[LilysDad]

The program tonight featured the question of whether a rock thrown by a mower has the same energy as a .357 magnum. In a word. . . Yup! The rock wasn't as fast, but it was heavier which creates an equal or greater amount of energy.

And another thing, during their experiments, the blade hub shattered when the push mower hit a large rock, causing the blade to fly out of the deck.

So, don't remove the rock guards and be sure to wear sturdy shoes. Really!

 

[wvbuzzmaster]

Seen that episode. Scarier than hell.

 

[shorty]

Lost a blade one time. Scary stuff. Very thankful it went out the side instead of the back. Found it about three feet from where it happened.

 

[Chopperhed]

I remember a situation with my sister's 4H calf when I was a youngster. I hit a rock or something with the mower, and her perfectly groomed (very docile) calf, tied to a picnic table,(it absolutely destroyed the table) crossed three farms before we got it stopped.

It doesn't surprise me that the speeds from an object thrown from a mower could hit firearm velocities.

 

[framesteer]

Tip speed of a 21" mower blade running at 3600 rpm is 225 miles per hour

 

[Littledeere]

Tip speed of a 21" mower blade running at 3600 rpm is 225 miles per hour

And to think I stuck my foot into one

 

[LilysDad]

My daughter used to be pretty lazy about what kind of shoes she wore mowing. . . until she ran over the dog chain!

 

[Sparky]

The Elec-Traks were described as having low inertia cutting blades . This did not work well for wet and heavy grass however .

 

[KennyP]

I have a scar on my right bicep where they had to dig out a 2" long piece of wire that the mower I was pushing put between the bones. Ricochet off a metal building. I don't like anyone around when the mower is running!!!!!

 

[skyrydr2]

Ever have an 8' brush blade come off!! Scary stuff let me tell ya!! It came out from under that thing and managed to get up on edge and head for the edge of the field , hit a stonewall and flew into the woods... Thank god there was no one around when it happened, and it didn't get the rear tires on the big tractor. . on that same field he ran rightover a black bear eating ground blueberries, lucky for the bear he booked it out right between the front and rear tires like a shot. My dad stopped and watched the bear bolt off across the field unharmed.
He stopped mowing that day to go home and make up a sweeper guard to get critters out of the way. He has run over turkeys and his friend got a fawn ... Not good.

 

[coldone]

Bush Hogging with the Gravely L8. I walked away to move one of the kids toys, about 75 feet away, I left the blades engaged. I was about 40 feet away when one of the shroud housing bolts fell down into the blades. The bolt is a 3/8X16, it hit me just below the pointy part of my elbow. I thought I had been shot, my lower arm went numb, you could count the threads where it hit. a few stiches later and a few days for the swelling to go down and I was OK.

The good Lord above gave me a small reminder to not be stupid around these things. If it would have hit bone I am sure it would have cracked it. 8 inches to the right it would have hit my spine, up a few inches and it would have hit the back of my head. Luckily, He thought I just needed a small reminder.

 

[HDWildBill]

All good comments. I saw that episode and it was quite scarey! When Jamie made that King Kong of mowers and the shaft broke after just one pass with the rocks that was an eye opener.

When I'm checking a mower out after I have worked on it and plan to engage the blades I take it to the far end of the house where there is no one around and woods on 3 sides.

 

[LilysDad]

Back when Woods first came out with those pull behind bat wing mowers,the Illinois Tollway bought some (I hate them!). A factory rep was giving us a talk. He said they were designed to not throw anything. They tested them by dropping a ball bearing down through a port hole.

Well, later we were out mowing and Ol' Uncle Carl was mowing parallel to the road when he hit a big rock and caved in the door on a car going by. I don't know who was more scared, the old woman riding on that side of the car or Carl. A little higher and it would have gone through the window and killed her.

One more story; two days ago, I was driving in town and I saw a young mother mowing on a ZTR with her infant sitting in her lap.

 

[larrybl]

Here is the .357 episode condensed. http://on.aol.com/video/mythbusters---lethal-lawn-mowers-minimyth-518990267