Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

OK, we've all done stupid things with a piece of our OPE whether it's trimmers, snowblowers, mowers, blowers, tractors, pressure washers etc. You know, the kind of thing you look around when it's over to see if anyone was watching? 

One of mine involved a slide that's part of a wooden swing set in my backyard. I was mowing on my Snapper RER and was trying to get as close as I could to the end of the slide, pointing toward it, before I would back-up and then mow closely down the side of it.

We'll right when my left foot decided it didn't like being on the clutch, it decided to slip off the clutch which resulted in the thing doing a wheelie and running right up the slide. I was very lucky that it didn't tip over to one side and end up on top of me. Well, I instantly let off the blade engagment with my right foot and while sitting there at a 35-45 degree angle,  feeling so damn stupid, I started looking around to see who all was laughing and pointing. I would have never lived it down.....hey, did you see what dad did........ Hey, did you see what Dad did? I could here it already.

Thankfully, I was not seen, got off and backed the RER down off the slide while feeling very sheepish and acting like I meant to do it, just in case I missed someone. 

What's some of your stupid happenings?

Sounds like an idiot I know that picked up the extention cord to the Christmas lights and wrapped the cord and the lights around the blower. Brings a smile to my face. Forgot about that one.

What a bunch of dopes we know.

So we are in our third year in our new home, second year with the Honda.  Christmas is approaching in a few weeks and the wife strings some lights on the two front pine tree shrubs on either side of the stairs leading up to our porch.  There is a small pine shrub to the left and actually three on the right on a row lining the side of house until they meet the front of the house.  The wife has in the past placed lights on the two shrubs on either side of the stairs.

We get our first pretty good storm of the year, about a foot or so of snow.  I come along the front of the house clearing a walk path.  I then begin clearing snow up to the porch.  As I approach the shrubs lining house on the right with the blower the strangest thing starts to happen.  The shrub in front of me starts to do this weird dance shaking all of it's snow off of it.  I watched this show with a strange fascination as the tree began to dance like a hula dancer shaking and moving and doing a weird jig.  Then tree next to it closer to the house starts to do it, man this is so strange, I am absolutely mesmorized as it is all happening so fast.  Then the shrub on the right of the stairs begins this strange ritual again all happening so fast I just can't comprehend what is going on.  Finally the shrub on the left of the porch shakes and then if all of this wasn't weird enough, it's top slowly starts to bend down and the tree starts to bend too like a giant finger pointing at me like the accusing finger of God.  I am totally at a loss now as to what is going on and then suddenly the Honda (which has been engaged the entire time) pulls forward in my hands like magic as if the pointing tree of accusation was calling it over.  I then suddenly realize,  that the machine is being pulled so I quickly release the auger handle and the mysterious show stops as I hear a snap and the pine shrub snaps back to attenion.  In shock I walk to the front of the Honda and there I stare in horror as about 30 ft of Christmas tree lights hopelessly entangled in the auger blades. 

I calmly walk inside where my wife is cooking dinner and I say "honey",,"yes",,"did you decorate the front shrubs this year with lights..."yes, I did it the other day"...."Did you decorate the front two like usual?"  No she said, I decorated the front four like usual"...I calmly start to shake, "honey," "yes", she says, "you have never decorated the front four before, only the left and the right one next to the stairs".  "No I don't" she says,,,"I always do all four", "don't they look great"?......I just shake my head and walk away....It took me a half of an hour with sharp scissors and multiple knives to finally get the auger housing clear  the tree lights.

C 

One day while cutting the grass with my old Sears LT-10/36, I made my usual tight turn around a particular birch tree at my property line. My female neighbor drew my attention away from mowing (easy to do - she's MUCHO eye candy! ), and instead of backing up, I left the trans in forward & proceeded to smash the RH tire right into that birch tree. KA-POW!!! The tire blew out off the rim & she saw it all. Thank God the spindle didn't bend or crack! Neighbor saw it all and found it quite amusing. So much for my "cool" status that day...

Marty

very funny stories here.  I bet your wife was in shock Chris!  anyway I don't have any OPE stories, many auto ones like using torch to get hose on gas tank- and I lived, But God gets the credit for that one. but this isn't about autos so I want to just mention what I saw the other day.  my neighbor 'weed wacking' about 1-2 inches of snow off his drive!  strange but it was working!    thanks for the laughs.     Gene

Yes, those swing sets can be a problem, especially mowing under the swings. Ours has the one with two seats facing each other. The vertical pieces stick out about an inch below the floor. I was pushing it up with one hand and pushing the mower under it with the other. I didn't coordinate things quite right and the swing came down on the mower with one end of the vertical pieces going through the sreen on top of the mower and taking out a number of cooling fins.

I'm going to start a "stupid auto/motorcycle happenings" over in NPT/Chat....and even start it with one of my own embarrassing stories...

Paula

Interesting happenings folks !


ChrisS... didn't check the snowblowing area before the 1st snow... eh ?
(maybe you did)


Used 2x10" planks for a ramp to put the garden tractor into/out of the pickup truck...
Mistake !

Backing off the damp planks... about 1/2 down...
WhoooAAAAA ! 

There I was on the ground with part of the tractor on me...
Luckily only the rear fender got bent...

Soon after... bought aluminum ramps made for this...

Saving the Gravely story for another day...


Dave...

LOL...Yeah Geno she was.

Dave I did not check there because she never put lights on those two front shrubs before.  I think she did it the day I was working and got home late and the storm hit the next day so I never had a chance to see them on to know about them.

Of course she swears to this day that she ALWAYS puts them there but funny thing is...she has never done it since so some tradition huh? lol....

She actually could'nt figure out why she just couldn't re-use them lol....gotta love her lol....I showed her the pieces and then she understood....

C

Stupid OPE happenings...................OK, we've all done stupid things...................

Well, not me, unless you count the time I mowed half of my back yard before I realized I never reinstalled the chute from the deck to the bagger sending grass flying out the back like a jet engine?  Luckily, nobody was watching.

LL

This happened to one of my students at the Vo Tech . He was at the part of the curriculum where I would let them overhaul engines, etc. . He did a beautiful job of cleaning and disassembling the engine, laid all he pieces on his work bench, installed everything by the book. He just did a beautiful job. Mounted the engine on the Snapper . Then he took it out back where we had a grassy place to test them.. About the time he got out there I could hear the engine slowing down, like it was tightening up, then shortly it stopped. I realized what he had done------he forgot to put the oil in the engine. It can happen and when it does it makes you want to crawl in the ground. You can imagine how the youngster felt----Your friend--Will