(As I was saying) ... lawn mower recommendations

[glc]

Not only that - the new "safety features" make it a lot more difficult to USE the damn thing. You probably grew up on the same kind of mower I did - a plain old push rotary, choke, throttle, non-captive pull cord start, no dead man's bar, no flappy rear skirt, a fixed side chute, a blade that would cut grass no matter how dull and dinged up it got, a carburetor with adjusting screws, an oil drain plug, height adjustments by unbolting the wheels and inserting in different holes etc. etc.

[juppy]

LOL....GLC, you sound like my uncle! He's the main reason we went ahead and got the push mower when we bought the new rider (got a better price deal that way), because his old mower had "gave up the ghost" at the end of last year. He watched the newspaper ads, looking for a good, old-style mower....never found one. He hates all the safety features on the new ones and complains about them all the time. Doesn't like the handle-mounted pull cord, doesn't like the carburetor that has no setting screws he can fiddle with, doesn't like the plastic wheels, the plastic discharge chute, how light the metal of the deck is, the primer bulb insted of a choke, the safety bar on the handle that kills it if you let it slip out of your grip or take your hands off of it.....the list goes on and on. If I had to guess, I'd say the only things he HASN'T complained about on that new mower would be the spark plug and the gas tank.

EDIT: Oh, in case you're wondering why my uncle likes the old stuff?.....he's 71 years old. And if you're wondering why a 71 year old guy is still out mowing lawns?.....he's not exactly a "normal" 71.....he gets around as good as I do, if not better most of the time.

[glc]

I'm not that old, but I still firmly believe in the "KISS" principle and "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

[David M]

George isn't old.....he's just stubborn.

[glc]

Like you aren't stubborn too???????

[shadowpr]

"I'm not stubborn, I just like doing it the right way." LOL

[Statica]

Hey all .. thanks a lot for taking the time for helping me w/mower recommendations. I really appreciate it. Got one today from Sears - a Craftsman push-mower w/a Honda engine. I've had great experiences w/Honda engines and am hoping for the same. Actually was going to get the Consumers Reports recommended Cub Cadet (thanx Steve) - it's 289CAD here.. stopped off at a Sears and found the mower for 399 on sale for 299 (the sale ended yesterday but they forgot to take off their goofy stickers).

Again, thanx a lot for your help.

[EzyStvy]

I too bought a Craftman...So far, I'm Not impressed with it compared to the Home Depot "Yard Man" mower that I killed.

1) The flip door where you attach the bag leaks mulched grass/dust n dirt up onto the mower.

2) The assembly that holds the wheels/attaches to the mower seem flimsy.

3) The freakin catch bag is WHITE. It ought to look real nice after a few uses. Guess I'm as stupid as they are since I bought the thing.

4) Its harder to push...

The auto primer/no have to press a pump to gas up the carb is nice. Darn thing started on the very first crank.

[David M]

I have never been impressed with anything Craftsman....other than their hand tool warranty. If it breaks, they will replace it no questions asked....even if you put a six foot long cheater bar on it and bend it.

[HAL9000]

I tend to agree there too... I've had other craftsman producs and they were so so at best. Their tools on the other hand, I broke the handle on my ratchet with a hammer trying to break a bolt loose... they replaced it no questions asked.

[juppy]

Your Sears stores must be more leniant than ours is then, when it comes to replacing tools. The people at our Sears store go over a broken returned tool and scrutinize every mark. My brother took a broken screwdriver back to them once and argued with the salesman about how the top had some scratches on it. The salesman tried to say it was marks from a hammer and that my brother had used it like a punch or something! My brother kept explaining that he's a machinist and with all the tools in his toolbox at work, things are always getting scratches on them.....just daily routine. He eventually honored the warranty, but not without a long discussion on it.

They're the same way with "cheater bars" too, as David M mentioned. Bro took a broken 1/2" drive ratchet in for replacement and the same guy argued that he had put a cheater bar on it (which he hadn't done). Again, they replaced it, but not without the whole nagging argument.

In keeping with the thread though, glad you found a mower, Statica! Sears seems to have a problem with those stickers and signs. When we bought our rider, they had two mowers beside each other and after we'd decided on one, the price that the guy put in was several hundred dollars higher than the one we picked. When asked, his response was "Oh, some kids just switched the signs around again.....sorry."

[HAL9000]

Maybe... all he cared about was being able to read craftsman on the tool.

[juppy]

You'd think that would be all they WOULD need for a warranty return. We've learned though that most of the people at our Sears will look for marks of "improper use", but we now avoid that guy I mentioned above, as he seems to be more of a stickler about it than the rest of them. The others still look the tool over though too and will sometimes question a large mark that doesn't look like it's from "normal" use. How they can define "normal" though is beyond me.

[TwoRails]

Normal use can vary from person to person. I remember one time when I was a mechanic I was having trouble with something on the undercarriage. I was using a small pipe wrench as nothing else would bite on it. A buddy of mine came over and gave it a try. The part didn't budge but he freakin' bent the wrench into a C shape!!! The real funny part is that he had arms about the size of drinking straws! -- it's one of those things I'd have a hard time believing if I didn't see it with my own eyes!

[glc]

Found out something yesterday - Harbor Freight also has a lifetime warranty on their cheap crappy hand tools. They just opened up a store here and I was over there getting some stuff. I also found out that the prices in the store are not necessarily the same as online, but they will match the online sale price if you bring in a printout. They also stick flyers in the weekly junk mail with coupons. I doubt I will ever have to buy any more tools from Sears, I don't need mechanic's or contractor's quality these days.

[TwoRails]

I spent a whole lot of years buying the majority of my tools thru SnapOn. Like you mention, I sure don't need that sort of tool, nor expense, anymore. I've used some Harbor Freight stuff and they can do the job for a lot of things. Hole punches, circle cutters, and the like have served their functions. The only one by me is about an hours drive, and they are they same as your: the same only different from the main outlet...