Types of wood chippers
Shredders and crushers come in several types. Their classification is based on the type of material they can process and shred.
For example, they can work with:
- Stones;
- Plastic;
- Metals;
- Wood;
- Garbage.
They are also divided into large-sized (30 cm), medium (10 cm) and small crushing (2 cm).
Tips for use
It should be remembered that the grass cutter is equipped with blades, so you should be extremely careful when using it.
It is recommended to work with gloves and make sure not to touch the operating mechanisms. The blades of the thresher should be well sharpened and installed with the cutting side down , which will facilitate further operation. The blades will need to be cleaned of any stuck grass and broken branches.
A homemade grass and branch shredder is an excellent alternative to a purchased device, since the latter is too expensive. The main thing is to determine in advance what type of thresher you need to make, draw a drawing and pre-prepare all the details.
Operating principle of a wood chipper
Of course, I would like to know what the operating principle of a homemade device is, how it functions, what sets it in motion and causes it to crush its contents.
In fact, everything is much simpler than it might seem at first glance: the chopper works on the principle of a regular meat grinder.
After the material gets inside, it moves to the part of the device where the cutters and cutters are located. And already there it is crushed.
The power rating influences how much raw material a crusher can process in one go. The main thing is that this figure does not exceed 2600 W.
Subtleties when choosing an engine for a shredder
A certain engine power provides the required performance of the shredder. When choosing an engine, you should be guided by some important rules:
- For small branches, you should choose a motor with a power of at least 2 kW. The higher the power rating, the greater the productivity and technical capability of the shredder.
- To grind soft waste in the form of grass and leaves, a 1.5 kW motor will be sufficient.
- The power of a gasoline engine should not be less than 6 hp.
- Do not use overly powerful motors over 3.5 kW. They consume a lot of electricity, but the maximum performance of the unit is not achieved.
- The engine speed does not have a big impact on the performance of the chopper. What is important here is the rotation frequency of the knives, which is ensured by a V-belt drive.
- To reliably chop branches, the blade shaft should be set to a speed of no more than 1500 rpm. This occurs due to the correct selection of the diameters of the driving and driven pulleys.
When working with a shredder, you must wear personal protective equipment - goggles and gloves.
Helpful advice! It is better to make pulleys for belt drives with 3-4 grooves. This will allow you to change the speed on the shaft by moving the belt, which is necessary for different operating conditions of the chopper.
Accessories and materials for self-assembly
To assemble a wood chipper with your own hands, you will need the following:
- Metal profiles - the body will be formed from them;
- About 20 saws up to 10 cm thick. The more saws you use, the better the raw materials will be processed and crushed;
- Welding apparatus;
- Fixing pins;
- Galvanized casing;
- Washers and nuts;
- Motor. Experts advise using an electric motor. They justify their choice by the fact that it does not make unnecessary noise during operation. The electric motor is not that powerful, it cannot process many branches at a time, however, it does not emit harmful substances into the atmosphere, being a harmless and completely environmentally friendly device.
The device is suitable for indoor and outdoor use. A necessary condition is that the wire must reach the source of electricity.
Creating a shredder with a blade disc
You can create such a grass chopper with your own hands from scrap materials. Since it is designed for crushing soft debris, its design will be very simple, however, it will not have a high strength rating. You can weld a bunker from sheet metal, or you can take an ordinary metal bucket. A housing from an old fan will also work.
Assembly drawing of a shredder with a knife disk: 1 - 4 knives, 2 - disk cutter, 3 - bearings No. 307
To create a cutting system on a metal disk, knives are inserted into special slots, which can be pre-made from a spring sheet from a car. The disk is installed on the shaft. Next is the receiving box. A low-power 1 kW motor is suitable for such a shredder. All the details of creating a garden electric herb shredder with your own hands can be seen in the videos offered on the Internet.
Cutting attachments
For homemade devices, various attachments with a cutting function are used. Which cutting tool to choose is influenced by both the power of the crusher itself and the design features.
Among the most commonly used removable cutting parts are:
- Mills;
- Discs;
- Milling cutters with turbines.
The simplest crushing devices are equipped with disk attachments with numerous flat blades. When they move and begin to rotate, all the debris that gets inside turns into small chips. Moreover, they can even handle leaves and grass.
Milling attachments resemble gear-shaped knives. They are equipped with circular saws that easily process even grass. The only condition is that you must monitor the humidity level.
You only need to load dried branches and grass into the bowl, otherwise there is a high probability of clogging the cutters. This will entail the need to hide the body and clean the blades.
The last type of attachment can be called universal. They are great for both large and small items. The only negative is that it is hardly possible to build such attachments yourself.
The nuances of operating homemade equipment
A self-made shredder is essentially three in one: a chopper for branches, a straw cutter, and a mechanism for cutting grass. It helps to significantly facilitate household work associated with the disposal of plant waste, as well as feeding poultry and livestock.
If you have to process grass in small quantities, for example, for chickens, geese, ducks, then very simple devices that operate on human muscle power, for example, a hand pruner, are sufficient.
For homemade electrical equipment, it is recommended to install a separate differential circuit breaker to provide reliable protection against electric shock in case of unforeseen circumstances. In any case, when making a garden shredder yourself, you must follow safety regulations. It is also worth adhering to them during operation of the mechanism. Before working with equipment, it is recommended to wear goggles, suitable protective clothing and check that the structural elements are securely fastened. When creating a home-made unit, you should take into account the upcoming amount of work, as well as the nature of the vegetation being processed, in order to select an engine of the required power and the desired design of knives. This will allow the completed device to cope with the assigned tasks without any problems.
Chopper made from improvised means
It will be very convenient to take ready-made devices as a basis for the future crusher, which will only need to be slightly supplemented with the necessary parts. The engines can be replaced with a grinder or drill.
You can use the following available tools:
- Washing machine: why not use a washing machine as the basis for a future device. You will have to get rid of the activator, and also build a knife into it, the size of which will be smaller than the diameter of the tank itself. The knife here will work like the blade in a coffee grinder. The bottom of the tank should have an opening with an outlet casing attached to it. It is through this that the chips will pass. This type of design is one of the simplest, but no less reliable. Time-tested quality. The engine power is small and does not allow processing branches;
- Grinder: for such a shredder, take a metal vessel and place a knife in the center on the axis of the grinder. The tool must be fixed motionless so that the knife does not touch the walls. The tool rotates at high speed, which is why it needs to be set at minimum speed. Otherwise, you risk getting not chips, but dust. The power of the grinder should be more than 3000 W;
- Drill: To use this tool to create a new one, you will need to make a special stand. Often, a simple wooden chair will be enough for this. A hole with a diameter of 12 mm should be made in the central part of the seat. A bucket with exactly the same hole in the bottom is attached to the chair using self-tapping screws. The diameter of the attached knife should be smaller than the diameter of the bucket itself. The blade must be attached to an axle, which, in turn, is inserted into a special bushing on a bearing. Such a device is unable to process large volumes of raw materials at a time.
A wood chipper can streamline the process of shredding material before it can be put into a compost bin or simply used in place of firewood to heat the stove.
Creating such a shredder is much cheaper than buying a ready-made shredder. Moreover, thanks to the ability to independently choose the design for the device, you can always create the most suitable option for you.
Design Features
A grass cutter is a special device for chopping grass, which is indispensable in a farmstead.
Once grass clippings are processed, they can be used as soil fertilizer, insulation material in winter, or pet food.
This tool can finely chop a large volume of weeds or grass clippings in just a few seconds. This is a significant saving of time and effort for the owner of a personal plot.
The design of a standard manual grass cutter includes the following parts:
- steel frame;
- electric motor;
- cutting knives;
- working shaft;
- pulley;
- belt;
- container for receiving grass;
- protective casing;
- cable.
Homemade garden grass cutters are compact in size and light in weight, which makes them much easier to use.
At the same time, they have good performance. The unit can be equipped with both a gasoline and an electric motor:
- A gasoline engine is a more powerful device that allows you to chop branches of bushes. Its main advantage is the ability to operate even in areas where there is no electricity. Disadvantages: heavy weight, noisy operation.
- The electric motor is not as powerful as a gasoline engine, but is lighter and more convenient to use. This device is started with one turn of the toggle switch. Its main disadvantages are its dependence on the power grid and the limitation on the thickness of the stems of the processed vegetation.
Grass cutter with electric motor
A DIY electric grass cutter is a useful tool for your own garden plot.
With its help, it is convenient to prepare animal feed from grass and small twigs, especially from nettle, which is considered very useful for livestock.
Photo of a wood chipper
Grain crusher, feed cutter and grass cutter in one device
A grain crusher, feed cutter and grass cutter in one device is a fairly multifunctional device that allows you to process a wide variety of raw materials. The design of such a device allows you to grind grain, corn, barley, as well as chop grass, root crops and vegetables.
Depending on what kind of raw material is crushed, the performance indicator will be different. As a rule, chopping the grass takes longer, so the productivity will be slightly lower.
It has been scientifically proven that crushed feed is better absorbed in the body of animals, significantly increasing their productivity.
