A Durable & Clean Cut, The Baroness Way!

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A Durable & Clean Cut, The Baroness Way!: The main requirement for a mower is of course to cut grass, therefore Baroness always make this their primary objective when designing cutting units.

A Durable & Clean Cut, The Baroness Way!

A Durable & Clean Cut, The Baroness Way!

The main criteria to consider during the design phase of a cutting unit is:

  • A high quality of cut thus ensuring a healthy grass plant and a superior presentation.
  • Simple and infrequent blade adjustments.
  • Low maintenance costs.

The common denominator between all three of these is the material used to make the blades from, which in turn allows other design features to be exploited:

Relief Grinding

Relief Grinding is a process that not all reel mower operators support, usually due to bad experiences in the past and not fully understanding the science behind the practise.

As most reel mower operators will be aware, blade relief is where the trailing edge of a reel blade is ground away at an angle to reduce the surface area of the cutting tip.  The thinner the cutting tip surface area is, the less friction will be produced between the cutting reel blades and the bedknife, and this in turn will reduce wear to the bedknife.  This is important because the bedknife is the blade which will lose its edge first due to it being subjected to multiple reel blade passes per single reel revolution, and if you can keep the edge of the bedknife sharp then you will maintain a high quality of cut and a healthy grass plant.

To reap the maximum benefits from relief grinding the blade material used must be of a very high quality.  If the blade was made of a soft material, then the very thin cutting edge produced by the relief grind process would wear away very quickly, and this would result in constant blade adjustments being required, which would then increase operator workload and frustration.

Achieving a hard blade is not just a matter of using a heat-treating process.  Whilst heat treating will make any steel hard, it can also make it brittle, so to make a blade hard and strong it is crucial to use a suitable alloy coupled with a carefully controlled heat treatment process.

Baroness use a carefully formulated alloy of Nickel, Chrome and Molybdenum to make their blades from, and this very hard wearing and tough material allows the cutting edge to be relief ground down to just 0.5mm, thus keeping friction, heat and wear to a minimum.

Back-Lapping

Back-lapping is another process that not all reel mower operators support, and this is usually because the reels that they have been trying to back-lap are not compatible with the process.

A reel blade which has not been relief ground will be very wide at the cutting tip, but when it becomes blunt it is usually just the leading edge of the blade that becomes rounded.  However, to make this reel blade sharp again, all the material back from this rounded tip will need to be removed.  To remove all of this material using back-lapping alone would take a long time, and by the time this material was removed, the back-lapping paste would have worn away the cutting edge of the bedknife, thus making the process counter-productive.

A Durable & Clean Cut, The Baroness Way!

A Durable & Clean Cut, The Baroness Way!

If on the other hand the reel blades have been relief ground, then the cutting tip would be very thin and will therefore only require minimum material to be removed to make the reel blade sharp again, which could be done very quickly without wearing the cutting edge of the bedknife away.  As the blade material that Baroness uses enables the relief grind to be taken down to a cutting edge of just 0.5mm, the full benefits of back-lapping are utilised.

A Durable & Clean Cut, The Baroness Way!

A Durable & Clean Cut, The Baroness Way!

Therefore, relief grinding, coupled with a good quality blade material, is key to quickly and easily keeping your blades sharp at a minimal cost, which in turn will improve the health of your grass plant.

#LessstresswithBaroness

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Success for Hogweed Eradication Programme

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Success for Hogweed Eradication Programme: The River Tyne Hogweed Eradication Programme was declared winner of the Scottish Helping it Happen Awards run by Scottish Land and Estates.

Receiving recognition in the Enhancing our Environment category, the project was supported by Bayer and has succeeded in eradicating  any flowering plants of giant hogweed over 48 miles of the banks of the River Tyne and its tributaries for the second year running.

Success for Hogweed Eradication Programme

Success for Hogweed Eradication Programme

James Wyllie, voluntary project co-ordinator, explains they have seen a huge success with this invasive species project even though it is only in its second year.

“While we have had some setbacks due to Covid-19, thanks to the support of Bayer, landowners and volunteers, the project has delivered,” says James.

The programme is run by volunteer ‘spotters’ who use an online mapping tool to plot sightings of giant hogweed. They work in conjunction with the landowners and farmers to control the plants.

“Our maxim is that ‘no hogweed plant should be allowed to flower’, and with the capacity to produce up to 10,000 seeds each, this is vital.”

The project has involved intensive monitoring. As soon as a plant is ‘spotted’, the landowners can pinpoint the offending weed and control it, either with the use of Roundup or a spade.

“Ideally, we want to control the plant ahead of stem extension, so they aren’t able to flower and spread seeds. However, if a plant is missed and allowed to flower, it must be cut off below the ground, the head removed, bagged and disposed of safely,” says James.

“As a team we’re proud to receive this award as it shows the hard work that has been put into this unique project by all the volunteer landowners and spotters, is being recognised and valued.”

Project support

Colin Mumford, Bayer technical manager says both the non-native giant hogweed and Japanese knotweed can have a severe knock-on effect to the entire food chain and ecosystem, by rapidly reproducing and taking over land to the detriment of native flora and fauna, so it’s vital to do everything possible to eliminate these damaging species.

“Bayer are really pleased to be able to support this successful project, which has been driven by volunteers and landowners who are certainly worthy of this award. We’re keen to continue to support where we can, so these weeds that are damaging our environment can be tackled and kept under control,” he explains.

Colin adds that these invasive species are a rising cause for concern, so it’s important projects like this take place around the UK to help eradicate these problematic weeds.

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Nothing compares to MM seed

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Nothing compares to MM seed: Andy Richards, grounds manager at Haileybury – an independent co-educational boarding and day school, insists that grass seed is the first place to start in producing the best possible sports pitches and he believes that nothing compares to Limagrain’s MM brand of grass seed.  

Andy was renowned for producing sports pitches of the highest quality in his previous role at Shrewsbury School and after recently celebrating his one-year anniversary at Haileybury, he is hoping to raise the bar even further in his new role.

Nothing compares to MM seed

Nothing compares to MM seed

“I introduced Limagrain’s MM50 and MM60 seed mixtures at Shrewsbury six years ago and they made a huge difference to the pitches,” he said. “I recommended the MM range to so many other schools and clubs across the country from Wales to the South Coast because it is so reliable, and the recovery rate is better than anything I have ever used.

“I’m now using the mixtures here at Haileybury and I’m hoping that with a bit of time, we can match those highly regarded pitches at Shrewsbury and go one step further – in fact I’m confident that we can better them eventually.”

Introducing Limagrain MM seed was one of Andy’s first actions when he took the reins at Haileybury and although he had every faith in the mixtures, it was not plain sailing to start with.

“In the time that I’ve been here, we have fraise mowed all five cricket squares, taken off 20mm of thatch and organic matter, and re-seeded with Limagrain’s MM50. The results were very good; the grass was healthy, they played well, the Director of Cricket was pleased with them and aesthetically they looked brilliant.

“However, there was an underlying issue in the sense that the squares were not constructed correctly to start with. Therefore, we started the process of relaying them from scratch and then reseeded again with MM50. Now we are in a position where we can kick on and improve the squares even more.

“In my mind MM50 is the best seed mix for cricket and fine turf, there is nothing else that can touch it or even compare to it.”

This hard-wearing MM50 mix has rapid germination, very fine leaved appearance, high shoot density and is tolerant to very close mowing, along with high disease resistance. All these attributes together produce a fantastic sward that has great colour all year round. It is also widely praised for its excellent and rapid recovery.

When it comes to his winter pitches Andy relies on Limagrain’s MM60; a 100% Ryegrass formula which is perfect for renovation and divot repair, has a high disease resistance, fantastic aesthetic qualities and offers extremely fast germination:

“We have overseeded with MM60 on all of the pitches and the grass coverage has improved by around 40% in the 12 months I’ve been here. It offers fantastic colour and is the perfect mix for rugby and football,” said Andy.

With both MM mixtures at his disposal, Andy feels that they allow him to create the best possible sports pitches – something which he believes is a vital ingredient in the private school experience.

‘’Sport is an important aspect of the school’s offer and we want to do everything we can to give the pupils the best surfaces to play on; Limagrain’s MM seed will be integral to this’’.

“I’m a firm believer in starting with the best seed – grass is what we are all trying to grow and that is what sport is played on. Everything else will fall into place afterwards.

“My advice is to start with the best you can and in my opinion MM seed is the best.”

For further information, please contact Limagrain UK on 01472 371471 or visit the company’s website www.lgseeds.co.uk/mm. You can also follow the company on Twitter: @MM_Seed

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Kasco helps to capture the perfect shot

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Kasco helps to capture the perfect shot: Waterton Park Hotel, in West Yorkshire, has recently benefited from a set of new decorative Kasco water fountains which were supplied by Water Garden UK.

The stunning Waterton Park is a 4-star hotel in a scenic setting of rolling parkland with its own lake, a backdrop of ancient woodland and surrounded by a championship golf course. It also has a luxury spa and extensive conference and banqueting facilities.

Kasco helps to capture the perfect shot

Kasco helps to capture the perfect shot

The hotel is a highly popular venue for weddings and boasts an idyllic lakeside setting – the perfect backdrop for photographs. This lakeside setting has recently been aesthetically enhanced by the installation of two Kasco 4400EJF decorative fountains with Redwood Nozzles.

The Kasco 1HP 4400EJF decorative fountains are a perfect way to beautify any larger pond or water-garden. The fountains have recently been improved through the enhancement of the housing, impeller and nozzles to create an even better product.

Both flow rate and pattern size have been improved without increasing amp draw. This dramatically improves aesthetic appeal without increasing operating costs or fountain pricing. In addition, assembly, as well as nozzle changes are faster and easier.

This versatile fountain comes with six interchangeable nozzle heads, giving you the option to choose and change the spray pattern as you wish. There are also optional lighting packages available.

The Kasco range of products are extremely popular with hotels like Waterton Park and also with theme parks, stately homes, country parks, or other venues looking for a stand-out water feature.

Commenting on the fountains installed at Waterton Park, Jack Wooller from Water Garden UK said: “The fountains look incredible. As you walk over the bridge you are now greeted by these wonderful fountains either side which have a high-rise effect. They offer an opportunity for a bride and groom to get that perfect picture.”

As importers of the Kasco brand, KAR UK has seen a huge increase in the demand for the products and so too has Water Garden UK. It has been a fruitful partnership to date and recently KAR UK awarded Water Garden UK with the 2019 top sales award after its impressive distribution of Kasco products.

“The business relationship with KAR UK is going really well, and it is growing year on year,” said Jack. “In fact, each year we’ve been working with KAR UK we have beaten the last in terms of sales. Long may it continue.”

For more information, please visit www.karuk.com

You can also follow KAR UK on Twitter @KARUK_LTD for much more news, reviews and insightful views

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Makita’s third generation of accessories

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Makita’s third generation of accessories: Makita UK has launched a new and improved collection of belts and pouches to its extensive and popular range of accessories.

The newly designed range makes it even easier for tradespeople to safely and easily store and transport their tools and accessories. The collection includes belts, braces, pouches, holders, bags, cases, gear and equipment, and offers users the durability and reliability needed for everyday use.

Makita's third generation of accessories

Makita’s third generation of accessories

It is important for tradespeople to have easy access to their tools wherever they are on site to ensure they are equipped for the job in hand. Makita’s new and improved range of belts, bags and pouches means users can safely and securely transport tools to and from the van and around the work area. Each product in the range has been designed for longevity and durability, as well as ease of use and comfort.

With over 40 products in the range, Makita has a solution to suit every task; the pouches and holsters are available in a range of designs, depending on the end use. Each has the benefit of Anti-Slip Technology, which is used on all friction points and pocket edges, to tightly grip tools, stopping them from sliding around and keeping them securely in place to help prevent accidental falls. This is also ideal for those working in awkward positions where they need both hands free. Due to its rigidity, Anti-Slip Technology also helps to extend the lifespan of the item by allowing it to retain its shape. All belts and pouches are inclusive of 3L Technology, a unique three layer combination of polyesters and foam, to provide additional cushioning and improve user comfort.

For ease of use, Makita’s innovative Strap Belt System allows users to effortlessly connect Makita belts or shoulder straps to pouches, holders, bags and cases for trouble free carrying. The belt loop holders (which are compatible with all Makita work belts) can also be used to hang anything with a carabiner – their light weight, flexibility and strength make them suitable for carrying a wide range of products.

In addition, a heavy load support system has been incorporated into products such as the Ultimate Padded Braces, which works by distributing the weight between the waist and shoulders to reduce hip and lower back pain – thereby reducing fatigue on these areas and allowing users to continue to work in comfort for longer.

To store tools easily, almost all of Makita’s bags, pouches and holders include elastic loops that can be used to organise tools and essential items, keeping them secure during transportation. In addition, the innovative Tool Loops System, which is available in the new tool cases, allows the user to store numerous tools without having to make any adjustments. The system can hold a wide variety of tools thanks to a combination of loop sizes, with a single or twin row formation to maximise capacity. Makita’s new tool cases also give users the flexibility to customise the internal compartments using the new Rail Guide System – the perfect combination of plastic side rails and light separating walls.

Lyndsey Bailey, Assistant Product Manager at Makita said: “To complete the range, Makita has also launched a range of handy additional accessories – including smartphone holders, flasks, a work vest with adjustable pockets, knee pads, a guide rail protective holder, lunch bags and a thermal mug. Makita has designed each product with its end use in mind and has introduced a number of new technologies and innovative features to guarantee suitability. These fantastic new products offer users increased comfort, ease of use, flexibility and reliability.”

To find out more about Makita and its products visit: www.makitauk.com

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