Pull start kick start?

I picked up an old Craftsman edger with a 3 hp engine at a pawn shop for $10 thanks to this thread

I think I'm going to put it on an old 50 something Sears bike my stepfather found in the dump about 15 years ago
 
Thats just what I was talking about only the older Briggs had them on the other side

That was awesome Curt. Thank you. Really got the wheels turning. I had been wondering for months if it could be done that simply. Great thread. One of the coolest parts of this is the collaboration thing. Just adds to the fun

I picked up an old Craftsman edger with a 3 hp engine at a pawn shop for $10 thanks to this thread

I think I'm going to put it on an old 50 something Sears bike my stepfather found in the dump about 15 years ago

Cool! Looking forward to pics.

.flg.
 
Just a thought...

I have repaired many of the antique B&S and Wisconsin's that had kick starts as well as lever starts on them. Most of them were very simple spring bendix systems or had ratchet pawls. Google has some of the original patent drawings for the starters if you can find the proper part numbers for the assemblies as a whole.

You all might want to look through some of these classic engine images for brain food:

Antique Small Engine Collectors Club

I think I have a Model Y (bottom of the page about 1 or 2 up) somewhere in a shed with the lever start still on it.
 
Take a look an an old Cushman type of kick starter arm. The quadrant gear is just a segment that moves out of the way when you lift the kicker back up after it doesn't start. They can be had cheap on e-bay quite often or check with Dennis Carpenter Industries, they sell new ones.
 
I have never seen a pull start so I have no idea if this would work but if you added a retractable starter, like add a foot petal to the rope could it work in theory?

I have built a pullstart/kick start setup. Due to the cold weather, I haven't actually tried starting the engine. It does at least crank, but only about one revolution per kick. I was supprised how much foot force it required. Perhaps a longer lever would help but don't want to do that unless I have too.

Oh yes before even starting this project I had to do some upgrading on the weak basic pull starter offered for these HT engines.
1. Replaced plastic pawl with a steel pawl
2. Replaced the pull start post with a steel post and steel backer plate.
 
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I have built a pullstart/kick start setup. Due to the cold weather, I haven't actually tried starting the engine. It does at least crank, but only about one revolution per kick. I was supprised how much foot force it required. Perhaps a longer lever would help but don't want to do that unless I have too.

Oh yes before even starting this project I had to do some upgrading on the weak basic pull starter offered for these HT engines.
1. Replaced plastic pawl with a steel pawl
2. Replaced the pull start post with a steel post and steel backer plate.

Here are some pictures of the starter.
 

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Great thread! It got me to thinking and then it hit me how to make a starter for my weedeater motor. A hand starter that slips over the end of the crankshaft, two pawl teeth on the END of the crankshft and on the inside of the hand crank. I think this is how some of the old timey engines were done. The motor cranks and the the teeth push the handle away.

I love bulletproof solutions even if they are bit primitive.
 
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