Julian Cassell's DIY Blog

Choosing a lawnmower for your garden can be a tricky decision because of the vast array of models on the market. Before making that decision, take a little time to understand the different options, according to the method by which they actually cut the grass. Also, lawnmowers may be manually powered, petrol powered, electrically powered by cable connection to an electrical socket, or even by rechargaeable battery.

Rotary lawnmower

A rotary lawnmower is the classic multipurpose option, characterised by a horizontal rotating blade. Also in this ‘family’ are hover mowers, which are similar to a standard rotary mower except that it floats on a cushion of air created by the rotating blade – consequentially, they have no wheels.

Deciding between a classic rotary, or hover mower is one of those decisions that tends to come into the ‘either you love hover mowers, or you hate them’ category . Personally I always feel you get a better cut from the traditional rotary models, but other people find the hover option ideal for them. Smaller hover models are incredibly light and easy to hang on a wall in the shed – also a good choice for uneven or undulating lawns.

Cylinder lawnmower

Cylinder lawnmowers provide the closest, most even cut and are characterised by a horizontally mounted cylinder with cutting blades.

I always feel that these lawnmowers really are for the lawn enthusiast, but if you have a small garden, the model shown to the left here is totally hand powered, and therefore no need for petrol or electrical hook up – surely therefore one of the ‘greenest’ options out there?

Cylinder mowers are also only really suitable for level, flat lawns – it just won’t cope with any unevenness or undulations, so don’t think that buying a cylinder mower will automatically give you a beautifully close cut bowling green of a lawn.

Strimmer

Not technically a lawnmower, a strimmer makes cutting edges that are inaccessible to the lawnmower an easy job -certainly in comparison to using hand-held shears.

Although technology keeps marching forward, I still don’t think that rechargeable batteries provide the necessary power for most lawnmowers, but with a strimmer, as shown in the model to the right, it’s a perfect adaptation.

Other lawnmower considerations

Lawnmowers may be self-propelled, so that you literally only have to guide or steer them rather than push them around the garden. Although self-propelled mowers will be more expensive than those that you have to push, it is an option worth considering if you have a large, or sloping lawn.

Of course for extra large gardens you could think about a ride on mower but you will be entering a different league in terms of price, as well as storage considerations.

All the big outlets have good lawnmower selections, so it is definitely worth trying such stores as B&Q, Screwfix, and Amazon to do a bit of a price comparison. Also for some reason, lawnmowers are an item that purchasers like to review. For example, some of the models on Amazon have literally hundreds of reviews, so you can get a very good idea of personal experiences with different types of lawnmower.

Buying a handsaw for your DIY needs sounds simple, but the enormous array of options on the market, can make the whole process pretty confusing. Defining a handsaw in itself can be complicated as you could include any hand held saw in this category, but for the purpose of this guide I’m talking about the basic, general purpose saw, normally called a panel saw, with the easily recognisable shape shown below. read more »

Garden power tools seem to be taking up increasingly larger areas of the shelf space in DIY stores, and I’m not including lawnmowers here, which is a subject for another day. Now, we all love our gadgets, but I do wonder with this every growing array of motorised plastic, exactly what is a necessity, and what is literally going to gather dust in your shed. The following guide, by no means covers everything, but picks up on the main players in the garden power tool field. read more »

Buying a chisel set should be a once in a lifetime event for most home improvement and DIY enthusiasts, because if you choose quality chisels, and look after them well, there is no reason why you should need another set in the future. There are carpenters across the land who own chisels that belonged to their grandads, quite simply because they are made from high quality steel, that can be sharpened over and over again. So high quality steel is key to any good chisel, but if you’re buying a chisel set today, there are a few other issues to consider. read more »

Garden tool kits do not need to include a huge selection of tools, but do need to contain the basics. Quality of tool is generally reflected in its price. It is always best to go for the most expensive you can afford. Cheaper tools can be useful for light work, or if you only use them infrequently. The selection of tools assembled below are what I consider to comprise a good gardening toolkit. The first group includes the essential hand tools for all gardens, large and small. Further down the page you will see how your gardening tool kit will need to expand as required. read more »