The staggered wheel Lawn Boy's are unfortunately a thing of the past. They were great for trimming edges.
I always tend to cut in diminishing circles for convenience sake but many like to cut diagonally and change the pattern each time so as not to leave tracks.

"So you walk along with the grass being thrown out of the right side of the mower. Then you turn round and walk back, cutting again at least some of the grass you've just cut. This double cutting must occur on every other traverse of your yard."

"What do your yards look like after using a mower this way? Rows of double depth? Is there another way like going round in a one way circle? "

RB>Mowing in a line will give you lines, mowing in a circle will give you a circular pattern, mowing crossways will give a crossed look. If you want to minimize the lines try using a mulching mower rather than one that throws grass to the side.

"I'm only asking because I'm curious. We can't get Lawnboys in England, more's the pity. They look interesting machines."

RB> I may be missing something, but the lawnboy won't do much to reduce the lines of cut grass.

'So you walk along with the grass being thrown out of the right side of the mower. Then you turn round and walk back, cutting again at least some of the grass you've just cut. This double cutting must occur on every other traverse of your yard.'

Because direction of rotation became standardized rather early-on, basically all discharge chutes came to be ao the right side.
Any mower that you use to discharge clippings will have the same ultimate result, whether the discharge chute faces left or right - the offset wheel has nothing to do with it. The wheel was originally offset to allow the discharge chute to be located so the clippings would be expelled immediately after the blade tips cut them. This results in more efficient cutting and discharging and provides a 90 degree angle of discharge. The chute could be on the right front or left rear - in fact, there was a mower that had both, so both the RF and LR wheels were offset. It never caught on - wonder why? Later they realized that the offset wheel also helped keep the mower from scalping if it was run over a lateral mound (like a speed bump) because the offset wheel is set back nearly to the center of the mower. So, they made that a selling point.
A lawn cut with a Lawn-Boy with offset wheel will look pretty much the same as with any other mower, except the deeper wheel tracks will be twice as far apart than with a 'four-square' mower of the same blade length. This is because only the left-side wheels run in the same track The trick to using one is to get proficient at using the rear wheel on the right side to follow the track from the previous pass.

Hi Fellas,

Yes, I can understand what your saying about the use of the Lawnboy. We do have side discharge mowers here in England but they are, as far as I'm aware, used exclusively for rough cutting on road sides, neglected orchards and the like, where the looks of the finished cut don't matter much.

I got intrigued by the Lawnboy because so many people on this forum seem to use the side discharge for everything to do with grass: the display yards and the rough stuff.

It's such a favorite that it must have been some machine. Pity we don't have them as I'd try one just for interests sake.

Thanks for your replies.

Also this design did not scalp on bumpy terrain and hill tops.
Because of the staggered wheel it did not belly in the center.
Anyway, I mowed forward and then walked backwards. I re cut my discharged clippings each time.

The Lawnboy staggered deck mower has the discharge chute at the very front, right side of the mower deck necessitating that the front right wheel be moved behind the side discharge chute and therefore the wheels are staggered. The advantages are:

 The front of the mower deck can be used for close trimming since the front, right wheel is not in the way.
 The grass trimmings are discharged out of the deck at the most direct and fastest location. The trimmings, even in heavy grass conditions, can be discharged evenly over four or five feet with practically no clumping making bagging or mulching unnecessary. Lawnboy staggered deckÂs side discharge performance is second to none.
 The bag chute attaches with no tools and has a scoop that extends down to just above the blade. With the mulching fan off, the Lawnboy staggered deckÂs bagging performance is excellent. Even with the mulching fan on, the bagging performance is very good. Maybe only a Snapper HI-VAC with the high lift blade attached can beat LawnboyÂs staggered deck bagging performance.
 With the mulching fan installed on the blade assembly, a Lawnboy staggered deck can be converted to mulch without tools by installing the mulching plate. The LawnboyÂs staggered deck mulching performance is very good. For a single blade mulcher, its performance is excellent. Its blades are easier and cheaper to sharpen than many other mulching lawn mowers since they are simple, single edge blades.
 A Lawnboy staggered deck can be easily and quickly be converted to side discharge, bagging, or mulching without tools. A Lawnboy staggered deck can side discharge, bag, and mulch excellent/very good. ItÂs a very well rounded machince.
 The Lawnboy stagger deck is also less likely to scalp because it follows the contours of the lawn better.

Unfortunately Toro discontinued LawnboyÂs staggered deck along and two-cycle engine options. Lawnboy had the highest ownership loyalty repeat purchase rate by a wide margin because of these features. It seems odd that Toro would turn its back on such a winning formula. Even if an EPA compliant two-cycle engine could not be practically produced, it seems foolish to me to discard the staggered deck.

beggar; I don't know where you got the idea that everybody over here discharges clippings. Personally, I haven't done so since 1993 when I got my first mulching mower. I either bag or mulch. Bagging results in the best job, and mulching is fast and good for the soil. Forty years ago when i didn't know any better, I would let grass get high, then cut it low, discharging. Naturally this resulted in windrows of hay that had to be raked up and disposed-of. Most of us now know better, but there are still a few who can't adopt new ways and continue to discharge clippings on their lawns.

I side discharged 6+ inch tall grass last weekend with a Lawnboy 10525 at the 3.5 inch setting with practically no clumping. The grass trimmings were evenly distributed over 5+ feet. The lawn looked better side discharged than many neighbors who mulch. I then lowered the mower to the 3 inch setting and mulched. The results were very impressive.

Also it is more efficient to side discharge. You use less gas as it takes less power. Basically it is the most efficient way to mulch.

Well, you fellas have been very informative. I'm regretting more and more that Lawnboys aren't sold here in England. I was going to say that we are obviously behind the times until I reflected that the staggered deck is now redundant over there.

It is curious, as ericmvest has said, that a design with such a loyal following hasn't spawned something similar. Perhaps it is because it was so closely linked with the 2 stroke (cycle to you) engine. If someone came up with a 2 stroke that met emission regulations, maybe the situation would reverse itself....

Thanks for being so interesting and satisfying my curiousity.

Beggar

As you can see, discharging vs. mulching/bagging is a SUBJECTIVE issue with many divergent opinions and really has nothing to do with Lawn-Boy, 2-cycles or offset-wheel decks. I had a Honda HRB216TDA five years ago with rear discharge and a rear discharge deflector chute. Once, because of an extended period of rain, I decided to use the discharge chute on the tall, wet grass and bag it later after it dried some. To my surprise, this worked incredibly well. Because the chute is positioned higher than most, it shot the clippings out and spread them over a large area, leaving no windrows at all. That is the only time I can remember discharging clippings. Even before 1993, I was bagging. That odd Honda system is as good or better than any discharging mower ever made. The offset-wheel deck is obselete because it limits cutting close to objects on the offset-wheel side and is difficult to line up and follow the rear wheel track on that side. Even though the discharge chute on this deck has technical advantages, there is no real-world advantage to it when even the really 'contrived' discharge system on the Honda, for example, is actually better. With the advent of small 4-cycles to replace 2-cycles in all their traditional applications, it's easy to see that we're in the last days of the 2-cycle saw and trimmer, much less the mower. There will never be another 2-cycle mower manufactured for sale in the USA. I miss them a little, but not the tinkering and maintenance associated with the Lawn-Boy mowers I owned. So, I don't think you have missed out on much in the UK by not having Lawn-Boy mowers imported.

Saxman,

Well, that is a very concise and educated reply. It's brought my curiosity, about what I now see to be an obsolete idea, to an end.

Thanks for taking the trouble. Glad you're around.

Beggar

I disagree with Saxman.

I have used side discharge chutes for rear bag mowers such as the Honda Harmony and Masters and they are not near as good as the Lawnboy staggered deck for side discharge. Also, the bagger insert takes the grass trimmings out of the top of the deck, similar to the Snapper HI-VAC system. The staggered deck also out bags the rear bagger design. Furthermore, you can trim on the front of a staggered deck mower which is a good trade off for not being able to trim on the right side. Finally, with practically no experience, you can line up the rows of an staggered deck mower perfectly. I can not agree with any of Saxman's statements.

Lawnboy's are known for their lack of required maintenance and longevity compared to other mowers. Many Lawnboys last 20+ years with minimal maintenance. Your post seems very curious. How did Lawnboy achieve the highest owners' loyalty year after year?; because they were excellent mowers.

Saxman is correct regarding 2-cycle mowers---we've seen the last of them. However, judging from new CARB-certified mini 2-cycles from Echo (their Power Boost Vortex engine) and Red Max (their Strato Charged engine), we're far from seeing the last of 2-cycle saws, trimmers, blowers, and hedge clippers.

Tarheeman is probably correct about 2-cycle engines never being offered in new production mowers due to EPA regulations. This is the only thing Saxman said that I can agree with.

It is common knowledge among anyone who knows much about mowers that the staggered deck has excellent side discharge performance. Saxman stating that the rear bagger Harmony has as good or better side discharge of any mower made is not creditable.

Calm down eric, we are all allowed our opinions and as Saxman said, this is a very subjective topic. I think Sax has contributed enough here to deserve a little more respect (even if you have a differing opinion).