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For processing tree branches, tops of garden crops and other green vegetation, they came up with an excellent mechanical assistant - a shredder. In a matter of minutes, a pile of waste will be used as raw material for compost or bedding for poultry for the winter. The factory-made unit is very expensive, so the craftsmen learned to assemble it on their own. For those who are interested, we suggest considering how to make a garden shredder with your own hands at minimal cost.
The main units of the shredder
The grass and branch shredder consists of three main units: a motor, a cutting mechanism - a chipper, and a loading hopper. All this is located on a steel frame and is closed for safety with a casing. Some prefabricated shredder models can be equipped with an additional hopper for collecting the shredded mass. During work with the grinder, additional devices are used: a pusher for organic matter and a sieve that helps to separate small fractions. Sifted large waste, if necessary, is loaded into a hopper for recycling.
Factory-made shredders are equipped with roll, milling, hammer and other chippers. Homemade garden shredders usually work with a cutting mechanism made from a set of knives or circular saws.
Shredder drive
Any shredder of grass and branches is driven. There are only two options here: an electric motor or a gasoline engine. Electric shredders are much weaker in power and are more designed for grinding fine organic matter. ICE-powered shredders are much more powerful. They are able to cope with branches up to 8 cm thick.
When making a garden shredder with your own hands, the electric motor can be removed from the used equipment. It is desirable that its power be at least 1.1 kW. Whoever has a walk-behind tractor, the shredder can be connected using a belt drive to the internal combustion engine. In the absence of any motor, your shredder will have to be completed with a unit purchased in a store.
Shredders of soft organics can, in general, be without a drive. A person brings them into action by the power of his hands. Options for such mechanisms are shown in the photo.
Drawings of different models of shredders
To make a grass chopper, you need to have accurate blueprints at hand. We propose to consider several options for shredder schemes.
The hammer chipper shredder is considered universal. The mechanism will cope with soft green mass, tree branches, thick tops of garden crops and even grain.
The easiest way to assemble the cutting device for branches and grass is from circular saws. Even blueprints are not needed for such a chipper. Circular saws in the amount of 15 to 30 pieces are pushed onto the shaft, tightened on both sides with nuts, stuffed with bearings, after which the entire structure is fixed on a steel frame.
The twin roll shredder is also easy to manufacture. This can be verified by the presented drawing. The chipper consists of two shafts on which steel knives are fixed from above. In home making, they are made from truck springs and put in 3-4 pieces.The shafts on the axle and bearings are fixed parallel to each other so that the knives do not cling to when rotating.
The video shows a homemade shredder with gears:
Assembly instructions for different models of shredders
They begin to assemble a homemade garden shredder after all the parts are prepared according to the drawing. Regardless of the design chosen, the work includes: making the frame, hopper, chipper and motor connection.
Circular saw construction
Such a garden shredder of branches consists of circular saws assembled into a single structure. You will have to buy them in the store. The number of saws is determined individually. Usually put from 15 to 30 pieces. It is important to take into account one nuance here. With more saws, the width of the chipper increases, which means that a more powerful drive is required.
Circular saws are mounted on the shaft, and an intermediate washer with a thickness of 10 mm is placed between each. You cannot reduce the gap, otherwise the work area will decrease. It is also not advisable to put washers thicker. Thin branches will get stuck in large gaps between the saws.
The shaft is turned on a lathe. It is necessary to provide threads for nuts for clamping the set of saws and the working pulley. Bearing seats are machined on both ends of the shaft.
It is better to use an electric motor for the drive. If a self-assembled garden electric shredder operates from a 220 volt network, then it will be able to grind only thin branches and green mass. For processing thick branches, a three-phase electric motor is required. As an option, the chopper can be adapted to be connected with a belt to the motor pulley of the walk-behind tractor.
The grinder frame is welded from a steel profile, channel or corner. First, make a rectangular base for the chipper. Here it is important to fix the bearing seats evenly so that there is no misalignment, and the axis of the electric motor and the shaft with circular saws must be in parallel planes. Support stands are welded to the finished base for the chipper, which will act as the legs of the grinder.
The shredder hopper is made of sheet steel with a thickness of at least 1 mm. Thin tin is not worth taking, as it will deform from the blows of flying chips. The height of the hopper is made larger than the length of the arms. This is for personal safety.
A shredder made from a set of saws will cope with any organic matter. However, the chipper will need to be cleaned frequently.
Assembling a chopper with a knife disc
This knife shredder is only capable of processing soft organics. It is more intended for the preparation of green feed for poultry and animals. The bunker is bent out of tin. You can adapt a galvanized bucket or case from old technology, such as a fan. The bunker will turn out to be flexible, but great strength is not needed here. After all, the grass chopper will not thresh the branches.
The chipper is made of 3–5 mm thick sheet steel. 4 slots are cut out on the disc with a grinder. Next, they take a piece of a car spring, sharpen it and drill 2 holes. There are also 4 such knives, after which they are inserted into the slots on the disc and bolted. A hole is drilled in the center of the disc. The threaded end of the shaft is inserted into it, after which it is firmly tightened with a nut. The shaft itself with bearings is attached to the frame, and a pulley is put on the other end.
To cut the grass, it is enough to connect the chopper with a 1 kW electric motor.
Assembling the Twin Roll Shredder
To collect a two-roll garden shredder begins with a frame. First, a rectangular structure is welded. Inside the frame, four shaft fasteners are welded to the side members. They are positioned so that the cutting drums are aligned.
Further, according to the presented scheme, 2 shafts with cutting drums are made. For three knives, you need to find a round blank. A steel square is used for 4 knives. In any case, the edges of the shafts are sharpened in a round shape for bearings.
Knives are made from an automobile spring. Two mounting holes for bolts are drilled on each element. Each knife is sharpened at an angle of 45about, is applied to the shaft and the attachment points are marked. Now it remains to drill holes according to the marks, cut the threads and bolt all the knives. The cutting drums are ready.
The next step is to assemble the chipper. For this, holes are drilled in the opposite walls of the steel box. Around them, nests are formed from a steel strip, into which the bearings are inserted together with the shafts. When rotating, the drums must not cling to each other with knives.
Gears are mounted on each shaft. They are needed to synchronize movement. The finished chipper is bolted to four internals welded to the frame. The hopper is welded from sheet steel with a thickness of 1–2 mm. Belt pulleys are put on the shafts of the cutting drum and the engine. You can use chain transmission. Then, instead of pulleys, they put asterisks.
The two-roll shredder can be powered by a three-phase electric motor or a walk-behind tractor motor. In this case, there is enough power to process branches up to 8 cm thick.
Conclusion
In the manufacture of homemade grinders, craftsmen use grinders, drills, vacuum cleaners and even washing machines. Of course, such shredders will turn out to be weak, but it will be possible to chop the grass for bird feed.
