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Human powered chaff cutter from bike parts

 
gardener
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Lately I have been chopping up scrap bikes to make things that are not bikes.
Mostly carts, but my roving mind is returning to the idea of a human powered chaff cutter made from bike parts.
I happen to belong to a bike coop/community garden,so the idea of shedding soft foliage with human power is kinda irresistible a
My idea is basically a bicycle drive wheel with concrete cast in between the spokes, to make it into a fly wheel.

To that  I want to add blades, an anvil or edge for them to cut against , a feed shoot and a safety guard.
Seating for the operator should allow intermittent pedaling and feeding of "chaff" without having to get off the saddle.

I think the bike wheel/fly wheel idea is pretty sound, but the best way to turn that into something that shreds is still in question.

Right now I'm leaning towards a chute delivering plant matter to right to the flywheel,and  a vee shap blade mounted at the end of the chute   and sections  of angle iron  mounted perpendicularly on the rim of the fly wheel.
 
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Hey, William,

Did this idea ever go anywhere?

My sister had this picture in one of her albums. Not exactly what you're looking for, but I thought you'd appreciate it!

 
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I've seen a bike re-purposed as an exercise bike/spinning wheel.
As I remember the pedaling supplied the turning of the spinning head via a couple of pulleys - sorry the details escape me, but I can try to find the magazine if there is more interest.
A this stage I reckon I'd run out of puff before getting much yarn made
 
William Bronson
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Well, I did fill a drive wheel with concrete, and I still plan on using it.
The only other bike specific thing I still plan on using is the chain.
This is because I am ditching the pedaling action in favor of a treadle action.
Here's a thread that describes some of the evolution of my thinking :
https://permies.com/t/207150/permaculture-upcycling/Bicycles-angle-grinders-flexible-shafts#1729535


 
Jay Angler
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William Bronson wrote: This is because I am ditching the pedaling action in favor of a treadle action.


Depending on what you're trying to run, treadles have a lot of benefits.

When a person's pedaling, each of their hips is moving alternately, which shifts the position of the upper body.

When a person's using a treadle, one hip is anchored to the ground, so the affect on the upper body is quite different.
 
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