Edwin got the idea of the lawnmower after seeing a machine in a local cloth mill which used a cutting cylinder mounted on a bench to trim cloth to make a smooth finish after weaving. Budding realized that a similar concept would enable the cutting of grass if the mechanism could be mounted in a wheeled frame to make the blades rotate close to the lawns surface. Edwin went into partnership with a local engineer, John Ferrabee, and together they made lawnmowers in a factory at Stroud. Examples of the early Budding type mowers can be seen in Stroud Museum, the London Science Museum and at Milton Keynes Museum