Don’t try this with your lawnmower

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It is just plain amazing to me what people will do. I spend a lot of time on this blog talking about safety. I talk about how people should use proper grounding, and stay off the roof if it’s cold or wet. And then, I run into something like this.

So this guy wants to see high-speed footage of his lawnmower destroying stuff. He builds a special harness for his high speed camera. Although he didn’t seem to say so, it looks like maybe he also fit the lawnmower with an electric motor (or is using an electric mower in the first place).

The litany of stupidity

Before you watch, let’s list the dumb things he did, that you should never do:

  1. Modify the engine or motor with a variable throttle
  2. (Possibly) replace the engine with an electric motor
  3. Operate the mower while upside down
  4. Replace the blade with one he made himself
  5. Replace the central hub with one he made himself
  6. Drop strings or straps into the blade assembly
  7. Drop plastic items into the blade assembly that could jam it
  8. Operate the whole thing while standing next to it with no protection

I’m glad this guy felt confident doing this stuff and I’m even more glad he didn’t get hurt.

Cut to the good stuff

If you’re not interested in all the stupid metalwork this guy did and how he nearly shakes the lawnmower to bits while he’s standing near it, just skip to about 15 minutes in where you can get some fairly decent high speed photography of old tech being shredded by this infernal machine.

Seriously, watch it but don’t do it

I feel like I couldn’t possibly point you at this video without at least giving you this graphic:

Because, I hate to bring this up but a lawnmower is very, very much NOT a toy and not something you should be messing with. You should definitely not fabricate your own blade so you can spin it at 2000rpm for the sole purpose of getting a good YouTube video.

This guy did it and he survived, but it doesn’t mean you will. I hope you all enjoy watching, and then survive to keep reading this blog.

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.