I finally had to stop using the Franken Mower because the wheels are so messed up that it's practically un-steerable. I ran it once this summer and it trashed my forearms so badly that I went to the Home Depot and bought a new (cheap) mower.
Aside from the fact that the new mower is tuned for California emission standards, it works fine with the exception of the handle height. It's way too low for both Helen and me, hence this mod.
It's just 4 pieces of galvanized pipe, 2 elbows, 2 caps, and 4 clamps. It took all of 10 minutes to put together and it feels like it'll work just fine. It's plenty high enough for both of us.
The rope in the picture is used to keep the kill-switch arm closed during mowing.
The sides are 12" pipe; elbows are 45 degrees; handles are 6" pipe; and each handle is capped for comfort.
We'll try it for a while and see how it feels. Helen suggested wrapping the shorter handles with paracord for comfort, which would be cool. I may replace the metal caps with rubber chair feet, too, if they end up roughing up our hands too much.
All in all, a very satisfying build.
Here's a photo of Franken Mower for old time's sake. Check out those front wheels: totally googly and wonky. But the motor still runs!
My original plan for this mod was to add a pair of bicycle handlebar extensions to the top handle but the ones I bought couldn't open up enough to attach so I went with this plan "B".
