Fun Follows Form

Image Gallery Jason Andrews of Blanchester

Fans of vintage garden tractors and cultivators say these little treasures have won their admiration for many reasons. Topping the list are such attributes as the ease with which the machines can be carted to a show, their safety (especially where children are concerned), their usually modest prices, the fun they are to maneuver - and their variety.

Farm Collector agent Bob Crowell of Batesville, Ind., has photographed a number of the more unusual pieces of gardening machinery over time and often shares his pictures. Profiles of three especially unusual pieces are featured below:

The Saure

Jason Andrews of Blanchester, Ohio, owns a rare Saure three-wheel riding lawn mower with a front wheel that could run circles around itself - literally. 'The capability of it to do turns is really fun,' Jason says. 'It turns in a second, without ever stopping, and it can do a full 360 - all the way around.'

Jason bought the Saure four years ago at an Ohio Valley Antique Machinery Reunion show in Georgetown, Ohio, after a friend encouraged him to take a serious look at the machine.

'It's an oddball thing that's hard to find,' Jason says, 'I hadn't seen one before, and it was made in Ohio - I like to find things like that.' He hasn't seen another one to date, either.

The tractor still has its informational plate, which says it's a 'Super-Cut Model SR-K, serial no. 1071' made in Westlake, Ohio, which is just west of Cleveland.

'It's hard to find information on a year,' Jason says, 'but as primitive as it is, I'd say the early '50s or the very late '40s.' The tractor is powered by a Clinton engine, probably 3 1/2-to-5 hp, that isn't original but that Jason was told 'was just like' the original.

A Bethel, Ohio, man got the machine running for Jason soon after he bought it; last year for the first time, Jason had to clean out the carburetor. 'Three pulls is its maximum,' he says, 'and that's a cold start.'

The mower only has one speed, and no reverse as a consequence of the way the front wheel works. The steering wheel is connected to a gear box, a belt runs between the gear box and the engine, and a chain runs from the gearbox to the front wheel. The operator manipulates a lever to tighten the belt, thereby turning the front wheel - which, by the way, is still on its original rubber despite all the turns.