Rotavating with Howard Bulldog.

Hi,

Quite a while ago I bought this Howard Bulldog petrol rotavator as a restoration project;



It was in very poor unworking condition. I restored it and made a set of new tines out of 1/8" steel plate. The Howard orange coloured paint I bought though eBay and it's hugely disappointing reacting badly when in contact with petrol.


Fully working again.

It's a shame to get it dirty.

Tuesday this week my 77th birthday I tried using my lightweight petrol rotavator on our middle meadow but it mostly bounced around digging holes so I brought out the Howard.

I've recently bought a £15 video camera through eBay with the intention of recording my violin practices but thought I'd try the camera out whilst rotavating. The first video was very poor indeed the picture being washed out.

Yesterday I set the camera up at the top corner of our mountain; we call it a mountain because it's so steep.

Success this time and I've posted five videos onto YouTube; Here's the first;

https://studio.youtube.com/video/vr54uqLuyjk/edit

Video #5 shows more of our site and surrounding area.

Kind regards, Col.

 

You made a cracking job of that.

Correct link is

 

Hi,

Many thanks for your compliment @southerner and for helping me out by inserting the correct link; very much appreciated indeed. If there are 100 ways of doing something wrong I'll do it wrong 104 ways because I often make the same mistake a number of times.

It's interesting to hear this old engine popping away; the exhaust valve was in poor condition it's seat was badly worn; I skimmed the valve seat in the lathe to tidy it up and made a tool to skim the valve seat in the cylinder block then ground both valves in. The popping gives it a bit of character.


Exhaust valve seat on right; not perfect but gives a good seal with good compression.

Valve seat tool I made for skimming the exhaust valve seat in the cylinder block.

Here's the exhaust halve seat in the cylinder block.

Poor picture but the exhaust valve in poor condition.

Kind regards, Col.

 

Good grief Col - that is quite a slope! Sometimes things look worse (or better) in video, but I can see the angle of the fence posts! You're doing a lovely job. Lots of hard work (again). Hope you had a great birthday!

 

Hi,

Thanks @CarolineL yes things can be made to look a lot different just by adjusting the angle of the camera but as you rightly comment the fence posts show how steep the garden really is; the posts are perfectly upright; the posts are galvanized scaffolding pipes; these replace the previous treated wooden posts which rotted out in less than four years.


37 years of living here has been incredibly hard constant work both working on the bungalow and in the gardens. I've felled and disposed of over 30 very tall trees up to 80' tall; about three weeks ago I removed a conifer hedge the conifer heights between 15' & 20' tall; 18 of them. Seen here are some of the logs from previous tree felling.

Here's what the rotavated area looked like at the top of the mountain; the laurels etc were as tall as the tree at the top left hand corner; I kept attacking these year after year until at this point I removed the lot including stumps & roots; to the left is the first year wildflower meadow/

The wildflower meadows look stunning whilst in bloom attracting many nice comments.

For my birthday last year I decided to remove our huge oak tree which was towering over the bungalow roof and patio; this was a difficult decision to make because in spite of all the tree removing I love trees. Having daily cleaned up after pigeons using this oak as their toilet seat for years enough was enough; the oak was also dangerous being too near the bungalow in high wind.

I was brought up in times long ago when hard work was normal and people were a great deal happier whilst living in real poverty. As a child up to 11 years of age I lived with my parents and two brothers and sister in a one bedroomed cockroach infested miners cottage with only water and gas laid on; I was 5 when electricity was installed. Life was very hard but strangely everyone smiled and helped each other.

I hope I'm not preaching but being married for 48 years the help we've received can be counted on one hand; the only work I don't carry out is gas everything else I do entirely on my own.

I'd better get off my backside before another day rapidly disappears; I'll have a tidy up in the gardens then a trip to the tip before this rare dry weather gives way to winter.

Kind regards, Col.

 

@Retired
Excellent restoration on a good make of Rotavator.

Back in the 1960s and 1970s When I was a Landscape Gardener owned 2 Howard rotovators
first was an new 810 cc petrol Howard Gem, powered by a twin cylinder petrol engine.
After 12 months I exchanged it for a Howard Gem with 500 cc diesel engine, a single cylinder two stroke made by Sach in Germany. A fantastic machine which would run all day on a gallon of diesel.

 

Hi,

Thanks @Cordy.

Machines these days aren't made to last 100 years with the occasional rebuild; they are increasingly complicated to repair with electronics and circuit boards which fail and when a circuit board fails it's often cheaper to scrap the machine. We had a washing machine which was quite expensive to buy but when the warranty ran out a year after its circuit board failed; the new circuit board cost over £100 and for those having to call a service guy in at a cost of around £35 I didn't repair the machine; it went for recycling and we bought a brand new BEKO washing machine with long warranty for £189. This cheap BEKO is the best washing machine we've ever owned and it's still doing a good job at over ten years old; it's a basic cold fill only machine.

These Howard rotavators were made when British engineering was at its best; they are heavy and robust unlike modern tinny machines which are built down to a price making them disposable goods.

Our site is so steep I couldn't use an Howard Gem; I couldn't even get a Gem into our rear garden. One machine I would have liked would be a Bobcat mini digger but even one of these would prove dangerous to use so I have to do heavy work the hard way; because I stick at it I always win in the end.

I did consider replacing the engine with a new more powerful Honda engine but decided to keep the Bulldog original; I intend to sort out the controls though allowing control from levers on the handlebars unlike now when I have to release one hand from the handlebar making it dangerous on the steep slope.

Out of interest I like leaving my comfort zone to try new things. I'm learning to play a violin and because I have a very poor memory I'm also learning to play from music sheets sight reading; it's an whole new world to discover; it's never too late to try a new hobby.



Kind regards, Col.

 

The sound isn't coming through for me @Retired
Wait - it is when I go full screen but not when embedded. But it's very quiet.
You amaze me Colin - I wouldn't dare try - but sight reading is a good skill. My children both did piano, and their teacher always had some sight reading each lesson.

 

@Retired

Rotavator is a Palindrome

 

Hi,

Thanks @CarolineL I need more practice making videos being very much a novice; it took quite a learning curve to record my violin playing to my Tascam Pocket Studio then learning how to save and export it to my PC then the fun started; I had to use "Audacity" to edit it removing sections not needed then change file format to suit YouTube. I'm unsure at the moment how to adjust sound before adding to YouTube.

So much to learn all at once; the violin is regarded as the hardest stringed instrument to play but I'll stick with it. I'm enjoying the steep learning curve not just playing the violin and sight reading but playing with all my electronic studio recording gear; I did learn very quickly if I left my phantom power mic still switched on then turned on my two monitors it didn't half clear my ears.

I've three female friends who at a younger age tried to play a violin but all three soon packed it in as being too difficult. I don't have a violin tutor I'm picking it up by practicing and watching YouTube videos; go on @CarolineL surprise yourself and have a go; I was 74 before first touching a violin and now three years later am still struggling for studio time but I won't give up; I'm a member of two stringed instrument forums where forum members are excellent.

Many thanks for spotting "Rotavator" is a Palindrome @Cordy it never occurred to me; for members wondering what a Palindrome is it's a word that spells the same forwards or backwards.

As usual I've wandered off topic but at least it generates a bit of interest.

Kind regards, Col.

 

Hi,

I've just modified the Howard Bulldog replacing the engine lift control which tilts the engine on a hinged platform; as the engine lifts it engages the drive belt between the pulleys.


My first attempt was to use a lever & cable as seen and this worked very well indeed but I wondered how long a thin cable would last?

I then replaced the cable with a pair of ball joints and 6mm dia rods; after the picture was taken I later made a better job of the welds.

The handlebar lever link. I bought a motorcycle clutch/brake lever and wasn't happy with the amount of travel so I used an hacksaw and removed the front end; now it had lots of travel.


Here's the new lever with the cable but the same lever is used with a rod but the front of the lever mounting has been removed it no longer needed.

I've tried the new control out today rotavating both the side and middle wildflower meadows; what a tremendous difference the new control makes; the Bulldog is now a great deal safer to use on our steep meadows allowing both hands to remain on the handlebars until the lever is released which in turns stops drive to the gearbox; I can now use the original rod control to disengage the gearbox allowing the Bulldog to be moved around manually whilst the engine is still idling.


The middle meadow putting on lots of new growth; I don't want this because I rotavate again in springtime and reseed.

The side meadow rotavated this morning ready for raking when I'm fully charged again.

The middle meadow rotavated this afternoon.

Grass pathway between both meadows;it all looks wonderful in springtime with the grass cut and edges trimmed between the wildflowers.

Downhill on the side meadow.

Downhill on the middle meadow showing grass path arrangement; to the left is the top meadow which I still have to rotavate.

Distance view of the meadows; it's a large very steep garden; the bottom section of the picture is the top meadow yet to rotavate.

It's given me a good workout today and I'm delighted by how much friendlier the Bulldog is with the new control; using the original control I had to remove an hand from the handlebar and this was very dangerous on such a slope; the Bulldog pulled me onto the ground twice so I needed to sort this out not wanting to end up in A&E.

It's been a rare beautiful dry warm day today for a change. The soil was damp and perfect for rotavating.

Kind regards, Col.

 

Working hard again @Retired !

 

Did they use to make a bigger version of that rotavater?

 

You have made a great job of that machine, and in turn, it's made a good job of your beds

Mac12 yes I think they did, my uncle had a small holding and his immediate neighbour ran a plant nursery, I'm pretty sure he had the large one, it was certainly the same colour.

 

Hi,

Thanks @CarolineL Yes; working as hard as ever. I was out of bed by 5:50 this morning to do the shopping; then I was back up the mountain and rotavated the big top meadow area plus a smaller side area so all the rotavating is done for the moment. It was whilst rotavating the top meadow that the rotavator got out of control twice putting me on the ground; it was still difficult working on the steep slope but with the new handlebar lever control I felt a great deal safer; the soil was perfect; it was wet but not soaking wet and it was soft; it was drizzling so I was kept cool; I enjoyed the exercise this morning. During the weekend I go up and rake all the rotavated areas; I'm like a Yo-Yo constantly up and down unable to sit for a couple of minutes but it keeps me fit.

Yes indeed @mac12 Howard was a big company and there are often lots of their much larger rotavators for sale on eBay or Gumtree; I'd have liked a larger Howard but it would need a crane to get it into our garden then it would be highly dangerous to use; the Bulldog however is a good size for me and given how old it is it still does a top job.



Above is a bigger Howard 350 and these are always on sale. These old machines are built to last and they are very heavy; they can be rebuilt many times often at little cost to people like me having a lathe and welder etc. My Bulldog has real old charm.

Thanks @Allotment Boy my Bulldog and I are best of chums both getting on a bit in years; we sympathize with each other and look after each other; I've also got a very cheap (around £150) two stroke rotavator I recently bought; this for the money is fine but it sure bounces around a great deal and isn't heavy enough to power through harder soil; it works OK after I've softened the ground with the Bulldog and it's tines rotate faster the the Bulldog tines given a finer finish; our meadow areas are now getting like talcum powder after all the work I've put in.


£135 brand new through eBay; these do a decent job but for harder bare ground or grass areas these will need digging over by spade to get one of these to work.

Kind regards, Col.