I took a first look at my push lawnmower today while my 3 year old rode his tricycle around outside. I reinstalled the blade (which I sharpened over the winter) and looked into a problem I had been having with the deck. Last summer I hit a big chunk of wood (or something similar) and ever since that, when I make certain maneuvers, the blade will graze the deck and make a loud, unhappy clattering noise. At first I thought the deck was dented, and banged on it a few times with my ball-peen hammer to try to get it back in shape. But, it looks like the real problem is that a weld has partially broken loose, causing part of the deck to stick out too close to the blade. If my peening attempts didn’t do the trick, it looks like I might be able to reattach the loose piece with a sheet metal screw.

Based on the engine date code, this mower is 16 years old this year (I bought it used in 1996). The engine is still good, and I’ve been nursing it along for a while now and it keeps on going. Hopefully it’ll last me another 16…

Followup 4/15.. I fired the mower up today. After about 5 minutes of mowing, the blade started scraping the deck again. Shut it off, drilled hole, inserted screw to hold deck together, problem solved (for now at least). Looks like the mower will live to see another season..