Here is a fun calculator to play with.
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Thank you
But the loads required to cut a 4” limb with a 45 degree sharpened blade are hard to measure.
I am now wishing I had used 2” pipe as I will need to reinforce to cut over 3” stuff
Finally it works!
Here is a video with some details
and Next will be cutting up to 3”
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It works great
Way faster than a bandsaw and hatchet
Shatters the chunks
Cut up 2 - 5 gallon buckets of chunks in about 5 min.
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Nice seems to be real smooth. A real time saver for sure
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Looks good! All these designs use light gage knifes, but curved, and the knives hold up. So I bet there is not a crazy amount of force needed. Looks like most of the force would be in tension anyhow.
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Very nice Mike! I didn’t see it flex at all. It’s nice to know 2hp is enough.
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It was getting about 1/2” flex when cutting 3” stuff
But I think I can add a couple of doubler pipes and try for 4”
The motor and flywheel did not seem to slow at all when cutting 3”
Actually at 3” is about as big as I have ever fed my gasifier.
I tried it out without the WK slot at the anvil backstop and it kicked and would not complete the cuts.
Thanks again Wayne.
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Very smooth operation, I like it and a lot less hp. to operate than other chunkers.
Bob
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Nice machine, if you bad a stop and a fairly vertical slide you could have it chunking one piece while you prepped others or worked close by in case of a jam etc.
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I love that shearing sound. I just had to watch the video several times. Worked so good I think you could go twice the size on the motor pulley.
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Hi, Michael!
7.1.2018
Congratulations! You have a fine cutting blade and balanced anvils.
2 more (suggestions). The anvil “ramp” needs two double triangular stiffners. From the
“A” legs it stands on, on each leg to the left and to the right ~45 degree long tubes, making 2 big triangles to the left and right of the “A” it stands on.
Both “A” legs get the double triangles. They make together longitudinal sturdiness in two planes for whole the “apparatus”.
Secondly, guessing that the electric motor needs urgently cleaning and greasing or new bearings.
The sound is talking!
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Thanks Max
I was studying on how to stiffen it up.
I thought the motor sound had more buzz. But the sound is the same wheather under load or not?
I haven’t checked the running volts and amps but will do that soon.
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Wowser!! That is a smooth running chunker. I don’t know what kind of wood you are using in the video, but the system handles it easily. Is this the type of wood you will be using most of the time? I like the way mine shatters the ends of the chunks when running oak-- the chunk stays together but the fractured ends allow for very fast drying. Your wood is fracturing the entire chunk so you end up with several smaller pieces from each chunk. I’m afraid that might cause constipation in the gasifier. If that is the wood you are going to use, I would suggest you put a bigger pulley on the motor and speed the blade up to give it a quicker Judo cut which probably would result in less fracturing. Another thing I would suggest is that you hold the “limb” on an angle to the blade. You are cutting straight across the grain. Someone on here mentioned that even with a axe/hatchet, you don’t cut straight across grain— you go at a angle to it.
I thought I had mine re-enforced a lot, but when the blade just cuts through the last bit of wood it makes a “whang!” as everything springs back into place. Yours doesn’t do anything like that – that is a good thing. TomC
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Here is the reinforced chunker cutting 3 1/4” chunks with estimated 1/16” flex
The wood is from a neighbors place, not sure of the species, defiantly not native to western Washington
Maybe birch?
I built it too tall to get a diagonal cut, but i like square cuts as they feed better.
My 460 CI engine burns more than 2 lbs/mile and i typically feed it 1 1/4’ by 2 1/2” long chunks and have never had a constipation issue.
The normal wood is Douglas fir so i need to find some limbs. I suspect they will cut a lot harder so maybe only 2”?
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Good evening Mike G thats working much better than mine with the way yours is set up with pipe cutting wheel and larger electric motor geared down a little for more power, I know how too improve my chunker now. Nice tool, i like the electric chunkers the best for quiter running too.Thanks for posting your finish chunker, hope it holds up good.
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Hi, Michael!
8.1.2018
Now something has gone wrong!
The “A” legs are freely “wobbling”! and can alone - give
NO STABILITY to the anvil end!
On the operator’s side, the triangle-bar to the far left is still
missing!
Triangles to the left AND right gives the longitudinal stability.
The same applies on the opposite side!
Triangles to the right AND left!
The triangle-bar from the “A” foot should go all the way to the anvil frame;
half way, in the middle of a horizontal pipe is not sturdy!
The (horizontal) anvil frame is helped with a ~45degree diagonal bar,
dividing the almost rectangular (swinging) frame into sturdy triangles too…
And the front rectangle, also…if done…stabilizes the upper and the lower frames.
Sorry, but half way measures only imply that the instructions are inadequate!
Thank you.
There are 2’ long braces on both sides, maybe camera angles did not show that clearly
The flex cutting 3 1/4” stuff dropped from a measured 1/4” to an estimated 1/16”
The addition of 2 more about 18” braces from the legs to the axel tube, away from the cutter would stiffen it more, but I think the minor flexing will not break welds so I am happy.
Thanks for the advice Max, you have an eye for details.
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Hi, Michael!
8.1.2018
Thanks, you are welcome!
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