Twin-blade electric lawn mowers have not entirely disappeared, but they sure are an endangered species. We have a proud fleet of three twin-blades, all bought at garage sales, and all of then still bravely mowing our lawn. We have a Sunbeam model RE-184A; a Lawn Master of identical design; and a Black & Decker model 5740 Type 3. The smoothest running of the lot is the Sunbeam, whose plastic handle has long since decayed in the sunlight, and fallen off, leaving us with only a steel shaft to hold onto. I bought it at a yard sale, by accident. The lady wanted five dollars for it, and I casually asked if it worked. She insisted on showing me that it did, and dug out an electric cord and connected it up. The poor machine let out a shriek of misery worthy of a bad horror movie. Smoke, and flying parts. I doubled up laughing. "Well, two dollars!" she countered. I had to buy it. Rebuilding it cost less than a new mower. These machines are much misunderstood. There is an electric motor in the middle, and a drive shaft for the cutting blades on each side. The drive shafts have a porous bronze bushing (expensive) at the top and middle, with an oil reservoir between the bushings. There are two independent blades per shaft, and the shafts are driven by toothed rubber belts (3/8 in., 50 teeth, part no. 47-81752). It in not sufficient to oil the motor. You must also keep oil in the two oil reservoirs for the drive shafts. These are filled by removing a screw on the outside of the mower body, and squirting the oil in. The reservoirs are not connected, so each must be topped up. For want of better advice, I use light motor oil, with some Moly-Slip mixed in, in case of oil loss. Since replacing the shafts and bushings, it has run like a Swiss watch for the last twenty years. The motor is oiled with 3-in-1 electric motor oil, by removing the plastic cover - 5 drops of oil into the oiling hole on top. Balancing of the independent blades is important, and if you sharpen the blades, you will change the balance. That can result in destructive vibrations. I made a balancing tool out of a piece of strap steel. It holds the two blades opposite each other, as they would be in service, and sits on a knife edge, which makes it fairly sensitive. Simply weighing the two blades is not enough, because both position and weight are important. Problems with twin blades: Properly cared for, these things last for ever. Unfortunately they had a high failure rate, and because of their complexity, high production costs. So they gave their manufacturers a bad rep, and gave the cost accountants headaches. One big advantage to the single blade mowers, is that the bearing is in the motor, so all the mower manufacturer has to make is the mower body and one blade. Man, that must feel better. For the user, balancing and lubrication are also much easier. Maintenance: Twin blade mowers are good machines, and they last perfectly well if you maintain them. Most died of neglect. Most people do not want to take the time to lubricate and balance them. Then there are other problems. One of my pals lubricated his Sunbeam with WD-40. He went through several sets of bushings every summer. He finally junked the poor machine in disgust. Most people just forget, and the mower runs dry and burns out its bushings. Here's what to do: (1) Remove the plastic cover and give the motor 5 drops of someone's "oil for electric motors" at the beginning of every summer. Adjust for different work loads. I use 3-in1 oil for electric motors. Note: these oil holes on electric motors are usually a small reservoir stuffed with dense felt. The felt keeps dirt out, holds the oil, and releases it as needed. In a new motor, you may need to soak the whole felt wad at first oiling. (2) Remove the seal screws, and top up the two oil reservoirs for the two drive shafts. Use a light oil - not WD-40 which is a penetrant, and not a bearing lubricant. Replace the seal screws when finished. (3) Turn the (UNPLUGGED) mower upside down, and oil each of the four cutting blades, so that they pivot easily. Wiggle them until the oil penetrates the pivot joint. If they don't pivot, your machine may vibrate badly. (4) Replace badly damaged blades, in pairs. Balance each pair before installing them, so the machine runs smoothly. In fact, balance them yearly. It's a lawn mower - not a vibrator. Parts: Manufacturers rarely make the whole machine. For example, a lawn mower manufacturer probably doesn�t make the nuts and bolts used in its machine. Rubber drive belts are made by rubber belt manufacturers, and are picked out of a catalogue. Electric motors, wires, gears and sprockets, wheels and rubber tires, nuts and bolts are all picked out of special catalogues. So, when your Sunbeam needs a new motor, and Sunbeam no longer supplies it, chances are it is a standard industrial motor with a standard industrial mounting, and if it was at all popular, it is probably still in use in other machines. Check with the appropriate manufacturer. For rubber belts, call the rubber belt people. They won't know anything about Sunbeam, but they will find a match for your belt fast enough. Beat the bushes before you give up. Happy mowing.

The Oregon Chain Guide explains about chains. What you need depends on how your saw is set up. Your pitch will probably either be 1/4, .325 or .375. I'd guess they would put either 1/4 or .325 on an electric saw. The best way to find the pitch is hopefully your bar is stamped with numbers that will indicate what it wants. The bar or a lookup of the part number will tell you what pitch the bar can handle (assuming you have sprocket in the nose), what gauge the groove is and how many links you need. My guess is that the 55, 56 and 57 you saw at the store is the number of links in each of those chains. Your current chain may have some markings on it that indicate what pitch and gauge the chain is.

I have the Remington WR5000 Smooth & Silky Women's Rotary Shaver. I got it last year and I love it! It is the best electric razor I have ever had, and I have been using an electric razor for over 15 years. I is rechargable and does work wet and dry though I always use it dry. It is only designed to be used on legs, it cannot be used on underarms. This does not bother me because I have always used a blade on my underarms, no electric razor works right for that. Here is the link to Amazon, but I got mine at Kohls on sale and with a coupon for about $25.00. Joanne Here is a link that might be useful: Remington WR5000 Smooth & Silky

I bought one almost 15 years ago to use on my 1858 home. My house has white cedar shingles with a 12 1/2 inch exposure, so it was tricky. I renailed every shingle and then proceed to shave them. Carla is correct in saying that you need to be careful, but I found with practice that I could get it to work pretty well. You can adjust the depth of the cut so that you're actually taking off more paint and less wood. This machine would definitely work better on clapboard than shingles due to the relative straightness of calpboard as compared to shingles. Also, I purchased the sander that they sell as well, which was a mistake. It's basically a small electric grinder fitted with a sanding disc. I found it very difficult to sand and not leave marks in the wood. I purchased a Porter-Cable orbital sander, hooked it up to my shopvac, and it works exceptionally well. Hope this helps. Charlie