# Manual Mclane rear roller Mod !



## Cheap_coast_mower (Oct 19, 2020)

I'm sure like myself there are ton of people scouring the internet for instructions on converting your mclane "greens mower" from read wheel drive to rear roller drive. I only ever ended up seeing a blurry video of someone who added a tonne of wheel between the main drive wheels. At first I thought why not ! Then shock my realized that the 6-8 wheels it would take would cost way more then the mower itself. So I set out to find the absolute most cost effective way to convert to rear rollers. I explored every possibility under the sun from pouring concrete to 3D printing them. As all things in life usually the simplest solution is the best solution.

Purchase 6" pvc pipe

Start off by removing the rear sprocket.

Measure distance from outside to outside of rear wheels (you will need this later)

Remove the four bolts holding rear axle in place (remember which way the bracket was facing as it's not symmetrical)

Slide off wheels and make sure you don't lose the bearing chucks hiding inside

Use a couple screwdrivers to remove rubber from wheels





Cut wheel down to 6" diameter (I used an oscillating cutting tool for this bit and it only took a couple minutes). If you had access to a lather it would make quick work of it

Sand down remaining bits until smooth or it can fit very snuggly in pvc tube

Take measurement from outside to outside of wheels from earlier and divide by two. Should be around 8" but could vary depending on machine

Take rubber mallet and "press" wheels into pvc (make sure the wheel is facing correct direction before committing on this step)

Do a dry assemble and make sure everything fits (this is to avoid having to repeatedly put those stupid bearing chucks more then once lol)

Once all fits pit bearing chucks in and reassemble !! Make sure you put axle bolts one position higher then when you removed them, as the rear wheel diameter will be smaller.

And there you have it, a rear roller conversion fun under 10$ provided you have a cutting tool on hand









Will post pictures tomorrow of cut quality as it was too dark to take photos tonight

Full disclosure that I'm planning to glue a thicker rubber mat to the rear rollers at some point in which case I could move the rear axle position back to normal.

Onto the next mod……… stay tuned


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## TulsaFan (May 1, 2017)

Looks fantastic!


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## GreenLand (May 23, 2019)

Nice work&#128175;&#128175;&#128175;


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## Sonoran Desert Lawn (Aug 22, 2020)

Very cool! I have 2 manual Mclanes and I have been looking forward to doing something like this for a while.


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## Cheap_coast_mower (Oct 19, 2020)

Thanks for the kinds words ! As promised the results, pretty solid striping for 1/8" cut!

Would highly recommend to anyone to add the bracket over the rollers as you can add more weight on it and it doubles as a lawn roller, not to mention you get a more true height of cut. I put an extra '20lbs on but it could probably take 50lbs easy.

Happy mowing !


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## T-McD (Aug 10, 2021)

Great job! Basically turned it into a Hudson Star without the high cost.


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## Cheap_coast_mower (Oct 19, 2020)

T-McD said:


> Great job! Basically turned it into a Hudson Star without the high cost.


Ya, 20$ for the mower 5$ for pvc and about an hour of my time a little cheaper then 2 grand :lol:


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## Sonoran Desert Lawn (Aug 22, 2020)

My concern was the traction. Rollers are slick and need some type of grip or "bite" to grab the grass and spin the reel. How is the traction?


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## Cheap_coast_mower (Oct 19, 2020)

Sonoran Desert Lawn said:


> My concern was the traction. Rollers are slick and need some type of grip or "bite" to grab the grass and spin the reel. How is the traction?


Traction is totally fine as a lot of old manual mower had smooth steel anyways. But you could rough it up with sand paper and it would probably never slip. I'm also thinking of contact cementing a rubber door mat around it


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## Sonoran Desert Lawn (Aug 22, 2020)

Just an FYI the Frequency of Clip rate with 6" wheels is .5" of an inch. The original 8" wheels gave a FOC of .67". You should be able to cut with zero wash boarding at .5 or above height of cut


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## Cheap_coast_mower (Oct 19, 2020)

Sonoran Desert Lawn said:


> Just an FYI the Frequency of Clip rate with 6" wheels is .5" of an inch. The original 8" wheels gave a FOC of .67". You should be able to cut with zero wash boarding at .5 or above height of cut


Good to know, I would've assumed the FOC height would decrease as the gear size (wheel)increased. Haven't cut above 1/4 inch yet lol. Will in a week or so when I get to the lawn tennis court in the back yard after a winter of letting it grow


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## Cheap_coast_mower (Oct 19, 2020)

A little update on the roller mod results now that the grass is actually starting to grow. The blade to bedknife needs adjusting as I'm getting some leaf tear but that's easy to sort out.


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## Thisguy (Apr 5, 2017)

Nice! That thing needs some double wides


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## Cheap_coast_mower (Oct 19, 2020)

Thisguy said:


> Nice! That thing needs some double wides


Setting up the tennis court with these stripes so have to stay the course, but when fall comes around doubles it is! 👌


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## frostyshake (Jan 3, 2021)

This is sweet! Even with the rubber wheels on my Mclane, I have trouble getting traction when the grass is wet. Maybe my reel to bedknife is too tight. I imagine that the PVC (and the smaller diameter compared to the wheels) would be too slippery for me to spin the reel in many cases.


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## Cheap_coast_mower (Oct 19, 2020)

frostyshake said:


> This is sweet! Even with the rubber wheels on my Mclane, I have trouble getting traction when the grass is wet. Maybe my reel to bedknife is too tight. I imagine that the PVC (and the smaller diameter compared to the wheels) would be too slippery for me to spin the reel in many cases.


I thought about gluing a thing rubber door matt around the pvc for extra traction, but I don't need it, plus with all the worm castings it would be a total dog to clean compared to the pvc. I'd say since rolling it over the pavement a few times the pvc has roughed up enough that the traction isn't any worse then the rubber tires (I'm assuming you have a greater contact patch makes up for the lack of rubber)


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## Sonoran Desert Lawn (Aug 22, 2020)

frostyshake said:


> This is sweet! Even with the rubber wheels on my Mclane, I have trouble getting traction when the grass is wet. Maybe my reel to bedknife is too tight. I imagine that the PVC (and the smaller diameter compared to the wheels) would be too slippery for me to spin the reel in many cases.


Same here. I have to over tighten the reel. Its the only way to get the reel to cut at the middle of the bed knife.


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## Cheap_coast_mower (Oct 19, 2020)

Sonoran Desert Lawn said:


> frostyshake said:
> 
> 
> > This is sweet! Even with the rubber wheels on my Mclane, I have trouble getting traction when the grass is wet. Maybe my reel to bedknife is too tight. I imagine that the PVC (and the smaller diameter compared to the wheels) would be too slippery for me to spin the reel in many cases.
> ...


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## Sonoran Desert Lawn (Aug 22, 2020)

Metal on metal but really difficult to push because it is so tight. I have a difficult time backlapping. I have tried several methods but the struggle is real.


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## Cheap_coast_mower (Oct 19, 2020)

Sonoran Desert Lawn said:


> Metal on metal but really difficult to push because it is so tight. I have a difficult time backlapping. I have tried several methods but the struggle is real.


Ya, it's not the most user friendly for backlapping lol. I ended up welding a small nut to the shaft of the reel so I can hook a drill up. It is possible to get it to cut paper without having it tightened to the nines! The bedknife needs a healthy relief as well so the contact can be as brief as possible.


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## Sonoran Desert Lawn (Aug 22, 2020)

Any issues with the mower? Any updates?

How does your 1924 Toro rear drum not slip?


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## Cheap_coast_mower (Oct 19, 2020)

So far working perfectly, have done any electronic upgrade yet as it has been working good enough as is. Although would be nice for when you forget to mow the lawn for a week. I will say if your reel isn't cutting paper or very close to it the drum will slip once your grass reaches golf green thickness. The Toro has holes in the drum so you get a bit more traction. I'm finding and the PVC get roughed up a bit I'm getting more traction as well.


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## Sonoran Desert Lawn (Aug 22, 2020)

@Cheap_coast_mower Looks great!

My issue is that my 10 blade cuts amazing, but does not have a front roller. It is kind of odd.


I could easily replace the wheels with a roller, but I have would lose the ability to use the front catcher.


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## Cheap_coast_mower (Oct 19, 2020)

Sonoran Desert Lawn said:


> @Cheap_coast_mower Looks great!
> 
> My issue is that my 10 blade cuts amazing, but does not have a front roller. It is kind of odd.
> 
> ...


If you put a roller on with a smaller diameter then current wheels it should fit, I used to have a mclane with that bucket and made my own grooves roller for the front and it fit under it. Option 2 would be so what I did and re purpose a tote that has a lip that can rest on the support bar for the front wheels. I'll take a picture of it when the sun comes out next so you can see how simple of a design it is. Also loved the quick height adjustment on the one I had that was like yours far superior to the greens mower where you have to undo two screws on each side


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