '73 Lawn Boy that isn't running yet, and an 80's Honda that looks only a couple of years old. I don't advertise that I repair mowers, but word of mouth on the base has kept me pretty busy with repairs, advice and sales.

 

[twinfords]

return customers due to running their mowers intot the ground.

I have several customers that run their mowers very hard, to the point that they lock up both engine and transmissions due to heat or dirt etc. I have unfroze several engines and transmissions for these guys and out for more they go. It is amazing some of these mowers continue to run. Some are so caked with dirt/grass etc I have to remove all shields etc and blow it off just to work on it.