Briggs clockwork starter, how good were they?

OK ish when the engine was in well maintained top condition but when the engine was a bit worn or out of adjustment they were not up to the job.

Briggs had another go at a self winding clockwork starter in conjunction with an Operator Presence Control and a blade brake with equally disastrous results. In the UK it was offered for just one season on  some MTD Yardman rotaries in the 90s.

This is one idea which was not very good in practice,like Wristpin says,when warn or badly serviced,they had a nasty habit of spinning out,we use to call them suicide starters,nothing like fracturing a wrist!

Probably as bad as the idea of opening car doors outwards from the front as in suicide doors!

Thanks both of you for your interesting replies, I have an American book by a Mr Dempsey who relates an incident or two where a customer has removed the broken spring and casing I think and slammed it down rather hard onto the spares shop counter, the imagination runs wild!