Finally finished one of my long term projects (7+ years taken apart in the shop): my 1950's Jari Jr. walk-behind sickle mower. Actually, I rebuilt the engine as a high school shop class project, so I've been working on it for closer to 13 years now. My uncle bought this machine in the 70's, then I inherited it (along with my '47 Farmall Cub) from my grandparents. I also have an interchangeable tiller attachment that can be used in place of the sickle. I've seen snowblowers, sprayers, and reel mower attachments for these as well. I can tell that the sickle bar and engine were replaced sometime in the 80's, but otherwise it appears to be all original. I repainted the frame and sickle bar but left the tiller and hood alone, as they were still in decent shape. The closest color I could match was PPG Omni "Mineral", but even that is a little more grey than the original blue. Oh well, still looks nice and shiny.
Does anybody else have one of these things? If so, I would love to see them! I've been trying to cross reference a list of serial numbers & models to years produced using engine data, so if you have these numbers, feel free to send them my way as well.
Here is the tiller:
Original decal left intact:
A little more history: Jari mowers were manufactured in Minneapolis beginning in the 1940's. I have acquired three of these 1940's models with non-running Lauson engines, which look pretty neat. Over the years, other models were added, with the Monarch and Chief being the most popular and longest lasting models. At some point, the Jari brand was made by Year-A-Round Cab Company in Mankato, MN, then was spun off as an independent company for a while, before finally closing down just a couple of years ago! It appears that the brand has been bought by a company from California, so it may be resurrected again in the future.
Jari Mowers
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- Posts: 6
- Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2020 10:55 am
- First and Last Name: Ben Carlson
- Location: St. Joseph, MN
Jari Mowers
1450, 149 (for parts)
44" deck, snowthrower, rear blade, #2 trailer, Cyclone spreader
Also 1947 & 1948 Farmall Cubs w/ sickle, cultivator, 2 plows & several larger Farmalls
44" deck, snowthrower, rear blade, #2 trailer, Cyclone spreader
Also 1947 & 1948 Farmall Cubs w/ sickle, cultivator, 2 plows & several larger Farmalls
- Tom Scott
- Chief Moderator
- Posts: 1776
- Joined: Mon Sep 06, 2010 9:11 pm
- First and Last Name: Tom Scott
- Location: Bentley Springs, Maryland
Re: Jari Mowers
Ben - Very cool, thanks for sharing! The hood is reminiscent of an orchard tractor, to deflect the branches, gives it a very unique look.
1872, 46", 50C decks, Haban dozer blade, 450 snow blower
2182-1, Kwik-Way Loader, 3-pt & rear pto, 442 tiller
2182-2, 54" deck, 551 snow blower
Past tractors: 1541, 2135
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2182-1, Kwik-Way Loader, 3-pt & rear pto, 442 tiller
2182-2, 54" deck, 551 snow blower
Past tractors: 1541, 2135
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- dag1450
- Posts: 2375
- Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 3:16 pm
- First and Last Name: Dave Gibson
- Location: Chalfont, Pa
Re: Jari Mowers
Great job Ben! Definitely a unique looking machine. Dont feel bad...i think alot of us have some long term projects
127, 1650, 1572, 1872, 2072 . A mower, blower and blade for each.