He Modified A Brand New Mower
Vernon Foubert couldn’t wait to start modifying his new MTD Gold, 38-in. zero turn mower. Since buying it last fall, he has added a front mount blade, a rear weight carrier, drive wheel chains, and foot pedals. The 74-year old, expert machinist once built parts for an Apollo spacecraft going to the moon and helicopters going to Vietnam. Still a fulltime machine operator and maintenance supervisor, Foubert enjoyed making over the brand new mower.
“I made a bracket to mount on the front frame for the blade and ran support straps from the front wheel mount frame,” says Foubert. “I had to modify the mower deck some so I could mount chains on the drive wheels.”
The 48-in. blade was from an old Craftsman garden tractor. Though intended mainly for snow removal, it’s heavy duty enough to push gravel around to level a driveway.
In case he needed more weight on the drive wheels, Foubert framed a 48-in. long, 2 by 10-in. base with 2 by 4’s and mounted it to the rear frame.
“It’s about 2 in. wider than it should be for turning around trees and posts,” notes Foubert. “I built it to hold cement blocks for weight, but it’s handy for carrying a chainsaw and supplies.”
Foubert also mounted a hitch under the box, attaching it to the frame as well. He uses it when he needs to pull a cart or other attachment around the yard.
Not satisfied with the hand controls for steering the mower, Foubert added toe/heel foot pedals that hinge to the front edge of the operator platform. They send the mower forward when the top halves are pressed and in reverse when the bottom halves of the pedals are pressed.
He notes the mower came with cup holders, but they can’t be used with hand bar controls. His foot pedals connect to the bracket for the hand bars that he also modified.
“I added a bracket to raise the hand bars so they didn’t come down across my knees,” says Foubert. “I also put spring loaded detents on the hand grips so they won’t flop over when I am using the foot pedals and sipping a soda or having a cigarette.”
His most recent modification, but not likely his last, was to mount lights front and rear with separate control switches for each set. He also mounted a hard cover over the headlights, allowing him to step on them if necessary.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Vernon Foubert, 27086 Courtney Place Circle, Warrenton, Mo. 63383 (ph 636 456-0248; dfoubert@hotmail.com).
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He Modified A Brand New Mower FARM HOME Lawn Mowers 31h 38 Vernon Foubert couldn’t wait to start modifying his new MTD Gold 38-in zero turn mower Since buying it last fall he has added a front mount blade a rear weight carrier drive wheel chains and foot pedals The 74-year old expert machinist once built parts for an Apollo spacecraft going to the moon and helicopters going to Vietnam Still a fulltime machine operator and maintenance supervisor Foubert enjoyed making over the brand new mower “I made a bracket to mount on the front frame for the blade and ran support straps from the front wheel mount frame ” says Foubert “I had to modify the mower deck some so I could mount chains on the drive wheels ” The 48-in blade was from an old Craftsman garden tractor Though intended mainly for snow removal it’s heavy duty enough to push gravel around to level a driveway In case he needed more weight on the drive wheels Foubert framed a 48-in long 2 by 10-in base with 2 by 4’s and mounted it to the rear frame “It’s about 2 in wider than it should be for turning around trees and posts ” notes Foubert “I built it to hold cement blocks for weight but it’s handy for carrying a chainsaw and supplies ” Foubert also mounted a hitch under the box attaching it to the frame as well He uses it when he needs to pull a cart or other attachment around the yard Not satisfied with the hand controls for steering the mower Foubert added toe/heel foot pedals that hinge to the front edge of the operator platform They send the mower forward when the top halves are pressed and in reverse when the bottom halves of the pedals are pressed He notes the mower came with cup holders but they can’t be used with hand bar controls His foot pedals connect to the bracket for the hand bars that he also modified “I added a bracket to raise the hand bars so they didn’t come down across my knees ” says Foubert “I also put spring loaded detents on the hand grips so they won’t flop over when I am using the foot pedals and sipping a soda or having a cigarette ” His most recent modification but not likely his last was to mount lights front and rear with separate control switches for each set He also mounted a hard cover over the headlights allowing him to step on them if necessary Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Vernon Foubert 27086 Courtney Place Circle Warrenton Mo 63383 ph 636 456-0248; dfoubert@hotmail com
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