Gangs

Try Loxstons at Ilminster  or Highwood in Dorchester.

Hi Ralph

Tell me where you are in the Southwest.Loxston's only do ride-on tractor repairs and commercial stuff they like to stay well clear of grinding now as their mechanic has now retired.

Crewkerne Horticulture is worth a punt

Thanks wristpin, will do 

Thanks hdtrust. I'm in west Somerset

ralph 

I've worked on a few sets of gangs in my time, Lloyds are a good well known make and fairly good quality.

The problems with old sets these days are legion, often small struggling clubs have a sort of very rough rota system of those willing to generally unpaid, use them to cut grass that's not been maintained very well.

Older children are too often roped in who are not old enough to ride a moped, yet are let loose with a small tractor etc. and often end hitting immovable objects or wire fences etc. My local football club had a three cylinder ride on that 'everyone' fancied themselves using, one man who talked a lot had his turn and broke up concrete blockwork on his first try with the newly ground cylinders and bottom blades, a ridiculous situation.

A chap turned up at my workshop one day with a set of Lloyds, but they looked about a hundred years old! Without taking them off the truck, I tried a few well rusted on bolts, most were ready to snap off, rather than move, one bottom blade casting was smashed off, in fact it looked like he'd found them in a hedge somewhere.

Folk use them very often when the ground is too wet, because of matches imminent, they don't seem to realise that the old ones are wheel driven by the gangs themselves, not the tractor, like modern hydro stuff. Sometimes the bearing cups and races are empty even and the amateurs will wind the adjusters up until a bot shears off, then they give you a call!

This lot has all happened to machinery I've been asked to "look at"! Thankfully, things are improving now, but sometimes small struggling clubs have no other choice of course. You can occasionally pick up good kit that has not been abused, but be wary, is my advice. Only the very big old firms still going now seem to offer gang sharpening and maintenance, £2 an inch was the most I ever paid to my local Ransomes dealer for grinding per inch, new or reground bottom blades, often new screws, bearings, painting, wooden back packing pieces etc. etc. can often mean a bill of around a thousand pounds, it's the labour charge that does it, unless you can strip it all out and rebuild it yourself.

Good luck with your gangs anyway.

A chap turned up at my workshop one day with a set of Lloyds, but they looked about a hundred years old! Without taking them off the truck, I tried a few well rusted on bolts, most were ready to snap off, rather than move, one bottom blade casting was smashed off, in fact it looked like he'd found them in a hedge somewhere.

Are you sure he wasn’t the Scrappie looking for pickings?

Maybe, he looked a bit rough himself!

I have purchased some ransomes Simms and jefferies mark 11m. Plan was to gradually restore them over winter months but can't even collect them at present due lockdown.