Sick of cutting grass? Here is a thought....

[Arigmaster]

Can't work on the car because you gotta cut the grass? Well... Here is an Idea that may get you off the hook for a little while.....

Supplies:

1 - Self propelled lawn mower.
1 - 13" car tire rim.
1 - Short dog leash.
2 - 24" landscape spikes. (3 optional)
1 - Heavy duty clothes line.

Tools:

1 - Hammer
1 - Knife or scissors

Step 1:

Locate the center of the large flat yard area where there are no obstructions. (i.e. trees, bushes, rocks, flower gardens, small children, etc.)

Step 2:

Place tire rim in center of area you wish to cut and anchor the rim to the ground through the lug openings with the landscape spikes. Face rim with valve stem side on the top. (drive spikes with hammer... duh)

step 3:

Feed heavy duty clothes line through the hole where the valve stem would normally be from the inner rim to the out side tire area. Tie knots in the end of the line so it will not pull through the opening and run the rope counter clockwise around the inner rim one full circle.

Step 4:

Walk away from the anchored rim feeding out the clothes line as you go to the nearest estimated obstruction in the area you wish to cut or the end of the rope. (which ever comes first) Then walk one revolution around the rim counter clockwise to insure there are no other obstructions on the perimeter of the area you wish to cut.

Step 5:

Attach dog leash to the front area of the mower so it is just behind the front wheel. (Locations will vary on models but most have heavy duty guards over the muffler) I Attached it to the guard on my Toro. Then tie the clothes line to the dog leash which is now attached to the mower removing all slack from the line. Cut excess clothes line off.

Step 6:

Now start your mower and engage the the forward drive. Use a 1' piece of the clothes line to tie the drive control and cutoff release both in the engaged position. (make sure it is done in a way where it can be untied quickly if needed... I actually used a vise grip)) You are now making crop circles in your yard. Kick back in the lawn chair and wait for the mower to reach the end of it's rope. (Make sure you keep hydrated with your favorite beverage of choice... Supervising is hard work you know.

In conclusion... The mower will wind it's self in as the rope wraps itself around the rim. The 13" rim will adjust the path where each pass will overlap the last slightly.

Once you are done with that area, You can detach the rope and it's already wound up for easy storage. Pull the rime out of the ground, Mark the spot with something and all the guess work is done. You can repeat the process in multiple areas of the yard which will leave you minimal areas of manual cutting. Oh and the patterns are kinda cool too.

[Bandit72]

i've got to see pictures of this!

[bull]

Jeez, sounds like I could have the 383 in and running in the amount of time it would take me to dial that setup in.

[A383Wing]

What kinda rim do ya use for a square yard?   

Bryan

[craigandlynda]

i expect we'll soon see this on America's Funniest Home Videos...

[Lowprofile]

Redneck engineering at its Finest! 

[Mike DC]

 
Ever seen the movie "World's Fastest Indian?" 


The main character demonstrated the perfect solution for having to keep a lawn mowed.

 

[moparstuart]

  FIRE   

[dkn1997]

Step 7: visit animal shelter to replace the neighbors cat who foiled your latest experiment....

[69chargeryeehaa]

Jeez, sounds like I could have the 383 in and running in the amount of time it would take me to dial that setup in.

ya but think about how silly a 383 would look with this on it:
Supplies:

1 - Self propelled lawn mower.
1 - 13" car tire rim.
1 - Short dog leash.
2 - 24" landscape spikes. (3 optional)
1 - Heavy duty clothes line.

Tools:

1 - Hammer
1 - Knife or scissors

[bordin34]

There was just a commercial for the discover channel n employing this idea but using a flag pole.

[Dave22443]

When I was a kid, there was a guy in my neighborhood that did this.  He installed a permanent wooden post in the middle of his yard to make it work.  It was always a treat with us kids to go by and watch when he was "mowing the grass" from his easy chair on the front porch.   

[dodgecharger-fan]

Same here! There was a guy next to our school that used to do the same thing. We could watch through the fence if he was cutting the lawn at recess.
He'd sit in a lawn chair with a drink and just watch the mower wind itself up.

Then he'd move it to another spot and start over.

There were three sections he'd that we could see and then at least one more around the other side of his little orchard.

From the looks of the lawn afterwards, he just walked it around the outskirts to finish up. I never saw him do that part but you can tell by the cuttings left behind.

[jeryst]

Sounds like an episode of the Red Green show.

[C_stripes]

You could just turn it emo and play some panic at the disco or something and your lawn would cut its self.   HAHAHAHAHA 

[rt green]

i still like the all blacktop idea. more parking

[Charger_Fan]

i still like the all blacktop idea. more parking

There was a house in the late 80's north of Salt Lake that had an asphalt front yard...well, all but the dirt circle left for the little tree.
I always assumed it was a divorced guy that hated yard upkeep.