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Collection, Preservation and Display of Old Lawn Mowers

Any information about the Qualcast Model X ?

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Hi everyone,

 

I was given a Qualcast Model X a couple of years ago. I used it for the small patch of grass with have behind the house for a while, but it is definitely not handy enough to keep using it (although I love the idea ofusing a 70-year-old mower as a regular mower, not just safekeeping it in a garage).

I have now decided to part from the old lady. Now, if I want to have a chance to sell it, I need as much info as possible about the machine. I searched this web site and the internet thouroughly but I just could not find this specific model anywhere !

It is a yellow (yes, yellow !) Qualcast handmower that looks like a B1 model to me, yet this is not what is cast on sthe wheel. It reads MODEL X something (the character following the X is difficult to decipher... loors like a θ or maybe an Ø).

See the pictures to have a better idea.

Any idea of the year/period it was manufactured ? Do you reckon it was for export only (like the model Z here : https://www.oldlawnmowerclub.co.uk/forum/qualcast-model-z) ? How much could I start advertising it, considering that it is a rare model with its original deflector plate and grassbox ?

Any info and advice are welcome.

Thanks,

Christian

PS: I am French and live in France (near Lille), so I would probably sell it to a local antique dealer, unless any of you visiting Lille or the Flanders would be interested in taking it back home ? :)

Christian Mon, 10/08/2020

Hello,

Actually, I thought I did, but obviously, the pictures weren't taken into account when I saved my post, sorry. I will remedy to that right now.

Thanks

PS: for the little story, this lawnmower was the property of a French Abbey (the Abbaye de Valloires in the Somme region, if I remember well : https://duckduckgo.com/?q=abbaye+valloires&iax=images&ia=images). I guess it was just a backup machine...

 

 

John Hugh Chri… Mon, 10/08/2020

This is a version of the Follows & Bate all-steel mower, which came to Qualcast when they took over F & B in the early 1930s, and they used it as a basis for various 'catalogue' mowers - mowers made for sale by third parties under their own name, though it was also sold under the Follows & Bate brand, as the 'Magic', and, in the 1950s, as 'Folbate', though that name was also used for cast iron models.  I am sure you are right in thinking the yellow colour was used for export markets under the Qualcast name, although in the UK it was used also for the 'Spinney', sold by Littlewoods, the mail order company.  The wheels are different from any of the UK Qualcast or F & B models, but very few people are interested in that sort of difference in relatively modern mowers like this (the money is in Victorian handmowers, not 1950s ones).

The steel frame was eventually used for the Q7, which replaced the old B1/E1 in the 1970s.

Christian Mon, 10/08/2020

Thank you very much for all these details. English not being my native language, let me check I got it right :

- this mower was built both for domestic and export purposes, although only for export under the Qualcast name and in yellow.

- it was manufactured some time in the 1950's (or was it in the 70's ??)

- It is quite common and has very low value on the market (I mean the collectibles market) - so would you say expecting 25-odd pounds (worth in euros) from some antiques dealer in France is too optimistic ?

- what would you suggest doing if nobody was interested in taking it (even for free, I mean), so as to spare it a certain death by recycling ?

 

PS: do yo reckon this is the same as mine ? https://www.adverts.ie/garden-tools/qualcast-cylinder-zero-emissions-pu…

John Hugh Chri… Tue, 11/08/2020

Yes, it's probably 1950s, and the yellow paint, the Qualcast badge and the design of the wheels are 'export' features.

The one in Ireland may be similar; the photo is too poor to see any details, but it had a grassbox, which would make it more desirable.  It also had different handlebars, of a kind not seen in the UK models until many years later..

I have no knowledge of French antique dealers, so cannot tell you what they might pay for such a mower.  In the UK, an antique dealer would be very unlikely to buy it at all; it would not be considered an 'antique'.

Christian Tue, 11/08/2020

Thank you ever so much for taking the time to answer my questions, Christopher. I will see what I do to give this mower a chance to find shelter in some caregiver's home. I will let you know.

Best regards,

Christian