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Huge Steel Wheel for Manual Shredder; Good Idea?
- This topic has 5 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 2 years ago by
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I found this on Craigslist (link below). The guy is selling two of these. They look really solid. I’ll be receiving an assembled shredder tomorrow and I’m thinking that if this is coupled to the shaft (and supported, of course, by a metal frame) then it might make a perfect wheel for turning the shredder by hand.
Any words of wisdom or advice is appreciated. I’m hoping to avoid a motor because kids will be shredding the plastic. It will have a vertical hopper with a wooden plunger. Safety is crucial for student fingers (and my continued employment, ha ha). That’s why I want it to turn manually.
It looks like the wheel will be easy to work with in terms of making a coupler, but unfortunately the guy wants $100 for one. I’m not sure if that’s a good deal, but the steel alone would probably cost that much or more without any of the welding.
Thanks again.
https://atlanta.craigslist.org/eat/for/d/large-steel-wheel/6741876176.html
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Thanks. Yeah, after I saw it listed I found one that was actually abandoned near a construction site by by neighborhood (quite a coincidence). When I got out of my car to look at it I realized it was huge. Way too big.
I like your thinking @mrfairbanks :).. If you haven’t yet seen this topic it might be of some use to you (http://onearmy.world/community/forums/topic/human-power-shredder-v2/). I think it could definitely do with some safety upgrades if you’re thinking of using it as an educational tool – Something simple yet immediate.. like a wooden dowel that can be forced into the flywheel perhaps.
Keen to see where you go with this
I built a hopper using plywood and our CNC machine. I also designed a plunger for the hopper that fits the hopper chamber but can’t reach the blades. Using the plunger will be mandatory for kids using the shredder. I haven’t build the ideal hand-powered wheel or crank yet, but I’m working on it.
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.. various options to consider…
How about……
…..old multi-gear bicycle and flywheel of some sort (old car or truck wheels are great flywheels!), ride like a bike or crank by hand – and a small generator/dynamo (yes, “dynamo”, for our readers under 50, you might need to look that up.. basically, magnets, wire, spin, shazzam!)
isolated village?? – multiple bikes ganged together on one big flywheel generator, pump, etc — multiple bikes means it can be kept going 24/7 if desired — there was a “Play Pump” some years back, last I heard it failed due to infantile politics, shipping logistics of spare parts, and technical knowledge-transfer issues, but the engineering concept is sound,,,,, buncha kids playing on a merry-go-round pump water and make electricity, pretty simple really
got a high skinny creek or waterfall etc? Water turbine, Pelton-wheel style (? the one with divided cup to maximize energy transfer per surface area = makes a tiny powerful turbine one person can easily carry) if possible but even an old bicycle wheel can be adapted easily enough for “some” lights (LED of course — got a low heavy water source ? then make an old-fashioned horizontal run-of-river water wheel
Does your effort need folks with training and low tolerance of general societal and bureacratic boondoggles? Hire a US Military Veteran — you can probably find few who’d help get started for no up-front charges, such as the free basic Engineering options I just mentioned here 🙂 Some may need housing and feeding for their work, and ongoing *worthy* work, which *should* not be a problem for anyone involved…
got waves or decent tides? Way too many options to mention here
more fun than a jigsaw puzzle 😉
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