Help.....

[oldherbaceous]

I can have a non-running, Webb 24 belt driven mower AB 1439, serial number 322, if i want it.
It looks in fair condition.
I know it needs a new cluth cable, are these still available? And it has no spark.

Do you think it is worth doing up.

[Kleftiwallah]

I gurgled your description to see what your beast looks like and came up with this, it may be helpful.

http://www.oldlawnmowers.co.uk/ol-literature.php

Cheers, Tony.

[oldherbaceous]

Evening Tony, indeed that is a big help, so many thanks.

[oldherbaceous]

Evening Clive, i was just wondering if you have any thoughts on these mowers, whether or not they were reliable in their day, that sort of thing.

[Clive.]

Hello Old H,
Sorry I had not got back to you earlier....I saw your posting but hadn't got my head into gear to type back. ..bit busy stacking Apples in alphabetical order, posing for newspapers and eating Apple crumble made by the nice lady from the MK museum.

The Webb 24 was a good machine in its day...but it is going to be at least 30 years old now...

Lack of spark could well just be the need for clean of points, contact set, or replacement contact set and or stuck points plunger. I seem to recall that they have a stop switch which could also stick and loose the spark..or stick and not stop.....
Very rare for a coil to fail on a B&S engine, assuming it still has its 5hp B&S engine. Many mowers have been re engined (older examples of this chassis had Aspera and even Villiers.....)

I did see one engine on these years ago where it gave the impression of weak spark, firing only once, that turned out to be run low of oil and damaged main bearing flywheel side.....not good.

They can be a bit of fuddle to start with age and wear..as with some wear on the choke slide on the B&S carb it can become loose and then you need 3 hands........

Normally they would want full choke and then choke quickly in once engine fires.

Adjustment of the cutting cylinder is a bit fiddly but perhaps no more so than on the Atco 24 of the same period, that I think you have had dealings with.?
The bottom blade is a machined flat type rather than the lipped type of the Atco and is more critical to it being in good order to achieve good results. A 30 year old machine could have had lots of cylinder grinds.? each removing metal so there is a finite size that it would grind down to. Having said that just sometimes cylinder mowers sit unused for years.

Belt drive (pair of matched belts) can last ok for ages but similarly some seemed to eat belts....positioning of the belt guides can be critical to this... and to them not creeping forward with the clutch locked up...!!!! I suspect also it depended on useage.?..fine lawn or trying to hack down longer grass and tow the seat as well....

I had a quick look about and it seems that cables may be available...they could be pattern replica parts as this machine would no longer be manufacturer supported at all except for the B&S engine... Webb went to Atco in 1984 and any current re use of the Webb name has no connection at all.

Like the Atco there is no facility to keep the the cutting cylinder turning without forward drive when manoeuvring...there's just one clutch lever.

The rear rollers are rubber covered and it could come adrift with age..also the ring gear and pinion that drive the rear roller can fail...this was no longer manufacturer supported a long time ago...but a pattern spares supplier re made these...not sure if they are still available.? but they were quite expensive.

Front metal roller can have worn bearings.

Good machine in its day for a fine formal lawn and must have been made and sold in vast numbers....and bought in recent times by many with a dream for a fine lawn but with only the odd hour on a wet weekend to achieve this...hence grass gets long and only a rotary will get them out of trouble..and Webb stays in shed..or gets sold....

It's very difficult to advise on such a mower without seeing it given it will have at least 30 years of history.

Clive.

[oldherbaceous]

Morning Clive, thank you so much for all that infomation, i will check the items you have mentioned, out later.
I know the mower has stood for at least ten years of it's life, and it does look in good condition, with no big bangs or scrapes.
I have been very lucky in that someone who has dealt with mowers for many years is going to have a look at it for me. He is a real gentleman, so i know i will get a honest answer.

So thanks again Clive, as i know you are always busy at work, and time must always be precious.

[oldherbaceous]

Evening Clive, forgot to mention this, have had the mower sorted, new clutch cable, stop/start switch, reground cylinder and bottom blade, new electrical bits for engine, new oil and washed filters, and had an awful job to get the bloke to accept £100, and that included him picking it up and delivering it back. He reckoned that was it's first regrind, so that was good news.

The Briggs and Stratton engine fires up nicely on the second pull.

[Clive.]

That's good news then..



Clive.