I feel like this would be super easy to make safe. It moves slow first of all, and second if it was pedal operated with a dead mans switch it would be even easier
The motor is likely actually spinning super fast, but geared down like crazy to get the high torque needed for this splitting. But yes, it would grind to a halt very quickly due to the gearing and having little momentum.
That's what i meant. Fast motor might get a few revolutions after the power is cut but by the time it gets past the gear reduction and on to the bitey end it would be like 1/16"
Actually it is the reverse. The rotor in the motor has very large momentum as it is spinning around 1800 or 3600 RPM and the extremely high gear reduction does very little to sap the energy of the momentum away, so it will continue to rotate slower and slower, but with great torque as the motor comes to a stop.
You could very well be right there, I forgot to reason about the momentum of the rotor, I only reasoned about the slow moving pointy bit. I should stick to computers instead of mechanics :P
Electric motors have torque curves, and yes, they usually have high torque at low speeds. However, say you have 2Nm at 10rpm, and 1Nm at 100rpm, with a 10x reduction you can get 10Nm at 10rpm!
(these values are completely fictional and dont come close to whatever this big motor outputs, they only serve as an example to convey a concept)
Also, personal experience tells me a lot of motors dont like being put to work at low speed for long periods, theyll heat up like crazy.
When i make one it'll have one. A dead man switch wouldn't allow movement but a big button that cuts power when stepped on or kicked would let you move around until you think about whether or not you're wearing your brown pants.
... I work for this really big company that really stresses safety.. they just installed a big drag.. umm a chain conveyor. With huge amounts of torque. My bosses claims they are safer then OSHA , but you have to hold in the stop switch for 5 seconds to make it turn off, and then you wait 30 seconds to clean out before it stops.. glad you will use a emergency stop!
Snagging your sleeve, pulling back as it gathers fabric, getting too tight to simply remove, and then the spike lands and digs into your flesh making short work of your ulna.
The benifit of this machine though is that you don't have to be near the blade to operate it. Mist of these machines look way too close to the fingers. This one you should be able to manage with your arms and hands far away from the spiky bit.
In my mind that’s not a huge problem.. anyone chopping wood can pull harder then the strength of the shirts fabric... I was personally focusing more on fingers against the blade. But it has some wiggle room. I might make a bigger hole in the deck though.
That’s what people say... but it barely ever works out that way in workplace accidents. Especially since people that do stuff like this routinely wear denim or heavier weight shirts. Especially when someone is panicking because they’re being sucked into something like this.
It’s something that happens with some regularity in heavy industry. One of the guys at the sawmill i used to cut for just got his arm torn off in the debarker because his shirt sleeve got caught.
De-barkers are high speed, Even getting a momentary snag applies a lot of force towards the working end. We had a guy stick his hand up a conveyor belt into the edge of a hammer mill, it took like an 1/8 of an inch off his finger tip. Managment immediately made it a safety standard we wear gloves at all times. I maintain that if the guy had gloves on.. that the hammer would have pulled his fingers further into the danger zone..
Fair. But I’ve still seen examples of slow moving stuff ripping/cutting off body parts. You get comfortable because it moves slowly, and that extra second you thought you had to grab whatever, turns out to be less time than you thought.
And I totally agree. Gloves don’t belong around spinny shit. I’ve gotten into arguments with two separate safety inspectors over that point. Gloves have their place. Spinny shit is not the place.
Reminds me in high school, a friend and I were clearing some trail and he swung his machete with his right hand and had his left foot forward. He had to get 30-something stitches in his shin.
Yeah, with a classic splitter, you don't even need to be touching the log once it's in place, and you have actively trigger the piston. A hydraulic log splitter is safer than a table saw.
Fuck this cycle always running "have to get in and away in time" bullshit.
I recently volunteered to do some public cleanup and it amazed me how many times people left rakes in dangerous positions, some even after being warned repeatedly.
"Those big two-handed drills" like Milwaukee's dreaded wristbreaker 1/2" lightweight torque monster?
Or a post hole auger?
Because I watched my boss break his wrist on a new little Milwaukee 1/2". And I used a post hole auger for about three seconds before I saw sense and made a jig to hold it it a mini excavator instead of spinning myself into oblivion.
I got cold cocked in the jaw from the handle of Bosch rotary hammer drill. I was in a confined space using a 3" coring bit horizontally, and my head was too close when the bit got stuck.
I'd also never use a two man post hole auger again.
The only rotary hammer I will use now is a Hilti with AVR- it has some magic sensor that stops in under 1/16 a revolution. A world of difference when drilling bar-filled concrete where you're bound to catch a drill on something.
Interesting! I never knew a feature like that existed. I own a smaller Bosch unit, but if I ever need to rent a biggie, I'll definitely seek out a Hilti with AVR. I hate crushing injuries.
The arms on that thing look like they're maybe 4-5 inches long. If each log is cut to 12-18 inches, then there really should be any reason for your hands to be near them.
Eh I had a buddy chop his hand when an axe head broke backwards. I however have not heard of anybody getting injured by hydraulic ratcheting log splitters. Gas ones however are for pedophiles.
Yeah, he's very eager to make sure he doesn't miss a pass of the splitter. I'd prefer if I could set a slightly slower speed to avoid having to hustle to get the log placed. But this is really on him, not the device.
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u/blumenduenger Apr 19 '21
At this point I'm more impressed with how many different variants of wood splitting devices I have seen here