2020 - Volume #44, Issue #2, Page #36
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Homemade “Slip Clutch” Keeps Lawn Mower Going
Ordinarily when you’re mowing your lawn and the blade hits a solid object such as a rock, the blade will stop instantly, most likely ruining the blade and bending the crankshaft. Then you either have to buy a new mower or pay a pretty penny to have yours fixed. Roy Dillahunt came up with a preventive solution by making a slip clutch for the blade out of “compressible” washers.
“The idea is that if the blade hits something and suddenly stops, the crankshaft will slip a little and won’t get bent,” says Dillahunt. “I’ve used a product called Bakelite for the washers, which is a plastic made from synthetic components. Bakelite can be hard to find but I think other kinds of compressed material, such as 1/8-in. thick wall paneling, would also work.”
He removes the hold-down nut, metal washer, and blade from the crankshaft. Then, using one of the washers as a pattern, he makes 2 washers out of the Bakelite. “After installing the washers on top of each other, I replace the nut on the bolt.
“If the mower blades accidentally strike a hard object, the crankshaft will slip a quarter or half turn or even a full turn to keep the crankshaft from bending.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Roy A. Dillahunt, P.O. Box 367, Pullman, Wash. 99163 (ph 509 432-1030).
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