J&C Mower Service

2016-06 - 2021-08 - J&C Mower Service (lawn mowers, snow blowers, string trimmers, etc.); Jason Buck

2016-06-16 JC's Mower Service fires up in Cheney

2016-06-16

Paul Delaney

Jason Buck, along with daughter Alyssa, shows off the range of items he works on at the new JC's Mower Service in Cheney.

Jason Buck is taking what he learned in a 21-year career in the U.S. Air Force working on, among other things, high-powered jet engines, and translating that knowledge to lawnmowers.

It has been a long-time goal for the owner of JC’s Mower Service in Cheney, 16 W. First St. to own a business. Coupling his years of knowledge in all-things mechanical, plus simple market research, he thinks it can succeed.

The J is for Buck’s first name, the C, that’s for wife, Cassie, who works for Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane.

After doing a Google search and seeing what competition was around — there’s lot in Spokane, but nothing here — Buck decided Cheney was an ideal spot. He plans to serve both the immediate area, as well as outlying communities.

Born in Oregon and raised in Alaska, Buck grew up working on engines.

“My dad trained me when I was young,” Buck said. “My first delve into small engine repair, my parents’ best friend’s mower was left at our house and I just kinda’ took it apart. I never got it back together; I was 11-years-old.”

A natural mechanical aptitude led him to the service, the last 11 years specializing in jet engines, more specifically the C-17 cargo jets at McCord Field near Tacoma. He retired from the service in February 2015.

“I kind of bummed around in Alaska for six months and decided to move down here,” Buck said. He later worked for the Acher Daniels Midland mill in Cheney. “I liked what I did,” Buck said of the job that revolved around keeping things working at the elevator.

With the first challenge of finding the right space for the business behind him, his second is outfitting the shop with a service desk. “Impossible,” Buck said. “People want $2,500 for them,” so for now a simple table will have to do.

Eventually Buck would like to offer sales of spare motors, among other things. “Maybe get a program going with Briggs and Stratton,” he said, referring to a well-known small engine manufacturer.

Buck has been open two-and-a-half weeks. “Technically it was the first of June,” he said. His first customer brought in an older riding lawnmower. “I’m still waiting on parts for that,” Buck said. Most of the parts are a two-day wait and the repairs are done quickly.

Buck has some machines in the shop where finding parts can be a serious challenge, including an old Scotts’ brand mower. “That machine probably 12 years old,” he said. “I don’t know if they got bought out by Murray, or visa-versa.”

Buck dabbled in the business part-time while in the service but gave it up for a while when he moved to Alaska.

“When I got out of the game a few things had changed,” Buck said. “Tecumseh doesn’t make engines anymore, they’re out of business. Briggs and Stratton, Kawasaki, Honda and a few others are the main suppliers of engines.

“Honda’s good, they resell a lot,” Buck added.

And there are what Buck called “Honda clones,” sold at discount stores. “There’s a reason they cost what they cost,” he said.

“I understand we live in a disposable society,” Buck said. “You can buy a $150 pressure washer but next year you’re probably going to buy another one.” By buying a machine that costs $350 and service it once a year for $45 or $50, it’s a lot better than spending $150.

He hopes to make that the rule by which people in the area live when it comes to their mowers, chainsaws and other similar pieces of motorized equipment.

Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.

Clipped from: http://www.cheneyfreepress.com/story/2016/06/23/news/jcs-mower-service-fires-up-in-cheney/18567.html