Start up those mowers

BUT MAKE JOB EASIER BY CHOOSING THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT

SPEAKING AS a typical North American male, I can ap-
preciate the plight of the poor lawn mower.

Most of you would agree with
me when I suggest we consider it
an indispensable piece of machin-
ery around the home. So why do
we continually abuse, over-use, ig-
nore and neglect it?

Cutting someone else’s grass is a
dirty job, offering little, if any,
reward or appreciation, but some-
body has to do it. If you would
rather leave the job to your
mower than tether a goat in the
middle of the lawn, | would sug-
gest you follow a few simple rules.

First, make sure you have the
right tool for the job. *>me of the
defining conditions <:- obvious.

| The new home of
| beautifulideas...
... for your home.

8 Our professional design services can bring
& something very special to your home.

# Come in and talk to us about your decorating
f ideas or a {

F requirements 1

q and we'll

@ respond with “i :
imagination, JF
experience

gand practical ~-

# answers. The kind

§ of beautiful answers you can live with.

Edgemont Interiors _jf

f 2945 Edgemont Boulevard. North Vancouver V7R 2N3

4 (604) 985-0022
eta J NO 7 ho an WSR BE ha

ARE RINGETTE
PLAYERS |

sof G

PARTIOPALTION Bs

You would not attempt to cut a
half-acre of turf with a pair of
scissors, just as you should avoid
the temptations of a riding mower
for a postage-stamp lawn.

Less obvious is the type of
mower required relative to the type
of lawn you have. If it's a putting
or bowling green you're after and
you have a relatively level lawn,
free of lumps, bumps and hollows,
took into a reel mower.

Reel mowers actually cut the
grass between two sharpened
blades rather than slashing the tops
off with a single blade as in the
typical rotary mower. Using the
reel results in a smooth, even cut
with no damaged, frayed ends.
Split ends are as unhealthy in grass
as they are in hair.

Cost is usually the deciding fac-
tor. The price of new ree] mowers
starts at $1,200 and heads skyward
from there. They are generally
built better than the average rotary

~f Crate tf

over the
garden gate

Geoff Tobiasson
Be

mower, so do not be surprised if
yours lasts longer than you do,
Because they are so long-lasting,
you can pick up a quality used
machine in the $400 to $600 range.

You can get a new rotary mower
for as little as $200, but beware,
the old adage of getting what you
pay for is definitely in effect. Bet-
ter quality machines will start at
$400 and peak out at $1,000,
depending on features.

Whichever type you go for, if it
has a gasoline engine, make sure it
has enough power. A little three-
horse power machine may be all
right in the south, but the fast-

growing, wet lawns of the Pacific
Northwest require the muscle of a
4.5 or 5 HP work horse.

Reel mowers are definitely more
expensive to maintain than their
rotary counterparts, and regular
maintenance is a must. A power
reel mower will run you about $55
every three or four years for
sharpening and $75 per tune-up.

Although a rotary mower can be
sharpened at home and even a
professional job costs less than
$10, sharpening is likely to be re-
quired more often; preferably
twice per year. Tune-up costs are
the same as experienced with a
reel.

Of course, these costs can be
minimized with proper care and
attention. The need for sharpening
can be reduced by simply resisting
the temptation to run over stones,
sticks, the mneighbor’s cat, and
various debris.

Tune-ups can be cut back as
well. First, drain the gas out of
your mower every fall and change
the spark plug every spring.

Although most men like to con-
sider themselves Mr. Fix-It, this
should be the limit of your tinker-
ing unless you are certain you
know what you are doing.

Take the time to check your
mower over, at least every other
week. You would be surprised how
much money you can save by just
tightening up the few nuts and

See Tune
Page 18

WOULD YOU LIKE TO
OWN A PIANO?

Acoustic Pianos by

YAMAHA & Lindenauer

Digital Pianos by KORG

also Portable Keyboards by
CASIO & YAMAHA

“Trade in 7
~ Buy Back. Guarantee —

+

AIMALILLIALL

Ul

-5288