# Just bought a manual McLane reel mower!



## rocketprius16 (Jul 7, 2019)

Hello! This is my first ever post. My wife and I just bought our first house. This will also be the first time we are responsible for the yard. After doing a ton of research the past couple days in preparation for buying a mower, I found that I really like the idea of a reel cut lawn.

I want a manual push reel for the following reasons: 1) summers in Louisiana make cutting the grass in the morning before work (without waking my neighbors) very appealing 2) no emissions 3) lower maintenance and fuel costs 4) built in workout

I was about to buy a brand new McLane manual reel mower for $450 when I decided to look around on Facebook marketplace. Craigslist had given me nothing in my area. I found (and purchased) this manual mower for $35 from a guy who shops for stuff at yard sales and then flips them. Pictures are below. I thought that I could get it serviced (oil, check bearings, sharpen blades) and get a roller from reel rollers and then I'd be out at the most $250. I'll probably have someone come out and cut it with a rotary mower just to get the height down low enough. I tried the mower today and it was very hard to push. I think it's due to the rust, dull blades, and fairly tall grass (maybe 2-3"). I'm hoping once I get it serviced and sharpened and the grass height down, that it will be easier.

The yard is just under 5000 square feet. I know it will be a time commitment. I have almost all weeds and a small amount of centipede in the back and Bermuda and centipede in the front. I'd like to go to all Bermuda, in the front and back. I will learn how to go about doing that as I go along.

This is my question: do you think I can get the manual mower working good enough to at least get my feet wet? I think I would like to get a powered mower down the road (preferably electric), but I want to start now with my limited funds. There is a guy nearby selling an 8-year old McLane powered reel mower for $600. Do you think the manual is a waste of time and I should go powered from the get-go?

Please let me know your thoughts. Be gentle! I am brand new at this. Thank you!


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## ThomasPI (May 18, 2019)

Welcome you've found a great resource here. As far as your mower goes, if you're handy I'd suggest getting it cleaned up and removing the rust as best you can and buy a few cans of WD40 to see where you end up. Mower may just need a lot of TLC or much more. You'll invariably need to get the reel sharpened and that's liable to cost far and away more than your investment.

Worst case you're out $35. You have a lot of lawn to cut with a manual reel mower and I'd tend to lean towards a powered mower. I'd spend a LOT of time here just reading on mowers and lawn care in general. There are lots of folks with great knowledge. Without reading and asking ?, I would not just jump at any used powered mower. Learn what to look for in a used mower and educate yourself on the equipment and lawn care. You'll come to find that this can be a very costly hobby, on the other hand it will be rewarding.


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## TN Hawkeye (May 7, 2018)

rocketprius16 said:


> Hello! This is my first ever post. My wife and I just bought our first house. This will also be the first time we are responsible for the yard. After doing a ton of research the past couple days in preparation for buying a mower, I found that I really like the idea of a reel cut lawn.
> 
> I want a manual push reel for the following reasons: 1) summers in Louisiana make cutting the grass in the morning before work (without waking my neighbors) very appealing 2) no emissions 3) lower maintenance and fuel costs 4) built in workout
> 
> ...


First off, congratulations on the new house. That's such a big milestone in a couples life. You are at the right place to get your feet wet with lawn care. Anything and everything you can ask can be answered here. Like @ThomasPI said, try to get the mower in as good a shape as you can before spending any more cash on it. But if you feel it is above your head then a good tune up may do wonders for it. I'd hold of on the roller until you try it out and see how you like it. Most likely it will not work for the next mower you purchase so it may be wasted money. But if you find it dipping into holes and scalping it may help level off your mow. Mowing the grass shorter will help the Bermuda overtake the weeds but you may still need to give them a shot of some bad stuff to help the process. Best of luck. Start a lawn journal so we can follow your progress.


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## ThomasPI (May 18, 2019)

This was just posted: https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=11435


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## rocketprius16 (Jul 7, 2019)

Went to to see the powered McLane this afternoon. It's a 10 blade, maybe 8 years old, with the "bigger" motor, the guy said. Blades are also recently sharpened. The guy also cleaned out the carburetor and replaced the fuel lines. To my untrained eye, it looks like a solid machine. I took some video too.


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## ThomasPI (May 18, 2019)

There's a McLane thread here. Did it cut paper all the way across the bedknife and how well did it cut grass?


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## ThomasPI (May 18, 2019)

I'd check the link to the JD I posted above ?


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## rocketprius16 (Jul 7, 2019)

I messaged the owner! Thanks, ThomasPl!


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## Chocolate Lab (Jun 8, 2019)

Bumping this to see what ever happened. 

I have a manual Mclane that I got probably 15 years ago to mow my folks' lawn with. It worked great, but they have St Augustine, When I bought my house with Bermuda, I had all kinds of problems. It was incredibly hard to push even on just a decent common bermuda lawn -- even after I backlapped it.

Guess I'm just wondering what people think of these and it it's worth more rehabbing and effort. I've been loving my Fiskars, but my lawn is now getting thick enough that I'm getting some washboarding with it, so I need more blades.


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## mrdice (Aug 5, 2019)

Chocolate Lab said:


> Bumping this to see what ever happened.
> 
> I have a manual Mclane that I got probably 15 years ago to mow my folks' lawn with. It worked great, but they have St Augustine, When I bought my house with Bermuda, I had all kinds of problems. It was incredibly hard to push even on just a decent common bermuda lawn -- even after I backlapped it.
> 
> Guess I'm just wondering what people think of these and it it's worth more rehabbing and effort. I've been loving my Fiskars, but my lawn is now getting thick enough that I'm getting some washboarding with it, so I need more blades.


I actually returned my 18" fiskars, and picked up a manual 7 blade Mclane on CL. The fiskars was causing noticeable washboarding, the Mclane is significantly better. My version is different than OP's, as I don't have front wheels, but actually some multi-piece plastic roller assembly which gets me some nice striping.


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## Chocolate Lab (Jun 8, 2019)

mrdice said:


> I actually returned my 18" fiskars, and picked up a manual 7 blade Mclane on CL. The fiskars was causing noticeable washboarding, the Mclane is significantly better. My version is different than OP's, as I don't have front wheels, but actually some multi-piece plastic roller assembly which gets me some nice striping.


Thanks for the info and sorry I didn't see this until now. I was just messing with mine this morning, as for the first time since I seeded my new lawn we've gotten good rains and the grass is really thickening. (Quick side note -- I checked and the Fiskars I bought used *really* needs sharpening. Wonder if that would help some with the washboarding.)

Can I ask how low you're mowing with your McLane? I assume your Bermuda is thick and dense if you have a hybrid. Is there a way to quantify how hard it is to push? I can''t figure out why mine is such a beast to maneuver when the Fiskars is a breeze. DId you find such a big difference between the two?


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## Chocolate Lab (Jun 8, 2019)

Well, I spent a few hours sharpening and adjusting the McLane and it's cutting better than it ever has. It's both cutting better and is easier to push at the same time. Besides getting dull -- somehow with very little use -- I almost think it was so hard to push because the reel slipped too far away from the bedknife and the grass was getting caught up in the gap without being cut.

I was still getting some slight washboarding, though. Maybe that's just the way it is with a manual mower. And it's extremely loud. Think I'll ask about that in the regular powered McLane thread.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

@rocketprius16 
I know you haven't posted in awhile, but would you post a follow up, once you're back on?

I'm curious how you did with the manual McLane, and if you purchased a powered reel mower.

Thanks.


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## rocketprius16 (Jul 7, 2019)

Chris LI said:


> @rocketprius16
> I know you haven't posted in awhile, but would you post a follow up, once you're back on?
> 
> I'm curious how you did with the manual McLane, and if you purchased a powered reel mower.
> ...


I ended up getting the JD greensmower ThomasPI linked soon after I last posted, but then life kind of took over and I had to shelve the project entirely. While the JD started and ran beautifully when I tested it, it started and then died when I brought it home. I know I can work through the JD manual and troubleshoot the problem. It's probably just bad gas. It was just a little overwhelming and I didn't have much in the way of a budget for the lawn (blew what I would have had on the mower).

I'm just now getting back into it. Sick and tired of having a crappy lawn! Now that I'm working from home because of the coronavirus, I can work on the lawn more! I'll be starting a 2020 lawn journal soon. My neighbors mowed our front lawn while we stayed with my in-laws and that was the final straw for me. I'm thankful they did it, but I don't want to be the guy who has a bad lawn. I want to be the guy with the best lawn on the street. They couldn't get to the back because the gate was locked, but I'm glad they didn't go back there...I kind of hadn't mowed the back since 2019 and it was wild.

I used a rotary to mow the back down and then went to the local feed/seed store to pick up a sprayer, spreader, pre-emergent, post-emergent, and talstar for the bugs. These are all things I didn't have before, so I'm fired up. Today I mowed the whole yard down a little shorter with the rotary and applied the pre-emergent, even though I'm a little late.

OK, this should honestly just go in a lawn journal with some pictures...this is just to let you know I'm still here!


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