Re: To the American engineering industry in general and to Mr. Briggs & Mr. Stratton in particular.

[Jethro_uk]

> (P.S. Don't get me started on the actual mower. That makes the engine > look like a triumph of engineering. Yes, it's American, too.)

However, on a couple of occasions of late I have had the pleasure of accompanying SWMBO to a hospital app, and the beds they use are bloody well engineered pieces of kit. Well designed and properly welded. They should last 1,000 years. Any guesses as to where they were made ?

The US. Connecticut IIRC.

I wasn't exactly weeping, but there's something not right about being in a hospital in *Birmingham* and one of the best pieces of kit is US made.

Snap-On tools were pretty solid too. As an experiment, my Dad bought a

10mm "nut runner" (I always called it a "screwdriver number 10") 20 years ago. It's still in use today.

[Steve Firth]

Huge wrote: [snip]

The most recent mower purchased here has a Honda engine. Because of the above and more problems of a B&S nature.

[Davey]

I found B&S in the UK extremely helpful, and would have no problem buying another of their engines. What troubles did you have?

[Huge]

Which neatly mirrors one of my more polite comments to/about this engine; no wonder Honda ate your breakfast, lunch and dinner ...

[Steve Firth]

Engine #1: Trashed because the priming bulb on the carb developed a leak after three years use. B&S would only sell a complete carburettor and wanted £125 for it. More than the cost of a replacement mower.

Engine #2: Always difficult to start when hot. Plastic part sheared losing all drive to the wheels. No replacement available. Continued to use as a push mower but was scrapped when the clutch finally failed (no replacements for that either).

Engine #3: Carburettor gasket leaked, no replacement available, air filter disintegrated, no replacement available, carburettor impossible to remove without losing blood, no metric parts, screws to inlet hidden down deep wells requiring "special tool" to access, many stupid flimsy springs held in only by bent wire through a hole to be removed to get at the screws.

Lawnmower #4: disintegrated throwing blade through the mower deck when B&S engine over speeded as throttle jammed wide open. I'm bloody lucky with that one that I didn't try to shut the fuel off, otherwise the blade may have gone through me.

[Clive George]

I decided honda engines were good after replacing the B+S engined mower with a honda one 14 years ago. The honda is much easier to start, which after much swearing at other B+S engined mowers in my youth was sufficient to persuade me to avoid them thereafter.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Depends what you're used to.

In my lifetime, the UK car industry changed from Imperial to Unified and then to Metric. The US seems to have stuck with AC and AF for many things.

Imperial measurements were based around common human things - like say an inch being the distance between thumb joint and tip.

Metric has no such correlation.

Of course when dealing with very small measurements in engineering it makes little difference which you use. Provided you stick to just one. ;-)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Ah - right. I thought you were more of a DIY person.

[Scion]

Dave Plowman (News) put finger to keyboard:

That's the good thing about standards - there are so many to choose from.

[Steve Firth]

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote: [snip]

Every bolt, screw and stud on my American built Ford was metric.

A metre was based on a distance of

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Quite. As some of the major assemblies will be designed/built elsewhere - even if not on that particular model. So it makes sense for a multinational to standardise.

one ten millionth of the distance from the equator to the north pole. Very relevant to a human.

[polygonum]

I seem to remember a yard being described as the distance from tip of nose to tip of finger. A metre is obviously exactly the same for a somewhat larger person.

[polygonum]

Was it a Mazda design?

[Huge]

But at least you're a patronising shit, eh, Dave?

[Steve Firth]

Well yes the engine was built in Cologne.

It's based on something within human experience scaled to the dimensions of a man. It's about a yard. Where metric goes wrong is the choice of ten instead of 12 or 60 as the base.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I suppose I should expect that sort of thing from you. But no - it was a genuine expression of surprise. You've given the impression you were very much a hands on person on a variety of cars over the years. Obviously not if you don't have the tools to do things.

[Steve Firth]

No it was Ford USA's biggest selling model, with a Mustang engine. Or if you prefer the bored and stroked Capri 2.8 injection engine enlarged to a

4.0.

[The Other Mike]

Including the 7/16" UNF seat belt mounts?

[Tim Streater]

of a 1/000 of 1/10,000 of the (presumably average) distance from the pole to the equator. So nothing to do with human-based imperial measurements then.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

You have a woman's thumb!