Simple Jig Straightens Bent Mower Shafts

2017 - Volume #41, Issue #3, Page #25

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Clifford Byer has put hundreds of lawn mowers back to work with his shaft-straightening jig. He built it to fix his own mower when he was a young man, but word got around. Now 80, he is still using the jig.
    “Shafts are always getting bent hitting rocks or stumps,” he says. “Folks heard about my jig and started bringing their lawn mowers over.”
    Luckily for his friends and neighbors, virtually every walk-behind mower uses a common bolt pattern for mounting motors. For well over 50 years, Byer’s single jig has done the job.
    The jig consists of a smaller 1/2-in. steel plate welded at a 90-degree angle to a larger 1/2-in. steel plate. The large plate simply has to be big enough to bolt the engine in place. Byer drilled holes for the engine mount and cut out a large hole in the center for the shaft to protrude through. The edge of the plate is welded to two C-channels, creating a base to keep the plate vertical.
    The smaller steel plate is welded in place across the hole, but off center by several inches. A hole drilled through this plate lines up with the top of the bent shaft. A nut welded to the shaft side of the plate houses a fine thread 1-in. bolt.
    “You could use other size bolts, but the 1-in. one was handy,” says Byer.
    He also attached an old wiper arm to the base plate so it could pivot against the shaft as it rotates to indicate the bend. However, he notes that simply turning the shaft against the straightening bolt also identifies the bend.
    “Just tighten the bolt down slowly, and it straightens the shaft out,” says Byer. “The jig has never failed, and I’ve never had a problem such as a cracked base or broken shaft.”
    Byer advises draining the oil and removing the spark plug to make it easy to turn over the engine and rotate the shaft.
    Eventually, he added a gusset to reinforce the small plate. Byer says it has been a handy jig to have around and cost him practically nothing.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Clifford Byer, Box 201, Alonsa, Manitoba, Canada R0H 0A0 (ph 204 767-2159).

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Simple Jig Straightens Bent Mower Shafts FARM HOME Lawn Mowers 31h 38 Clifford Byer has put hundreds of lawn mowers back to work with his shaft-straightening jig He built it to fix his own mower when he was a young man but word got around Now 80 he is still using the jig “Shafts are always getting bent hitting rocks or stumps ” he says “Folks heard about my jig and started bringing their lawn mowers over ” Luckily for his friends and neighbors virtually every walk-behind mower uses a common bolt pattern for mounting motors For well over 50 years Byer’s single jig has done the job The jig consists of a smaller 1/2-in steel plate welded at a 90-degree angle to a larger 1/2-in steel plate The large plate simply has to be big enough to bolt the engine in place Byer drilled holes for the engine mount and cut out a large hole in the center for the shaft to protrude through The edge of the plate is welded to two C-channels creating a base to keep the plate vertical The smaller steel plate is welded in place across the hole but off center by several inches A hole drilled through this plate lines up with the top of the bent shaft A nut welded to the shaft side of the plate houses a fine thread 1-in bolt “You could use other size bolts but the 1-in one was handy ” says Byer He also attached an old wiper arm to the base plate so it could pivot against the shaft as it rotates to indicate the bend However he notes that simply turning the shaft against the straightening bolt also identifies the bend “Just tighten the bolt down slowly and it straightens the shaft out ” says Byer “The jig has never failed and I’ve never had a problem such as a cracked base or broken shaft ” Byer advises draining the oil and removing the spark plug to make it easy to turn over the engine and rotate the shaft Eventually he added a gusset to reinforce the small plate Byer says it has been a handy jig to have around and cost him practically nothing Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Clifford Byer Box 201 Alonsa Manitoba Canada R0H 0A0 ph 204 767-2159

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