Cracked me nuts

[chillybilly]

Not strictly engine related ,move if required

A lull in production of the hasbrouck #10 "change is as good as a rest "

My Mum is a lover of nuts Cracking the shell in the regular screw or scissor action method is now no good as the rhumertoid arthritis in her hands makes it impossible .

At this festive time it was mentioned so i decided to engineer a solution so............

Went in the swag box and found 2 ends of a scrap valve ,faced those up and took away all the lugs etc that made up the valve ,trued up the bores .
Next turned up the brass bushings to fit into the end plated .

Made the stainless steel columns from old handrail with M10 studs (waste bits from work .) that connet the bottom threaded brass bush with the plain brass bush in the upper plate ,with nuts to tension it all up .


Ends were made for the columns ,brazed in then machined flat ,spun round and faced to length .Plug was made for upper plate shrunk fitted in and bored through 14mm ,lower plate had the anvil made at 30 deg inclussive with a 10mm hole in the bottom (hazlenuts).

Next the globe ,the internal contents of a scrap valve i cut up years ago its has been sat on my shelf for ages coz i thought it pretty

Dilled and tapped that M10 then got a length of 14mm silver steel threaded m10 both ends screwed one into the globe and one whizzed up a bit of stainless for a handle .Put it all together and it really works a treat .Quick coat of paint on the ferrous bits .
Does all the nuts i tried no worries and does not bust em to bits .

My mum is chuffed to bits and has certainly got the knack ,so i should be in for extra portions on the 25th :big:

 

[SignalFailure]

Nice one mate - this type of 'screw down' nutcracker has been around since the 17th C at least, they used to make them with a tap type handle or a head (like the heads you sometimes get on a walking stick).

 

[chillybilly]

It isnt screw down.

you just raise the weight and drop it ,Mum cant manage any other action really .

Different height for different nuts ,Hazlenut pops with 2" drop ,brazil nut and almonds need 6" ,there is 8" available !!!!!!!!! it is todate undefeated

 

[mklotz]

How does it do with macadamias?

I had the good fortune to tour a macadamia farm in Hawaii. They have some *serious* machinery for extracting the nut from the shell.

 

[chillybilly]

Will "shell" out for some "maca thingies "and give em a rattle !!!!!!!!!If you dont hear anything you know it didnt go well .

They might not even do them any longer as aparently you should not sell Brazil nuts in their shells any more according to the Euromentalists ....... :

 

[zeeprogrammer]

Wow. That was news to me about not selling Brazil nuts in their shells.
But yeah...apparently it can lead to liver cancer.

 

[rake60]

Beautiful example of of home hobby engineering chillybilly.
The fact of it making something your Mum likes easier makes
it all the better!

Very well done! Thm:

Rick

 

[SignalFailure]

It isnt screw down.

*knuppel2* why didn't I read that, now I feel a plonker....a bit like your nut-cracker (it justs plonks down on the nuts) ;D

 

[Maryak]

Queenslander's Macadamia Nut Cracker.

 

[chillybilly]

Update "maca thingys " capitulated with out too much issue,so the contraption still remains undefeated ,its bread and butter work seems to be the walnuts though .

Giving mum this one has left me kinda in the Nut doldrums ,so i am dreaming up a quick one night manufacture of my own one using a length of scaffold pole....will let you know ..............

 

[mklotz]

Are you sure you didn't have shelled macadamias? What color was the exterior of the nut prior to cracking?

 

[rake60]

OK, Totally Off Topic here...

I was in a pet store and saw an Amazon Parrot with the price of $2700 USD.
I asked the girl who was handling him, 'What makes that bird worth that much money?'.
As she was explaining how long they live and what they can be taught to do, she gave him
an in the shell macadamia nut that he easily cracked open, dropped the shell and ate the nut.
Then she told me how affectionate they could be. She made a kissing sound and the parrot
gave her a kiss. Then she asked me if I'd like a kiss from that bird.
After seeing his easy effort on the macadamia, I declined that offer!

I'd trust chillybilly's design MUCH better for that application!

Rick

 

[New_Guy]

lol

it looks great cheers for showing :bow: the best things made are for mum ;D

 

[chillybilly]

Are you sure you didn't have shelled macadamias? What color was the exterior of the nut prior to cracking?

Why on earth would you try to crack a shelled nut ????? ???

They are a brown colour ,you need to appreciate the weight of the globe ,you seriously would not want your pinckys in the way !!!!!!!!!

This coupled with the angle of the anvil,reckon this thing would crack stones !!!!

 

[chillybilly]

Well xmas has been and gone ,many visitors have had a go using the full range of nuts available and it still remains undefeated ,one victim though ,my "knowall" mate who decided that holding a brazil nut was the way to go ,all was well until a rotten one cropped up and capitualted easily leaving his thumb and index finger to absorb the remaining energy ..............Ouch !!!!!!!!!!! He continued without involving digits and confessed it really works better without the aid of fingers ....Some people eh

 

[jack.39]

Say now, you have not ever contrived and built a guillotine, now, have you? Most interesting "drop and prove" device you have there!

jack