Quote:
Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6
The handgrip is fixed but is a damped anti-vibe jobbie.
That Jonsered of yours looks in remarkable condition for its age.
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Thanks , I used to be a greenkeeper for nearly 9 years . In 1994 I was asked to tender for the job as the golf club decided to go that way .
I missed out on the contract so I decided to start "Rod's Lawns St Marys" ..I registered my business name , did a business course through a local Enterprise group , got a ome million dollars public liability insurance cover, bought an XB ute , bought a Cox ride on , a couple of push mowers , line trimmer (Echo) HT21 Hedge trimmer , Poulan 14" chainsaw , Hardie 15 litre back pack , various garden implements , and the TL 33 Brushcutter .
My Uncle Tom (mum's brother ) had died the year before and left me some money which helped me buy all this without too much drama . I advertised in the Valley Voice (our local paper) and before I knew it I had work . Finished up with about 30 regulars . One day the phone rang and it turned out to be a bloke from Devonport who ran a Jim's Mowing franchise there who had been successful getting a Telstra contract to maintain their sub station grounds and buildings around the State .
He asked me if I was interested in looking at being a subby for him for 25 or so sites on the upper east coast and Fingal Valley . I met with him and discussed it all . Basically an interview . Ended up taking it on . Remember doing a full day induction course with Telstra itself mostly in regard to security , safety and work standards issues and then got an access pass and code for each time I was on a Telstra site . I did that for nearly two years as well as private customers ..Worked my butt off . Money was terrible for Telstra as they kept loading more jobs over time , requiring ladder carrying to do gutters as one of them ...Muggins here kept saying .."Okay will do "
Got home one day to see a job going at the high school for a School Attendant ..Good money , superannuation , part time 22.5 hours a week etc so I applied , got interview and got the job . I juggled my customers and Telstra in the afternoons as the school job was 7am-11.30 am .
Telstra contract ran out so I decided it was too much for too little return to renew . Kept the local customers going for a while though , kept business name , and still have it on my cheques as my name with T/A Rods Lawns St Marys !!!!!... Next year I was offered an extra 2 hours a day to maintain the 25 metre school pool (more training courses) and in 2002 was made up to full time permanent .. Still that now .
The Jonsered is my pride and joy .. Fully commercial machine and she copped it for quite a while ..I had the saw tooth blade doing tea tree , heavy blackberry and gorse infestations a number of times and big clean up jobs for our local SMACD community groups ..As you'd know in the biz these days , You look after your gear and it'll look after you ....and never so true with our cars ..Work them hard so long as they are serviced properly ..
She's getting tired in the gearbox now , not as smooth as she was but still gets into it ..The cost of a new genuine head is a bit prohibitive IF you can find one but I'll hunt around for an after market one . The Husky is great though and it won't be a worry now to wait for a new gearbox for the Jonsy..
Sorry for the War and Peace reply..