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Every kid who can walk wants to push a lawnmower. Toy lawnmowers are available - these do all manner of nonmowerly things like shoot bubbles, pop around colored balls in a clear globe, or play music.
Real mowers are dangerous - even reel-type push mowers could give you a bad pinch. Mowers are
this way because they are supposed to cut grass efficiently. But grass is really not that hard to cut - it is soft and thin. I think it should be possible to make a fun, safe, kids mower that actually cuts grass.
The starter kiddie mower would be set up using safe cutting surfaces like the blunt preschool kiddie scissors. (linked) It would cut a little grass, and this grass would be propelled up and out of the top of the mower in a plume - the faster the kid pushed the larger the plume. The plume would be propelled by a fan, which turns with the mower wheels. This fan would be noisy with the card-in-spoke type noise, for authentic mower feeling.
Safe scissors
http://kids.fiskars...t=beginner_scissors
[bungston]
London Bridge>McCulloch>Lake Havasu
http://havasumagazi...ake_havasu_city.htm
At 12, I started cutting with a (still) big-ass McCulloch chainsaw [bungston, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004]
London Bridge>McCulloch>Lake Havasu
http://havasumagazi...ake_havasu_city.htm
At 12, I started cutting with a (still) big-ass McCulloch chainsaw [thumbwax, Oct 05 2004]
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Annotation:
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I assume the Kiddie Chainsaw follows? + |
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fun! (+) Perhaps use a nylon line a la "weed whacker" for the cutting - I'm not sure if a kiddie push mower could generate the rpm's required to do much cutting, though. |
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Maybe you could make a kiddie mower for following dad around while mowing: You open the lid, fill it with clippings, then have a little fan blow them out the side or up in the air as the mower is pushed. |
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another thought - just have an internal fan strong enough to "vacuum" up clippings and throw them out the side. wheeeee! just like you're really mowing! |
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I well remember my son's fascination with chainsaws around the age of 3. |
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Blunt blades are extremely BAD at cutting grass (duh!) - they will tear it instead, damaging the roots. And mower blades get blunt quickly, since grass is so fibrous. Just enclose all the cutting edges well inside the mower, and have it power down if overturned. |
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now why doesn't that surprise me. |
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Heck, we were both fascinated. Unfortunately, we were living on the edge of a reserve, which would have taken a very dim view of the wanton tree cutting we wanted to engage in. |
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//Every kid who can walk wants to push a lawnmower. // |
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I disagree with this assertion. I grew up with a rotor mower that never got the blades sharpened and mowing the lawn was a really hard job. |
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I am just sooooo disappointed with this. I had high hopes from the idea title......... <sigh> |
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[8th] ... I am scared to ask. |
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"And rightly so, [Bungston] ......." |
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Suffice to say that red-hot rotating razor sharp blades were a significant component of my fantasy. Ever heard the phrase "cutting the little bu88rers down to size" ??? |
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Good for you no one thought of it when you were a little bugger, or you'd never have gotten to be a big bugger. |
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They tried, [waugs], believe me. But I was too quick for them. That was before I got old and fat (and cunning). |
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