Zero Turn Mower

Sometimes I see something, and quickly turn it into a build.

Free instructions at Rebrickable.com.

Recently, there was a little John Deere zero turn mower in my neighborhood, and after building some other machines for the Thirdwigg Farm, I decided maybe a little mower for the farm would be a nice addition. A quick afternoon later, I had thrown together a little chassis and had the rough idea for the build.

For something this small, features can be difficult to add. I wanted to have mower blades connected to the drive wheels, and an engine if I could figure it out. The result was one drive wheel on the rear of the mower which powers a single cylinder engine hanging off the rear of the mower. The same drive wheel turns a couple of gears to drive two mower blades. The rotation speed is sufficient for both, and spin well with a little movement of the mower. I used the little airplane nose wheels as front casters for the mower, which resulted in a perfect ride height for the mower blades.

Then I styled for the mower. I love the look of orange parts, so that was the decision for the mower. I used the round macaroni parts for the blade guards and for the roll-over structure which gives it a playful look. A simple fender was designed and a rear bumper and the build was done. Quick and 157 parts.

I do not usually build this small, but it was a fun little project; a little palette cleanser from some of the more complicated builds that I sometimes do. We’ll see if I do more like this.

Happy Building.