Tom's McLean Service

Tom's McLean Service
Trade Documents

Reel mower sharpening machine, or similar unit, that was in the old white house. This came from paperwork found with our machine.
Mr. Payne was still using this during the early 1980s, on an occasional basis for the few reel mowers that still came in.

Tom was a big fan of Clinton engines, once one of the "big 3" engine manufacturers. The company was enmeshed in a bitter legal battle with Briggs & Stratton in the mid-to-late 1950s. Clinton went bankrupt in 1966, but employees bought the rights to produce spare parts. Surprisingly, this venture lasted until 1999. I rarely ever saw any Clinton engines come in for repair during my time at Tom's.

Clinton carburetor theory of operation, 1959

Part of Tom's 1959 Clinton spring order from Auto Accessories of Alexandria, Virginia. Check out the address, 'Rt.123, McLean VA'.
Dolley Madison Blvd. (present-day Rt 123) didn't exist in 1959. Rt 123 ran through McLean along what is now called Old Chain Bridge Road. Tom's was still almost a quarter mile from Rt 123 on Elm Street, but the Post Office knew where everyone lived.

Tom earned this diploma after attending factory service school in 1957

Chain saw certification. This school was probably at Maquoketa, Iowa. Tom told me he had been there.

Mailer that contained the 1957 Diplomas. The address in 1957 was even shorter than in 1959!

Lawn-Boy 1962 service school notebook, 12 pages (PDF)
(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Nice poster from the '62 Lawn-Boy school, scanned in four sections and pasted together
(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

1970: Tom's made the 100 club for Lawn-Boy sales and service.

1976 Lawn-Boy school. This was probably held at Stull Power in Beltsville.

Tom was also certified on the Merc-o-Tronic ignition analyzer. This seems to have been held in Atlanta, eight days earlier

Lawn-Boy 1978; says clinic was "at McLean, Va.", but I never heard anyone talk of a service school held at the shop.
It was most likely at Stull Power in Beltsville.

Patches, 1960s and 1970s

National Capitol Toro service school, 1971

I still have almost every one of these tools from the 1972 Briggs & Stratton service school book, although most of them are obsolete now.

Part of Tom's 1959 Briggs & Stratton stock order, 4-digit Briggs part numbers were before my time.

RETURN TO THE TOM'S McLEAN SERVICE PAGE

7/18/2021 (revised 05/31/26)