Do-It-Yourself "Robot Mower"

Do-It-Yourself "Robot Mower" FARM HOME Lawn Mowers (31h,38) 21-4-1 If you're tired of mowing big, wide open areas of lawn, you'll like this simple "robot mower" idea from Ted Thomas, College Grove, Tenn. He runs a plastic twine string from his self-propelled walk-behind mower to a wooden post at the center of his lawn. The mower circles the post on its own, drawing ever closer to the center as the twine wraps around the post. Thomas bolted a clevis onto the front left corner of the 5 hp mower and ran a plastic string from it to a wood post that supports a bird house. "People driving by can't believe what they're seeing. They slow down and some even stop to take pictures," says Thomas. "One evening the mower got loose, crossed the driveway, and mowed right through my corn field. That's the only problem I've had with it. It cuts a full 130-ft. dia. circle which is about a quarter acre. It takes about 40 minutes to mow one circle. I use a bunge cord to lock the mower in high gear. While it's working, I use another mower to cut around trees and bushes. "The circumference of the pole has to be just right so the mower overlaps slightly on each pass. The circumference of the post I use is 16 in. which gives the 18-in. mower a 2-in. overlap." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ted F. Thomas, 14115 Patterson Road, College Grove, Tenn. 37046 (ph 615 395-7316).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.