 Among the inventions for which he's given credit is the adjustable spanner. But his most influential patent was patent number 6081, granted August 31st, 1830, and described as, a new combination and application of machinery for the purpose of cropping and shearing the vegetable surface of lawns, grass plats, and pleasure grounds. Budding got his idea from a cross-cutting device used in textile making that uses a cutting cylinder to trim the uneven nap from woolen cloth and give it a smooth finish.