It is good to stroll through your own garden, along its beautiful paths, admire well-groomed beds and flower beds, and then eat a rosy apple right from the branch. But in order for all this splendor to be, there is a lot of work to be done. In order for the soil to be fertile, a lot of organic matter must be added. Grass mulching is a great way to keep the soil in good condition. It can be laid out on the beds immediately after mowing or pre-stamped. To thick stems of greens decompose more actively, they are recommended to be chopped beforehand. You can make a grass chopper with your own hands or just buy it.
The choice of finished equipment largely depends on how much raw material to grind. After all, ground grass is needed not only for fertilizing the soil. It will also be useful to those who have a subsidiary farm: chopped greens are added to the feed of livestock and poultry. With a small amount of work, you can easily cope with a conventional cut. So called a triangular plate, equipped with a strong and sharpened sharpened bottom edge.
Chopping is an elementary tool for chopping grass. If the amount of work is small, then gasoline or electric grass cutting can not be bought or built. Put the cut on the stalk and get to work
To work, a section is planted on a long stalk. It allows you not to bend while doing work. The raw material to be chopped must be decomposed on the ground with a layer of 10-15 cm. The surface should not be solid, and the grass layer should not be too large. Then the cut will not become dull and will not spring. When hitting the cutting from top to bottom, the grass is cut into small pieces.
If the volume of processed greens is large enough, you need a solid unit, which video will help you choose.
Methods for self-assembly of the unit
The main purpose of this article is to find ways to independently manufacture the equipment that is needed on the farm. If you have the desire, patience and minimal skills, you can make a homemade grass shredder that will work just as well, and perhaps even better than the purchased one. Better, because only you yourself know the needs of your household and can ideally adapt the device to your own needs. It will be exactly the way you need it!
Option # 1 - a drill to help you!
An excellent grass cutter can very easily be built from a conventional drill. The way this simple device works can be seen in the video below.
So, the grinding process resembles the work of a food processor: in a cylindrical case, the role of which is played by a simple bucket, there is a sharpened knife. When it rotates in a circle at high speed, grass is cut. To produce this grass cutter, a Temp dual-mode drill with a power of 850 watts is used. The knife is made of hacksaw blade. The whole secret is hidden in the knife sharpener. If done correctly, grass will not wrap around the blade. The knife should remain clean and free from greens.
Sharpen the knife with one-sided sharpening. It should be oriented with the ground plane down. If you have to chop fresh grass, the best shape of the knife will be a narrow rhombus so that the cutting edge comes to naught at an angle to the edges. In extreme cases, you can round the blade to the tip. Then the grass, which is affected by centrifugal force, slides along the cutting edge of the knife directly to the edges. It is cut easily and is never wound on a knife.
Option # 2 - for owners of the Typhoon vacuum cleaner
The working principle of this device is no different from the previous one. It just looks more civilized and its performance is higher. If in the previous case the grass was already in the container where the cutting tool was placed, now the raw material is fed through the upper hole, and the finished substrate leaves through the lower one located on the side of the machine. So that the finished silo is not scattered during the rash, you need to use a protective cover for the outlet.
Perhaps such a grass cutter does not look as presentable as a purchased one, but it is functional and almost free. Decide what is more important to you.
The crushed grass is collected in a bucket, which must be prudently substituted under the outlet. It is clear that choosing the height of the racks for the unit, it should be borne in mind that the bucket of normal parameters should pass unhindered to place it in the right place. So where does the Typhoon come from? The case from the old Soviet vacuum cleaner "Typhoon" is ideal for an elementary garden grass shredder: it has an upper hole of the most suitable size. I repeat once again: this is an ideal option. But not the only one!
Any cylindrical container, whether it’s an old pan, bucket or pipe section, is also suitable. A 180-watt motor can be borrowed from an old washing machine. An old hacksaw blade will go to the knives, and a rectangular profile of 15x15 mm is recommended as racks. Here is a sleeve with a height of 40 mm, on which the knives will be mounted, will have to be machined on a lathe.
The process of making a grass grinder is not as complicated as it seems. In the photo: No. 1 - the case, very convenient, because you can load grass from above on it, No. 2 - the engine from the washing machine, No. 3 - the location and appearance of the knives
The engine with the pulley removed is mounted on studs from below to the container. To clamp the knives, water nuts 32 mm in diameter are useful. When making bushings, prudently cut the threads under these nuts. Do not forget about the hole for the motor shaft. For reliable fixing on the shaft, two holes of 7 mm in diameter are made in the sleeve with an M8 thread cut into them for the locking bolts. On the motor shaft, from the reverse side, pads are machined to increase the reliability of fixing the sleeve with locking bolts.
At a height of 15 mm, the edges are removed from the grinder in the upper part of the cylinder so that a square with a side of 25 mm is formed. Knives will be put on him. To make knives, you need to cut 4 pieces of grinder from a hacksaw blade. A square hole with a side of 26 mm is cut in the center of each blank. The width of each part depends on the degree of rigidity of the source metal. It is clear that the knives should be placed closer to the bottom. Their cutting edges are sharpened using a sharpener. The bolts holding the sleeve are placed above the knives.
In the photo: No. 4 - a sleeve for securing knives and connecting the engine to the body, No. 5 - the square on which the knives will subsequently be fixed, No. 6 - the chopper platform, which is made in the form of a truncated pyramid
If it is not possible to make an outlet for the silo directly under the knives, then it will be equipped on the side. To do this, you can make a grinder a 7x7 circle. Tin is used to form the guide body. The housing is attached to the chopper with M3 bolts. The unit platform must be as stable as possible. To do this, its base is done more than the upper part. Make it to be as functional and convenient as possible.
The purpose of the platform is not only to hold the chopper, but also to protect the engine. It is fixed to the container with 3 M 6x45 bolts. The lateral sides of the platform should be closed with sheets of tin. In the racks, a thread is cut under the M3 bolts, with which the sheets are fixed on the platform.
Option # 3 - grass cutting from what was at hand
Armed with the acquired knowledge when reading the description of the manufacturing process of the previous unit, you without any difficulty and effort will build yourself something as simple and useful.
This grass cutter is made literally from what was found in the barn. All things have long served their purpose, but in such a design they will surely be able to be useful to their owner for a long time
For elementary grass cutting you will need:
- pump "Agidel" or any similar electric motor capable of doing 3000 rpm and powered by a network with a voltage of 220V;
- old aluminum pan;
- old hacksaw on wood, from which you can make wonderful knives;
- To start the engine, you need a button, the role of which will be perfectly played by the NVD from the washing machine;
- plug and power cord.
We suggest that you carefully consider the photos, because they do not need special comments. Everything is very clear. Start creating a grass grinder and you will succeed.
Pay attention to how the knives are placed in this grass grinder. It’s possible that you will choose this particular model
The engine is installed under the pan, and the start button is located at the rear of the platform, so that you can reach it more conveniently
Such grass, chopped with a grass cutter, is perfect for feed cattle and poultry, as well as for mulching
Option # 4 - Homemade Straw Cutter
Three previous units successfully turned grass into silo. But if we need a chopper not only grass but also hay, it is worth taking a closer look at another invention, which is presented in great detail in the video below.
Some safety warnings
Any device, the creation of which is described above, is equipped with sharp cutting parts. So that he serves you for a long time, brings relief in work, and does not cause injuries, observe basic safety precautions when performing work.
If the operation of the unit is connected with electricity, be doubly careful and take the necessary measures. Be especially careful that children do not try to turn on the grass cutter. It’s better to overdo it than oversight!
