[Daox]

I agree with Clev. As long as you make it beefy enough it'll be fine (same goes for welding). I went with welding because thats what is quickest and easiest for me.

My motor is a bit undersized as you know if you read the whole thread. It is a 1.6hp motor that replaced a 8 hp motor. I think if I would have had a 2hp motor I'd be fine. Take that general ratio, 1/4 the power of your gas engine, and you'll be around what you'd need for your mower.

You can get by without a speed controller just as I have, but you'll have to get the correctly sized pulleys to get the speeds correct. Mine works fine even though its spinning faster than it should right now.

IMO its not worth having a fancy contactor setup to vary the speed of the motor. The mower is made to run at one speed, just use it like its intended.