On Mon, 12 Jul 2010 17:51:18 -0700, "James H."
wrote:

On Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:27:15 -0700, Oren wrote:

No one suggested he bang the flywheel
Like I said before, it's tradition to bang on the crank.

Mea culpa on the banging of the flywheel. I meant on the crank.

So far, this "tradition", passed down by generators, has the following
logic:

1. One said the vibrations lessen the friction slightly ...

2. Another said it moves the crankshaft DOWN 1/8 of an inch ...

I wonder if you actually do move the crankshaft down by 1/8 of an inch,
where does it go? At one end is the flywheel; in the middle is the piston;
and the other end has a blade attached.

If it moves down 1/8th of an inch, where does all that go? Do you move it
back UP 1/8th of an inch when you put the new flywheel back on?

When you hit the crank -- do it with the mower on the lawn turf. That
is what takes up the shock, No the crank will _not_ move 1/8" --
forget that!

Soil will cushion the blows better than a driveway.

Logic can be from tradition.