My name is Russ I am in Spokane WA. My mower is a Honda HRA216. I got the mower back in the early 90s from a guy who had back problems and wanted a rider. I made a mistake oiling the drive cable with WD40 about ten years ago, it rusted solid. I used the mower without the self propelled feature for a while. Then I quit using it all together.
I also have a Ford 8N tractor with a Field General brush hog. Pretty rough for a lawn. So, a while back I got to working on the HRA. The drive shaft was rusted in the spline area so it wouldn't change length. Some heat and silicone grease took care of that. A new cable and return spring at the handle and it is working fine. Next on the agenda will be a new bag and maybe a Service Manual. Surprised how complicated a lawn mower can be. I will have to deal with the brake at the blade sometime soon. I am not sure I understand how all that works or how to adjust after parts are renewed.
I am sure glad I got that mower when I did. I had forgotten how well it performs when everything is working correctly.
Well dang, my password is still saved. Glad to hear about Wagstaff. I think they are caput. So many couldn't compete with the slave labor from the land of just about right ..... but I digress.... I like mechanical stuff. I just had a loosing battle with a router. Life goes on.
Only 1/2 right.
If people valued their fellow Americans & their country then they could quite easily afford to pay the extra $ 50 for a locally made quality mower.
Unfortunately people are just too greedy for their own good.
Big companies like it because they can sack lots of workers and when that happens the screen jockeys who buy & sell other peoples profits send the share price through the roof .
And of course the higher the unemployment rate the less likely American workers will ask for a pay rise.
It is a self feeding system leading to 1/3 of the USA living with a lower quality of life than most 3rd world countries.
And Australians are no better, in fact we are worse because the government is encouraging the closure of manufacturing because they see a "mature" economy as a service economy.
The economic value of the internal dollar is lost in the race to sell off as much of the country as quickly as they can because overseas investment dollars make for a "beautiful set of numbers".
