Glad to hear I’m not alone 
I know you’re a fan of lawnmowing. Wouldn’t a glowing bucket on that thing be useful?
No, the belt is still slipping even if it gets a much better grip with some tar on it. The belt is my safety pin. The old green 2hp motor stalled.
Haha, Walter already likes handeling chunks. However I haven’t been able to teach him to throw them in the right direction yet
The first thing I bought after the fire was a new lawn mower, at my wife’s insistence to keep the lawn mowed no matter the situation. It is a known fact that IT is my wife’s mower and I am allowed to keep the lawn mowed with it. It is also known the I do NO tinkering on it — just maintenance like cleaning under the deck. I may at a later date, have to buy my own lawn mower so I can convert it to that dark wood. TomC
Ha! Same thing here TomC.
HER riding lawn mower that I always seen to be the one directed to use.
No modifications “improving” allowed.
I discovered that I could mow much better up tight and close to trees and shrubs with the engine cover off. Much better past the front wheels visibility.
SHE objected strenuously to my T-bucket look, hot-rod modification of HER mower.
So back to slow and careful now with the factory engine hood on.
J.O. I’ve found that hand hatcheting and hand pruning saw work is the slow and careful way to do thinking thinnings too. That power equipment drives me to too many, Oopp’s. Can’t smell enough of the good harvest smells past the exhaust gasses stinks either.
tree-farmer Steve Unruh
Steve; Glad to know someone else can relate to my situation. Your remark about the T bucket brings to mind another subject. I have spent my entire life ( from 1948 when I bought my first Hot Rod magazine) until today, wanting a '23 T track roadster. Moved to Calif the week after graduating from college to be close to the action. Life got in the way, and other subject caught my interest ( temporarily) such as DOW. Maybe my chariot in the next life will be Rod. TomC
JO Sorry for stepping on your thread. To keep it honest, I will ask the question that came to mind while watching your chunker video. I had forgotten you had a single bladed shaft, in designing your rebak how did you get it to, or know if it would make those about perfect egg size chunks. Sorry for the intrusion
With 4" diameter gears the perimeter/4 = 3" chunks. With sturdy limbs the chunks get a little shorter.
Looks something like this.
Thank you for the answer and drawing. In the video, I thought it looked like you only had one cutting shaft, so I went back you you first posts in this thread, and low and behold, about the 7th posting I found I had asked and you had answered the same question. I apologize for the duplication. It is happening more often that I see pictures in a post and think, “Gee, I hadn’t seen this thread before” I go back to the beginning and read through the posting and come across some by a TomC. I think, “how did I make such a sensible statement?” TomC Sorry again for the duplication.
An amazing chunker JO. What is the red button you keep turning? Why does it need turning frequently?
When I moved into the woods, I vowed to never mow a lawn again. I gave my lawn mowers to my kids.
Tom, try look at it from the bright side. You always have something new and interesting to read while others have to wait for a new post to pop up
Bill, it’s the stop button. When a sturdy limb jams and the belt starts slipping I shut off and start over again.
I used a brake disk flywheel for a while. The belt didn’t slip as easily but when things did jam, starting over was hard.
I can live with the belt slipping now and then. It protects the rest of the equipment from breaking.
Hi jo good evening, i seen several of them type of chunkers, now i wounder how well they hold up and with what size and type of wood. Allo i wonder how can you adjust the length that the wood gets chunked.??. Thanks.
Hi Kevin,
Blades are the week spots. With dry and hard wood they get dull and damaged and you risk sausage strings holding chunks together. Especially with stringy wood. Sharp blades and tight tolerances are important.
Chunk lengths can’t be adjusted. The diameter of your gears (and number of blades) determine chunk length.
OK thanks jo , i thought gear timeing might have been the determaning factor for chunk length. and as you say how many blades.Thanks for the good reback chunker knollege. Did you think maybe the red dragon chunker is an extra large reback chunker.?
Kevin,
Somewhere around 5 inch diameter on the gears gives about the chunk length we like (2-2.5 inch) when chunking 2-2.5 inch thick material (if we put 4 blades on each square axle).
I looked the Red Dragon up on Youtube and it looks like it produces slightly longer chunks.
The modulus of elasticity doesn’t change with hardness so the same diameter rod will flex the same amount.
Ok Thanks jo, Those chunker seem like faster than the baler chunkers, maybe smaller branch size woods, though nice and fast at that size boards. might have too find a way too chunk smaller with the bigger log size reback.? Thanks again interesting chunkers too build. Sure makes good fast fuel out of branch wood.
Good evening Jo from sweedon, thanks for posting all the info on rebak chunker building details, On second thought that chunker size is actualy optimal, as any bigger branck’s and i would end up digging through the pile looking for all the chunks that need the hatchet too be correct size. i was woundering what diameter your square tube shafts are, too end up with those size chunks, And could you draw me a pic of the bearing too tube shaft design, i dident get that you said about pressed bearing on the square tube shafts? Thanks again Jo that chunker is a real time saver too get right size chunks.
Good morning Kevin!
Very true. I don’t think I would have been able to keep up with fuel for every day driving without the rebak. Also, it’s a lot of fun running it
About the bearings. The only reason I went with them inside the square tubing was my gears happened to come machined for bearings to fit inside them. That determined the size tubing I had to use. I think they are 60 mm (2 3/8 ?).
Good morning Jo Thanks for the bearing arangement that came with them gears, and the square tube size, sounds plenty strong enough, as the cutting plates add a lot of strength being secure too the tube. Do you think the cutting blade bolts need too be counter sunk in the cutting plates, or can they be bolted flat too the outer surface of the plates. ? did you weld the nuts on inside of square tube cutter shafts. ? Do you think an automobile cylinder head size bolt would be big enough bolt for the cutter plates. ? THANKS.
I thought about that but decided not to, since the cutting blades have slots to be adjustable.
I couldn’t reach into the tubes, but added a little weld to increase the depth of the threads.
I’m sure they would work just fine.
I used 10 mm dia bolts. Probably overkill.
Ok THANKYOU JO. that info answers enough questains too start building , soon as i get some bearing , gears, shafts , plates / plateing toogether.
Very interesting! Looks easy to build! Very nice, ideal to chop willows? Nice chunks, clean cut, low on energy use! This threat is giving me nice ideas. Thanks!
