0:00:02 > 0:00:04Hello and welcome to The Reassembler, with me, James May.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07It's a new series in which we take everyday familiar objects
0:00:07 > 0:00:12in their component form and put them back together very slowly.
0:00:14 > 0:00:15This was a familiar bit.
0:00:15 > 0:00:20'It is only when these objects are laid out in hundreds of bits
0:00:20 > 0:00:22'and then slowly reassembled...'
0:00:22 > 0:00:23Dun-dun-dun-dun-dun.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27'..that you can truly understand and appreciate how they work...'
0:00:27 > 0:00:28Ee!
0:00:28 > 0:00:31'..and just how ingenious they are.'
0:00:31 > 0:00:32Deep joy!
0:00:32 > 0:00:35'And if pain-stakingly putting hundreds of pieces
0:00:35 > 0:00:37'back together again...'
0:00:37 > 0:00:38Electrics.
0:00:38 > 0:00:39'..wasn't hard enough...'
0:00:39 > 0:00:41Fantastic! We've used all the bits.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43'..I then have to find out...'
0:00:43 > 0:00:44Oh, yes!
0:00:44 > 0:00:46'..if they'll work.'
0:00:47 > 0:00:48No, it's all come apart.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56Tonight, it's the turn of the humble lawnmower -
0:00:56 > 0:00:59a British invention that's been annoying our neighbours
0:00:59 > 0:01:03and keeping our grass short since 1830.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06An estimated 20 million of us own them
0:01:06 > 0:01:09but how many of us actually know how they work?
0:01:09 > 0:01:12Let's find out by slowly reassembling this one.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18Even when it is presented like this, ruthlessly stripped down to
0:01:18 > 0:01:21its last nut and bolt, you will, of course, have recognised that this
0:01:21 > 0:01:25is the seminal 1959 Suffolk Colt
0:01:25 > 0:01:2812-inch four-stroke petrol lawnmower -
0:01:28 > 0:01:30the people's lawnmower,
0:01:30 > 0:01:35the lawnmower that revolutionised the idea of popular grass-cutting.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38And it is fashionable, these days, to deconstruct history,
0:01:38 > 0:01:40but that's not what we're going to do here.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44We are going to put history back together again.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46I have as long as it takes to reassemble
0:01:46 > 0:01:51this beast from a pile of 331 lawnmowery-type bits.
0:01:51 > 0:01:56And to help me, I have a 50-year-old owner's manual and some tea.
0:01:56 > 0:01:57Right, we'll start with the engine
0:01:57 > 0:02:00because that's what makes this a petrol lawnmower.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03If it didn't have a petrol engine, it would merely be a lawnmower.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07The first bits to go into the engine are the valves that control
0:02:07 > 0:02:12the flow of fuel and exhaust gases in and out of the cylinder.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15This might be a good time to tell you a little bit about the history
0:02:15 > 0:02:17of the lawnmower,
0:02:17 > 0:02:22which was invented by Edwin Beard Budding in 1830.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26He was actually inspired by a machine that removed
0:02:26 > 0:02:28the pilling, or whatever you call it, from fabric
0:02:28 > 0:02:32at a factory that made uniforms for army officers, I think.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36And he saw that and thought, if I make it a bit bigger, it would
0:02:36 > 0:02:40cut the grass in a very neat, uniform way.
0:02:40 > 0:02:45A lot of people thought Budding was a lunatic for wanting to make
0:02:45 > 0:02:46a machine to cut grass.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49Apparently, he had to test it at night so that people
0:02:49 > 0:02:52wouldn't see him and throw stones at him and all the rest of it.
0:02:53 > 0:02:54Here you go.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59Over the next 57 minutes, I assembled the camshaft,
0:02:59 > 0:03:02the tappets and the remaining valve.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive!
0:03:07 > 0:03:09Right, next, I am going to need
0:03:09 > 0:03:14the all-important crankshaft, which is that bit there,
0:03:14 > 0:03:18and I'm going to need the four screws to retain it.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20I should really clean my hands before doing this bit
0:03:20 > 0:03:23because it's precision engineering.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Now, the crankshaft is obviously a critical part
0:03:28 > 0:03:30of the internal combustion engine.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34It's the most significant part, in a way, because it's what converts all
0:03:34 > 0:03:38that furious combustion action and reciprocating motion into something
0:03:38 > 0:03:41going round and round, which is what we want from the machine.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44It's what we wanted from the water wheel-powered mills
0:03:44 > 0:03:47of the Industrial Revolution. That's what you need.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51So would everybody agree that that is top dead centre?
0:03:53 > 0:03:54CLUNK
0:03:55 > 0:03:58There. So the piston is at the top of its stroke.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01Both the valves are closed, but if you rotate it either way,
0:04:01 > 0:04:02either one is ready to open.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04So that should make the timing correct.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08There's no other real way of checking it
0:04:08 > 0:04:11apart from assembling the whole thing and seeing if it works.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13So let's do that.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17It'll be a satisfying clunking noise any second as this goes home.
0:04:18 > 0:04:19CLUNK
0:04:19 > 0:04:21If this was a Japanese motorcycle engine,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24there'd be an actual torque setting for all of these,
0:04:24 > 0:04:29but you sort of do things up until they feel about right.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32So let's call that "hm" tight...
0:04:34 > 0:04:38..and that one is "mm" tight and then we'll go for...
0:04:38 > 0:04:39"Heurgh"!
0:04:40 > 0:04:43"Heurgh"! There you are. They're even.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Excellent! We now need - and this is a nerve-racking bit -
0:04:46 > 0:04:49the piston, the connecting rod, the gudgeon pin,
0:04:49 > 0:04:51the circlips and the piston rings.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55That is the piston,
0:04:55 > 0:05:01that is the connecting rod and these are the very delicate piston rings.
0:05:06 > 0:05:07Yes, there you go.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10Sorry about the slight cut but there was some blasphemy.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14I have two of the piston rings on - the bottom one, the oil control ring
0:05:14 > 0:05:16and the middle one, which is the oil scraper.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20I didn't want you to share my trauma as I did that.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22It's a very, very fiddly nerve-racking job
0:05:22 > 0:05:23but I've saved the last one for you to watch.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25This is the compression ring.
0:05:25 > 0:05:32And now, it's a simple matter of finding your inner power animal.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34Oh, man! You have to spread it. It could...
0:05:37 > 0:05:38CLICK
0:05:42 > 0:05:46Now, before we put that in, we have to put the conrod on.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48It's worth remembering that the piston goes up
0:05:48 > 0:05:50and down inside the cylinder in a straight line,
0:05:50 > 0:05:53but because the crankshaft is going round and round
0:05:53 > 0:05:56and has a throw on it, the connecting rod has to do that -
0:05:56 > 0:05:57has to go from side to side -
0:05:57 > 0:06:00so, obviously, it has to pivot at this end,
0:06:00 > 0:06:02otherwise it would just shatter.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07Oh, that's interesting.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11That ought to just slide in
0:06:11 > 0:06:15very smoothly but without any of this resistance.
0:06:15 > 0:06:16Why doesn't it just go in?
0:06:18 > 0:06:22Bloody British rubbish! Good God!
0:06:24 > 0:06:27That looks like it was machined with a knife and fork by the council!
0:06:27 > 0:06:29There are two possible solutions here.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31There's the lawnmower solution,
0:06:31 > 0:06:35which would be give it a gentle whack to take it past that problem,
0:06:35 > 0:06:41or there is the aerospace solution, which is remove that little bit.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44I'm inclined, by nature, to go for the aerospace solution
0:06:44 > 0:06:46because it's more proper.
0:06:46 > 0:06:47So what do we think, crew?
0:06:47 > 0:06:51Take the clip out of the other side or hit it with a hammer?
0:06:51 > 0:06:53- Don't know.- Hammer.- Hammer?- Hammer.
0:06:53 > 0:06:54You're all wrong.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57If I hit that with a hammer, my reputation is ruined.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03I told you we should have hitted it with a hammer.
0:07:03 > 0:07:04Hitted it? Hit it.
0:07:07 > 0:07:08It's not proper, though.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15The conrod moves freely. That's a good sign.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20And now, the defining component of the piston engine
0:07:20 > 0:07:23is about to go in - the piston.
0:07:23 > 0:07:24CLUNK
0:07:24 > 0:07:27The interesting thing about...well, I say interesting,
0:07:27 > 0:07:30it's mildly interesting if you're interested in that sort of thing,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33is that the Suffolk Iron Foundry made the whole lawnmower,
0:07:33 > 0:07:36a bit like Ford did with cars in its earlier days.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39So it didn't just buy an engine in from, say,
0:07:39 > 0:07:41a motorcycle manufacturer.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44It made it itself, so all these castings
0:07:44 > 0:07:47and all these machine bits all came out of the same factory that
0:07:47 > 0:07:51was making the blades, the rollers, the pressed steel for the casing,
0:07:51 > 0:07:53the grass box and all that sort of thing.
0:07:53 > 0:07:54It all came from the same place.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00And here is that place - the Suffolk Iron Foundry in Suffolk.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04These lawn-trimming titans have been a producer of lawnmowers
0:08:04 > 0:08:06since the late 1920s.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10By the '50s, they were making 600 mowers a day,
0:08:10 > 0:08:14going on to sell millions of affordable petrol lawnmowers -
0:08:14 > 0:08:18a shining light to emerge from Britain's post-war industrial age.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22Do you know, the very first petrol engine thing
0:08:22 > 0:08:24I ever drove was a lawnmower?
0:08:24 > 0:08:27It was a twin-clutch device,
0:08:27 > 0:08:30a bit bigger than this one, that my parents owned,
0:08:30 > 0:08:31and it lived in a shed in the garden.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35And when I was about 12 years old, I worked out how you started it.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38And I used to lie awake at night, excitedly thinking about how
0:08:38 > 0:08:42I could get up in seven hours' time and mow the grass again,
0:08:42 > 0:08:45even though I'd mown it at 6pm the previous day.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48And to be a blade of grass in our garden in those days
0:08:48 > 0:08:51was a very ephemeral existence.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55And I loved this thing.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57And then I lent it to a mate many years later
0:08:57 > 0:09:00cos I didn't have a lawn in my house in London,
0:09:00 > 0:09:02and while I wasn't looking, he sold it on eBay.
0:09:04 > 0:09:05Are you ready?
0:09:13 > 0:09:16Here's a legitimate use of the hammer.
0:09:16 > 0:09:22That's why it's a nylon-headed hammer -
0:09:22 > 0:09:29so that it doesn't damage these delicate aluminium parts.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32I've attached the sump.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36I'm now going to very carefully turn the engine over
0:09:36 > 0:09:40the right way up, and finally, we can stand it on the bench safely.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44There you are - engine going round. You want to see the piston go up and down.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48Look at that. Fuel-air mixture goes in there, drives that down,
0:09:48 > 0:09:51it comes up, exhaust - get some more in - bang, bang, bang!
0:09:51 > 0:09:53And as a result of that...
0:09:55 > 0:09:58CLUNK Argh!
0:09:58 > 0:10:00..your lawn is mown. Good, isn't it?
0:10:02 > 0:10:06We are now three hours and 21 minutes into our attempt to
0:10:06 > 0:10:11reassemble a 1959 petrol lawnmower, and not a minute's been wasted.
0:10:11 > 0:10:16So far, I've put in the valves, the crankshaft, the tricky piston rings,
0:10:16 > 0:10:20the sump, the magneto, flywheel and cylinder head.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24The engine is nearly complete as I tighten the last nut
0:10:24 > 0:10:25on the valve chest.
0:10:25 > 0:10:30Excellent! Let us think about the carburettor.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33There are a lot of bits to this,
0:10:33 > 0:10:37quite delicate bits, but they're also rather wonderful.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39I will take those.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41That'll do for starters.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44What it does is it combines fuel from the tank,
0:10:44 > 0:10:49i.e. petrol, in this case, with oxygen from the air
0:10:49 > 0:10:52because the vast majority of what an internal combustion engine
0:10:52 > 0:10:56burns is, in fact, oxygen, not the fuel that you put in the tank,
0:10:56 > 0:11:01and it's called a carburettor because it adds carbon to the air,
0:11:01 > 0:11:05i.e. it adds petrol to the air and then squirts it in the engine.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07Let's get some more bits.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11Gasket and a jet, some washers -
0:11:11 > 0:11:16lovely - selection of screws. OK. Let's have a go at this.
0:11:20 > 0:11:25So I did need to use both hands and my gob to get that in but it's in.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28The butterfly regulates the amount of air that's allowed to
0:11:28 > 0:11:30enter the carburettor, therefore the amount that gets sucked
0:11:30 > 0:11:33through the venturi, therefore the amount of fuel that's picked up,
0:11:33 > 0:11:37and therefore how fast or how strongly the engine runs.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40I'm simplifying it massively.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44It's very, very... There's a huge amount of physics
0:11:44 > 0:11:47and all that stuff in it. So that can go in there.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50What else do I need to put on the bottom half?
0:11:50 > 0:11:52What the hell is that? "Strangler flap"?
0:11:54 > 0:11:55Oh, I think they mean the choke.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Oh, this has a different choke cos... That's right. This is not
0:11:58 > 0:12:00entirely right for this... Yes, it is.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03No, it isn't. Yeah, that is the strangler flap.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07They mean the choke butterfly. OK. That's already in.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10Right, we are getting very, very close to completing the engine.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12I'm going to put this governor on.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15Now, this is something you do need on a lawnmower,
0:12:15 > 0:12:18so that if you crack the throttle open in a moment of sort of
0:12:18 > 0:12:21lawnmowing red mist, the thing doesn't run away with you.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24It sort of partly shuts the throttle again to stop it going
0:12:24 > 0:12:27completely mad. Um...
0:12:27 > 0:12:30I'll show you how it works when we've got it together cos it's a little bit baffling
0:12:30 > 0:12:32and you have to put it together in the right...
0:12:32 > 0:12:34Ah, you see, I'm already
0:12:34 > 0:12:37thinking the best thing to do would be to install this spring first.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43This... Hang on. That way.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45It's quite elegant when you see it all together.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48When you insert that end of the rod...
0:12:48 > 0:12:50There you go.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53CLICK Ooh, that was nice. Did you hear that?
0:12:53 > 0:12:58So this bit goes on that little threaded pin there.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00And the throttle cable will go through here,
0:13:00 > 0:13:02which is all part of the system.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06That will go on later, but for now, we put on a washer and a nyloc nut.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08This nut is an unusual size -
0:13:08 > 0:13:11not the same size as any of the spanners I have here
0:13:11 > 0:13:14or, indeed, any of the sockets, which would mean, normally,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17you might resort to the adjustable spanner,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20the screw adjustable spanner, like this.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22And the interesting thing about the adjustable spanner -
0:13:22 > 0:13:25it was invented by Edwin Budding, who also invented the lawnmower.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28The only problem is I hate adjustable spanners
0:13:28 > 0:13:31because I think they are the tool of the charlatan.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36And, as luck would have it, Rebecca, who's our other camera person,
0:13:36 > 0:13:38not Sean, the fat Australian one -
0:13:38 > 0:13:40she's the nice one -
0:13:40 > 0:13:42carries this bicycle spanner around with her in case her bicycle
0:13:42 > 0:13:46goes wrong. And one end of it just happens to fit this nut perfectly.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52Very clever. Pure mechanics.
0:13:52 > 0:13:57See? Springs and rods. I love it.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02There's no denying it - engines are fun, even on lawnmowers.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05But if you're thinking of using one as your commute to work,
0:14:05 > 0:14:08be warned - taking one on the road still requires a driving licence.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11- ARCHIVE:- It has to travel 50 yards along the main road.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14So red tape wins and Mr Hester, the groundsman,
0:14:14 > 0:14:16proves that he is fit to drive this dangerous machine.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22We have now spent six hours and one minute reassembling
0:14:22 > 0:14:27nearly 200 of the 331 pieces that make up our mower.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29And with the attachment of the carburettor and the governor,
0:14:29 > 0:14:32the engine is tantalisingly close to completion.
0:14:33 > 0:14:38Right, I reckon we can put the cowl and the tank and so on
0:14:38 > 0:14:39onto the engine, which is nice
0:14:39 > 0:14:42because it will suddenly become a riot of colour.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46All these bits are red. OK.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54Doesn't that look brilliant?
0:14:56 > 0:14:59If you're still watching. It's hard to imagine.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05Do you think this has ever happened on television before?
0:15:05 > 0:15:07I mean, I know there have been some catastrophically unpopular
0:15:07 > 0:15:09programmes over the years -
0:15:09 > 0:15:11anything made by Richard Hammond, obviously -
0:15:11 > 0:15:15but has it ever got to the point where the only person still
0:15:15 > 0:15:18interested in what's happening is the person who's on the telly
0:15:18 > 0:15:20so there's nobody actually watching it?
0:15:20 > 0:15:22It's a bit like a tree falling in the woods.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24If a man is on the television talking about a lawnmower
0:15:24 > 0:15:28but nobody sees it, does it actually happen?
0:15:28 > 0:15:30Who knows?
0:15:30 > 0:15:33Assuming this is actually happening, I carry on
0:15:33 > 0:15:37and attach the recoil starter mechanism to the body of the engine.
0:15:37 > 0:15:42I will go to bed tonight with a sense of deep peace,
0:15:42 > 0:15:43and when I wake up in the morning,
0:15:43 > 0:15:47I will suddenly think, I put a lawnmower engine together yesterday!
0:15:49 > 0:15:52And that matters. It's a sort of muse.
0:15:52 > 0:15:57The Greeks didn't have the lawnmower engine. They had Melpomene.
0:15:57 > 0:15:58But I have that.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02Now to build the rest of the lawnmower. Um...
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Spark plug and spark plug cap.
0:16:07 > 0:16:13Well, the point of the spark plug is to make a spark, which is what
0:16:13 > 0:16:16ignites the mixture inside the cylinder.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19It's like a...it's a miniature bolt of lightning.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21That's a good way of thinking of it.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26And that's how you stop it
0:16:26 > 0:16:30because that shorts out the core of the spark plug to the earth,
0:16:30 > 0:16:32i.e. the engine case.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35I remember the one we had, when I was a kid, stopping it, like this.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37I used to do it with my foot, normally,
0:16:37 > 0:16:41and eventually, the little rubber bit wore away cos it was so old
0:16:41 > 0:16:43and I put my finger down and did that but, of course, I got
0:16:43 > 0:16:47an immediate high-tension shock from the spark plug straight up my arm,
0:16:47 > 0:16:52and at the age of 12, or whatever I was, it was the end of the world,
0:16:52 > 0:16:56whereas these days, at the age of 53, it would actually kill me.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58Let's just take a moment...
0:17:01 > 0:17:04..quietly, to contemplate that.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15It's taken me seven hours and 39 minutes but I've reassembled
0:17:15 > 0:17:21an entire lawnmower engine and now there's no holding me back.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25Right, that's that finished. That's an internal combustion engine -
0:17:25 > 0:17:28one of two things that, to my mind, defined the 20th century.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30That and the microprocessor.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33So, right, let's put together the...
0:17:33 > 0:17:35What shall we call it? The chassis?
0:17:35 > 0:17:39Is that a good word for lawnmower? We need this cast iron.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41Lovely. We need these four.
0:17:52 > 0:17:53You might think I'm doing this,
0:17:53 > 0:17:56thinking, oh, will he get it right? But this is genuine.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59I don't know and it's not clear.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01I'll just... So that you know, and I'm not sure you've seen this
0:18:01 > 0:18:04properly yet, this is all I have to work from -
0:18:04 > 0:18:071950s exploded diagram.
0:18:07 > 0:18:08It's not like in the modern world,
0:18:08 > 0:18:11where they very helpfully do it in stages so that a numpty can do it.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13Here is the whole lawnmower,
0:18:13 > 0:18:17one one-hundredth of a second after a bomb went off in the middle of it.
0:18:19 > 0:18:24So I will need that bearing block, bearing itself.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27Spring - lovely.
0:18:29 > 0:18:30This I need.
0:18:33 > 0:18:34This is a defining moment.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38At the moment, that is some green-painted cast iron and steel,
0:18:38 > 0:18:41but as soon as I do that, you know, do you not?
0:18:43 > 0:18:46Aha! It's a lawnmower!
0:18:46 > 0:18:48Oh, I need to put the roller in, don't I?
0:18:52 > 0:18:54Oh!
0:18:54 > 0:18:56I thought that would be really heavy.
0:18:56 > 0:18:57This one's made of tin.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04Now, the roller actually has two purposes here.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08One is it's effectively like wheels, so that the lawnmower rolls along
0:19:08 > 0:19:11cos if you didn't have it, it would just churn your garden up,
0:19:11 > 0:19:15but the other is it does roll the grass in one direction or the other,
0:19:15 > 0:19:19which is why a lawnmower like this gives you stripes, and everybody's
0:19:19 > 0:19:24absolutely obsessed with the idea that gardens must be stripy.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27Grass was lovely, it was stripy.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29I actually... I'm not a massive fan of stripes
0:19:29 > 0:19:32outside of things like football pitches and so on.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36I think if you have stripes on a small lawn on your urban house,
0:19:36 > 0:19:40you look a bit of a plonker because what are you trying to say?
0:19:40 > 0:19:41"Yes, here's my garden.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43"Later on, we'll be having the Super Bowl."
0:19:43 > 0:19:46Well, you're not going to, are you, because it's only ten feet long?
0:19:46 > 0:19:49So... But anyway, people love stripes.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52That will give you stripes. A proper lawnmower,
0:19:52 > 0:19:54as this would be called by the lawnmower enthusiasts,
0:19:54 > 0:19:56actually slices your grass.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00It doesn't chop it, like a rotary mower would.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04In some ways, a rotary mower is a bit like an upside down helicopter.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06You have the same problem of the advancing blade
0:20:06 > 0:20:08and the retreating blade in any one time.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12And helicopters, as we know, are like women,
0:20:12 > 0:20:16as far as men are concerned because, as a friend of mine said, you know
0:20:16 > 0:20:19they work and you trust them but if you make any effort to understand
0:20:19 > 0:20:22them whatsoever, you'd be too terrified to go near them.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24And if you thought that was sexist,
0:20:24 > 0:20:28just look how the new Flymo was advertised in 1965.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31- ARCHIVE:- The rotor blade can be adjusted for height of cut
0:20:31 > 0:20:34and the mower is so light, women can use it easily -
0:20:34 > 0:20:37something that men gardeners have waited for for a long time.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44My lawnmower felt reassuringly heavy
0:20:44 > 0:20:47as the second cast iron side plate was fitted.
0:20:47 > 0:20:52Piece by piece, bit by bit, it was all coming together.
0:20:53 > 0:20:54BEEP
0:20:55 > 0:20:58Do you know what? I've got to be brutally honest.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01I would say I've got that in back to front
0:21:01 > 0:21:03and the long thread should be at that end.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07Look how much spare thread I've got on that end
0:21:07 > 0:21:09and look how little I have on that end.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11It's not right, is it?
0:21:11 > 0:21:14Why the bloody hell didn't you say so while I was doing it, then?
0:21:14 > 0:21:18Can I just split those enough to get that out without having to
0:21:18 > 0:21:20take the whole thing apart again?
0:21:28 > 0:21:31See, the problem gets worse now cos there's more threads together.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43I'm just wrong, aren't I? Let's face it. I'm wrong.
0:21:46 > 0:21:47No, it's all come apart.
0:21:53 > 0:21:54CLUNK
0:21:56 > 0:21:58What do you think? And if I turn it to there...
0:22:02 > 0:22:03..we're ready to contemplate this bit.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07And it has to screw on here, which all sounds simple enough,
0:22:07 > 0:22:08and is...
0:22:10 > 0:22:13You can see slots for doing up the screws.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19That's about as tight as I can go before it slips out.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21Oh, look at that. Can you see?
0:22:21 > 0:22:22Look at the blade skimming along there.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25You can see now how it works like a pair of scissors.
0:22:25 > 0:22:30According to some 19th century advice, the keenness of the cut
0:22:30 > 0:22:35in this was such that it would trim a gentleman's business card.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38So, if the makers of this thing are to be believed, this
0:22:38 > 0:22:42being my 19th century gentleman's business card, that will cut that.
0:22:46 > 0:22:47How brilliant is that?
0:22:51 > 0:22:54I love the smell of freshly-cut paper.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56Makes me think of spring.
0:22:56 > 0:23:01It was now nine hours and 50 minutes since I began reassembling.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06I've built the engine, added the cowl and fuel tank,
0:23:06 > 0:23:11attached the blades and rear roller and assembled the chassis.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15Once the chains and sprockets are on, the transmission is complete.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19We are getting close to mounting the engine on the lawnmower.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23Let's set it back down on its roller...
0:23:25 > 0:23:27..so that we can see it properly.
0:23:27 > 0:23:28It is... Ee!
0:23:28 > 0:23:33It is quite heavy cos it was made of cast iron, obviously, in the 1950s.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36But you have to remember that this was actually
0:23:36 > 0:23:40the acceptably convenient size and weight of the lawnmower
0:23:40 > 0:23:44cos the very first lawnmowers were so massive, they needed two men
0:23:44 > 0:23:46from the working classes to haul them along
0:23:46 > 0:23:48and another man just to steer it.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52And then later, they were hauled by ponies or horses,
0:23:52 > 0:23:55and horses were given special shoes so that they didn't damage
0:23:55 > 0:23:57the ground that they were going across -
0:23:57 > 0:23:59the cricket pitch or whatever.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02And sometimes, they used camels cos camels' hooves have evolved
0:24:02 > 0:24:04not to sink into the ground because, obviously,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07they normally walk on sand, not on people's expensive lawns.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09So you could have two classes of shoe.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13I think you could have a first and second-class shoe for your horse to spread the load.
0:24:13 > 0:24:14It was all part of the class war.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16If you were poor, you could only afford the second-class shoe
0:24:16 > 0:24:19and your lawn looked a little bit cack as a result.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21If you were posh, you had the first-class shoe,
0:24:21 > 0:24:23then your lawn looked wonderful
0:24:23 > 0:24:27to remind the neighbours that you were just a better person.
0:24:30 > 0:24:31Now, look at that.
0:24:33 > 0:24:39The parts of the centrifugal clutch/brackets engine side.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41Look how this pile of bits has diminished.
0:24:41 > 0:24:43This is fantastic.
0:24:43 > 0:24:47This half of the clutch - this is mounted to the engine.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50As the engine spins, the centrifugal, or centripetal, if
0:24:50 > 0:24:55you want to be pedantic, force will force those out against the springs,
0:24:55 > 0:24:59and then the friction surface there will lock onto the inside of that
0:24:59 > 0:25:02and start it spinning, but as the engine slows down as you throttle
0:25:02 > 0:25:07back, the springs will take over, move the shoes in again, and then
0:25:07 > 0:25:13it will be disengaged cos it fits in there loosely, you see?
0:25:13 > 0:25:16When the shoes are retracted, that's free to spin.
0:25:16 > 0:25:17It's been used on all sorts of things.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19It's used on very basic mopeds.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23It's used on lots of things, like lawnmowers.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26What else uses centrifugal clutches?
0:25:26 > 0:25:27Let me think.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37Loads of things. Right - engine.
0:25:41 > 0:25:42HE GASPS
0:25:42 > 0:25:46Look at that! How lawnmowery does that look?
0:25:48 > 0:25:49This is suddenly... This is...
0:25:49 > 0:25:54After being what seems like half my life as a collection of vaguely
0:25:54 > 0:25:58lawnmowery bits, this has now suddenly become a lawnmower.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04This is deeply, deeply exciting because once this bit is on...
0:26:05 > 0:26:07..we can fit the handle.
0:26:10 > 0:26:11The handle!
0:26:15 > 0:26:17Putting the handle on is a very exciting moment
0:26:17 > 0:26:22but I haven't actually contemplated it yet cos I need to stand back
0:26:22 > 0:26:24and see what it looks like with the handle on.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27So, hang on, let...let me just tighten it up.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29Then I can enjoy that moment.
0:26:36 > 0:26:37Oh, yeah!
0:26:40 > 0:26:42The lawnmower is almost complete.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44As I attach the throttle lever,
0:26:44 > 0:26:48it's become apparent how ten hours can fly by
0:26:48 > 0:26:52when all you have to do is slowly reassemble a Suffolk Colt 1959
0:26:52 > 0:26:5712-inch four-stroke petrol lawnmower from its 331 component parts.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59But all of this will have been for nothing
0:26:59 > 0:27:02if it doesn't actually start.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05There is just one component left.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07This one is the grass box.
0:27:07 > 0:27:12When this is on, it becomes a complete and utter lawnmower.
0:27:16 > 0:27:21There. That's perfect. That's fabulous!
0:27:21 > 0:27:22Let's see if it works.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30You join us at a very exciting moment outside the workshop,
0:27:30 > 0:27:31where we're about to find out
0:27:31 > 0:27:35if the freshly reassembled 1959 lawnmower will start.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38And this is for real. We haven't tested it in secret.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41There hasn't actually been any petrol in it until now.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43Let's find out. OK.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45Petrol - on.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48Choke - on.
0:27:48 > 0:27:49Carburettor - tickled.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55Throttle - set.
0:27:55 > 0:27:56Are you ready?
0:27:57 > 0:27:59ENGINE SPLUTTERS Oh!
0:28:02 > 0:28:06ENGINE FIRES UP
0:28:16 > 0:28:17Of course it works!
0:28:19 > 0:28:20It's a lawnmower!
0:28:22 > 0:28:23Has anybody got a lawn?