So much has gone so wrong for so long, some days it becomes very difficult to believe that anything will get better. Yesterday (Friday October 16th) we got some more bad news. Nothing new here.
I needed to do my yard and part of my son's yard. (I have bees there so I cut the grass sometimes). The mower was running a bit strange, I dismissed it as the grass being high and wet. In the process of cutting his grass, I hit a tree stump and bent one blade, put the front of the mower up on the trailer, and with a large adjustable wrench and a pipe wrench I was able to get the blade straight enough to finish. I left his yard and went to cut the grass at the club's out yard. when I got there I noticed gas dripping from the carburetor. My initial thought was some debris in the float valve. So I took off the bowl, and checked the valve and as assumed there was dirt. But I also found that the O ring that seals the float assembly was broke. I found the parts on-line, fairly cheap ($4) but it would take 5-7 days. Found a local place that was already closed, figured I'd call this morning (Saturday).
So today I slept in a bit, got up at 6:20. My plans were to take off the bent blade, go get the gasket kit, straighten the blade and finish the grass.
Trying to remove the blade, I broke the shaft. The end is threaded, 5/8 -11 I think. The nut was rusted enough that I snapped it right off. A slight change of plans.
Fortunately I have access to a lathe. Took off the shaft, went to the mower shop when they opened and got the gasket O ring set. Off to the shop where I faced off the shaft, drilled a hole and tapped it for a 3/8 bolt. Back home, put everything together and the mower will not run right. I thought maybe I pinched the gasket. Took the bowl back off, checked things and noticed that the main jet, which is housed in the float assembly, was missing.
No idea where or when I lost it. The mower shop does not sell the jet, only a complete kit, ($45.00). I can replace the carb for less. So I was resigned to wait until next week. Started thinking of who I might know with some old mower parts. Vicki's mom, we replaced the carb on her generator two years ago and I remember keeping the old one in case we needed to move a mounting bracket. (The replacement was bought on Ebay). Went over there and sure enough it was still where I put it. Not exactly the same size but the main jet did fit in my carb. Put things back together and the mower runs. Not perfect but well enough to cut the grass in our out yard.
So with the bent blade straight(er) and the mower running fairly well, I was off to mow the out yard.
(At least most of it, the bees were excessively mean today).
So it was a little victory, having the skills and tools available to fix the shaft, and the old carb parts to make the mower run.
I also got another bee colony today. Feral bees under the floor of a storage shed. Five nice pieces of yellow comb (Brazilian Pepper in bloom). Found the queen 10 minutes into the removal, caged her in the box, went back at 7:30 and all of the bees were in the box. Got 1 sting in my truck driving home after placing the nuc in the new yard. There is a whole lot in life that still really sucks, but today I had a small victory.
