referring now to the drawings , which are for purposes of illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention only , and not for purposes of limiting the invention , fig1 shows an exploded perspective view of a vertical drive shaft lawn edger 2 . the vertical drive shaft edger 2 has a frame 10 that accepts an engine 11 within a center hole 12 . the frame 10 supports the engine 11 and has downturned front and rear portions 14 , 16 . with reference to fig2 a rear axle 30 extends through the side portions 18 , 20 of the frame 10 . the rear axle 30 has first and second ends 32 , 34 . a set of rear wheels 40 , 41 are mounted to the axle 30 using a washer 42 and push cap 43 . a front wheel 44 is pivotally mounted to the frame 10 by a pivotal mounting bracket 46 . the front wheel 44 is displaced longitudinally and latitudinally with respect to a longitudinal line travelling through the midpoint of the rear axle 30 . the midpoint is located halfway between the first and second ends 32 , 34 . in the preferred embodiment , outer peripheries 38 , 39 of the rear wheels 40 , 41 are equal to the outer periphery 37 of the front wheel 44 . with reference to fig1 the engine 11 mounts to the frame 10 via engine mounts 22 and is secured by screws 23 . a vertical drive shaft 13 of the engine 11 extends vertically downward within the hole 12 of the frame 10 . a drive pulley 64 is mounted to the drive shaft 13 and includes a v - belt 66 to drive an edging means 50 . the drive shaft 13 drives the drive pulley 64 as well as the later - described flywheel 62 . the operator controls the movement of the lawn edger by a handle 26 . the frame 10 has handle rest portions 24 whereby arms 28 of the handle 26 are mounted . screws 29 along with saddle washers 27 secure the arms 28 to the frame 10 . the edging means 50 comprises a blade guard 52 , a blade guide 54 and blade 56 . the blade guide 54 is secured to the blade guard 52 by screws 51 . a spacer 53 , a screw 71 and nut 55 secure a belt edger guard 70 , the driven pulley 68 , the bearing housing 72 , the blade guard 52 and the blade guide 54 as a unit . the engine 11 has a vertical drive shaft 13 that extends into a center hole 61 of a combination flywheel / pulley 60 . the flywheel / pulley 60 is securely mounted to , and rotated by , the drive shaft 13 . the flywheel / pulley 60 comprises the flywheel 62 and the drive pulley 64 . in the preferred embodiment , the pulley 64 is located below the flywheel 62 . the pulley 64 is mounted to the bottom 67 of pulley 64 . also , in the preferred embodiment , the flywheel / pulley combination 60 is an integral piece . however , the flywheel 62 and pulley 64 can be individually mounted , as separate pieces , to the drive shaft 13 . the v - belt 66 extends around the drive pulley 64 and around a driven pulley 68 . the drive pulley 64 , through the use of the v - belt 66 , drives the driven pulley 58 . therefore , the power from the engine 11 is transmitted via the drive shaft 13 to the drive pulley 64 to the driven pulley 68 and thereafter to the edging means 50 . the edging means 50 contains a blade 56 which performs the cutting for the edger 2 . the blade 56 is contained within the edging means 50 . the driven pulley 68 and a portion of the belt 66 are contained within a belt edger guard 70 . the belt edger guard 70 protects the driven pulley 68 as well as a substantial portion of the belt 66 from flying debris and the like . a screw 71 secures the belt edger guard 70 to the driven pulley 68 . the edging means 50 is secured to a bearing housing 72 . a spacer 73 and bearings 74 are seated within the bearing housing 72 . the combination flywheel / pulley 60 is a separate item and is mounted on the drive shaft 13 . a screw 63 and washer 65 secure the flywheel / pulley 60 to the drive shaft 13 . the flywheel / pulley 60 is rigidly mounted to the drive shaft 13 . the flywheel / pulley 60 must be mounted to the drive shaft 13 so as to rotate with the drive shaft 13 and to drive the drive pulley 64 and thereafter , the edging means 50 . therefore , in addition to screws 63 and washers 65 , the flywheel / pulley 60 is mounted by methods known within the art , such as welding , etc . since the flywheel / pulley 60 is removable , it is also replaceable . unlike the prior art , the flywheel / pulley 60 is not attached to the drive shaft 13 by the engine manufacturers . rather , the flywheel / pulley 60 is mounted by the edger manufacturer . this leads to interchangeability of flywheels and / or pulleys whose selection may depend upon various factors , such as , the size or horsepower of the engine 11 . in addition , by not requiring the flywheel / pulley 60 to be permanently attached to the drive shaft 13 , the flywheel / pulley 60 can be replaced when worn or inoperative . in its preferred embodiment , the combination flywheel / pulley 60 , has the drive pulley 64 mounted to the bottom 67 of the flywheel 62 . however , where more distance is needed between the drive shaft 13 and the flywheel 62 , the drive pulley 64 can be mounted to the top side 69 of the flywheel 62 , as shown in fig3 . the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment . obviously , modifications and alterations will occur to others upon a reading and understanding of the specification . it is intended by applicant to include all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof .
a vertical drive shaft lawn edger is disclosed having a non - integral flywheel with the edger engine . this allows for the interchangeability of different flywheels for the same engine or different engines . the flywheel disclosed is preferably a combination flywheel / drive pulley . the flywheel / drive pulley is mounted directly to the drive shaft of the engine . the drive pulley is mounted to the top side or bottom side of the flywheel . preferably , the flywheel / drive pulley in an integral piece .