1920s Lawn Mower [Restoration] - Part 1

This machine was made by the Coldwell Lawn Mower Co. of Newburgh, NY, USA in the late 1920s. It claimed to cut and roll 3 acres on a single tank of gas using a 25" width reel mower powered by a 3.5HP Fuller and Johnson engine. It cost the equivalent of ~$7000 in current(2024) USD.

This video focuses solely on the restoration of the engine portion of this tool. The engine was not in the worst shape I have seen for something its age, but it is a very odd design and not common at all.
It fought me every single step of the way, to the point where it took me 4 months to fully restore.

I made some choices early in the restoration that came back to bite me in the end. I decided not to replace the piston rings despite a light honing of the cylinder, since replacements were not available at the time and I really didn't want to make new ones like I did for the steam engine restoration. I also decided to use composite cork with a gasoline resistant coating for the carburetor float replacement. Lastly, I decided to lightly repaint the outside of the of the magneto.

Unfortunately, all of these things were a terrible idea that set me back months of work and time. The piston rings did need a full replacement as compression was low and blow-by was showing up in the oilers. I found a single set in Australia. The coating on the cork float completely failed , so I tried coating it entirely in gasoline tank sealer, but that also failed. I ended up replacing the float entirely with one that I custom made out of nitrophyl, which is a plastic float resistant to gasoline. The original cork float was coating in shellac, which unfortunately will dissolve in modern gasoline, which contains ethanol. Lastly, I spent 5 weeks working on the Bosch BA-1 magneto, which decided to completely stop working after just painting the outside. This is a rare magneto with expensive and hard to find replacement parts, so I had to figure it all out myself. I ended up completely tearing the whole thing apart multiple times and investigating every part with my multimeter. Initially, it looked like the secondary coil needed to be rewound, which would have taking a professional several months, but once I got my hands on a more sensitive multimeter, it checked out fine. I also replaced the capacitor within the magneto, but that did not help either. After weeks of disassembly and reassembly, I found a hairline crack in one of the insulator parts that was allowing some voltage to leak and spark somewhere internally to the magneto.

I also chose to restore the radiator for the engine in the next part of this restoration, as I can run the engine for a short period without it, and this video was already running quite long.

In the end I learned that this is the first engine I've ever restored that has depression and truly hates all its original parts.

I'd like to thank @CRCAutoUS for sponsoring this video. I've switched to a food-grade penetrating oil from them as a more safe alternative, and it as worked just as well as the usual penetrating oils I've used.
You can check out the products from them used in this video in the links below:

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[HandToolRescue]

This is the first engine I've ever restored that has depression and truly hates all its original parts. Also, subtitles surprise!

[jeffsucidlo]

You have a knack for finding tools that look like they may have single handedly been the inspiration for numerous consumer safety regulations being passed. You are brave to use them. I love it!

[infinty]

"It was reverse thread the entire time"

I love it because it is exactly the kind of shit I would make a mistake on.

[Shortdraw]

Can we all appreciate all the work that didn’t make the edit? All those fasteners and small parts must’ve taken hours behind the scenes and don’t go unnoticed.

[leewoodrough]

I was once complaining to an old plumber about the steel pipes I had in my house. He gave me the best advice I’ve ever received. Always start by tightening the pipe a little before loosening it.

[Rkkn]

Wow! A multiplayer sandblasting cabinet!

[robertramsey]

Easily the best restoration channel on YouTube - humour, actual siezed parts, and no disassembly with surgeons tweezers and magic - the subtitles were great 😂

[matthewc]

The brazing work on the cog @32:04 actually made my day. Call me old fashioned, but that was blissful. A perfect accompaniment to a glass of wine and a cigarette at the end of a long day.

[ronwalsh]

I applaud your tenacity in not only taking this apart, but putting it back together. Bravo to you sir.

[NonEuclideanTacoCannon]

I've been watching this channel for a while, and I'd never imagined myself doing this sort of thing. But now because of my job, I'm seeing literal tons of great quality old tools get recycled every week. I've started grabbing and setting aside things I know I could fix. So far mostly 70's power tools that just need a new cord or new brushes. Figure I'll clean and refurbish them as best I'm able, and throw them up on eBay if nothing else. Honestly, I just like how old tools look, and I'll probably collect a lot of them.

[alanharney]

Old brass carburetors are mechanical works of art. That one is even better with the shellac coated cork float. Epic. Thanks for sharing.

[matthewjohnston]

We don’t get a lot of these videos because it’s obvious that they take a lot of time to produce. I have never missed a restoration video on Hand Tool Rescue. Always excellent.

[perotekku]

I'm a self proclaimed "Small Engine Nut"

The craftsmanship and engineering in these old motors are so fascinating.

Recently rebuilt a 1949 Evinrude "Speedifour" outboard. Opposed 4 cylinder, 33.5 hp!

I think you'd really enjoy some of the 40s and earlier outboards, before cowlings came into style.

All the bits and bobs are out in the open, exposed flywheel, and myriad knobs and levers on the front.

[machobunny]

I've been tasking engines and carbs etc. apart since I was about 8 years old. Sometimes got them back together too, without a camera to record what I had done. I am now 80 yo, and in all these years I don't think I have ever seen a more complicated machine. No matter what part of it you attack, it has more parts than anything I've yet seen. Wow! Those guys really had some imagination. You've improved on that and brought it back to life as a work of mechanical art. SO WELL DONE...of course. That's a piece any collector would envy.

[nico.vandyk]

It really feels like this one had it in for you; everything that could go wrong seemed to go wrong! Thanks for the thoroughly entertaining videos Mr. Hand Tool!

[joshvandruff]

An engine that old and with minimal effort it fires right up. Just clean points and new spark wire. Amazing.

[wileycoyotesr]

To me, this is one of my favorite restorations I've seen you perform. You took a100 year old behemoth monster completely apart and rebuilt it to last another 100 years were it in steady use.

[rotorhead]

I love when someone else knows what they are talking about when it comes to lifting heavy thing, you also need to do your best to keep your legs out of it entirely.

[goofe.washington]

In addition to the obvious skills shown in this video, the sound effects - and the overall sense of humor - are simply outstanding.

[keithcrater]

Ah, the dreaded reverse thread. You have to love "those" projects that just fight you every step of the way! Great video sir.