We had some old Briggs and Stratton motors when we were kids that used a
piece of roller chain to engage a small ratcheting sprocket on the
crankshaft's outer end. The kicker had a spring return, so the chain
was well out of the way when inactive. If there's any interest in such
an idea, I could go into more detail off list.
Some of the basic parts are on sale on ebay right now, see:
220191412007. It's not mine.

I googled "briggs and stratton kick start" and got about 5000 hits.

Go to this site to see the one I'm talking about and two or three other
designs, too:

http://www.asecc.com/data/briggs/engnotes.html

Pete Stanaitis

steamer wrote:

--Here's the thing: I've been thinking of getting one of those silly
gasoline powered blenders. Trouble is, they've all got one of those
pull-cords to start the little engine (the tend to be cantankerous too..).
Well, since trying to start a crummy genny a while back I'm now nursing a
torn rotator cuff so pull-starters are a no-no. Has anyone seen plans for a
kick-starter floating around? I'm guessing there's gearing inside to
accelerate a footpedal output to a rotation rate needed to start a small
engine; i.e. it's not a 1-to-1 gearing..