On Sat, 26 Dec 2020 20:00:14 +0000, Martin Brown
wrote:

On 25/12/2020 13:43, T i m wrote:
No, not the trolls, nut crackers of some sort that can actually crack
say an almond shell without risk of:

You breaking the crackers (done that twice now so it's not down to the
effort you can (or can't) apply).

Crushing the entire nut.

Firing the nut across the room.

Taking ages.

If you have the strength and muscle control then a simple lever based
one will do. Sometimes the shell will explode though.

Or, as has happened to me twice (so far), the crackers handle snaps in
half across the weakest part of the section. [1]

So, whilst it's a bit late for today, can anyone recommend some nut
-crackers that will do all nuts nicely please?

Otherwise ratchet mechanism ones are expensive but hard to beat.

Assuming they last, I don't mind spending the money on something that
actually does what it says on the tin.

Ours
was an Xmas present to my father from Langley Alloys many decades ago.

Nice gift (one that is useful and lasts).

It was massively over engineered.

So probably why they don't make them any more? ;-(

It and they are still going.

https://www.langleyalloys.com/en/

Good to hear (to both). ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[1] After a time 'doing' engineering you (hopefully) get a feel when
you might be pushing things beyond a safe limit. An example of that
happened when I was quite young (maybe 15) when we were towing the
dinghy down to Cornwall for our family holiday. We got a puncture in
the trailer tyre and I got the scissor jack under the axle and started
winding. The tension built up to a point where I knew something was
wrong so stopped and told Dad. He thought I was just being weedy, over
cautious and so took over and after a couple more turns I heard a
'bang' and the welds all failed on the jack.

If I applied any more of my not inconsiderable grip strength to either
pairs of the conventional crackers I have here trying to beak the
remaining almonds I am fairly sure they would go the same way.

The point is, if I can break some steel nutcrackers trying to use them
to crack a perfectly 'typical' nut, I question their suitability for
the job in the first place. Given the fact that they would probably
break before the nut does, any 'proper' solution would need to be a
fair bit better re mechanical advantage / 'cracking design' and
control.

On Sat, 26 Dec 2020 15:28:47 +0000, newshound
wrote:
snip

So, whilst it's a bit late for today, can anyone recommend some nut
-crackers that will do all nuts nicely please?

snip

Surprised no-one has mentioned water pump pliers, the long handles and
simpler mechanism than a mole makes them suitable for the less
engineering minded (as long as they understand how to adjust the jaw gap).

Yeah, they might be worth a go.

Otherwise a selection of Moles.

And them, on my remaining set of uncrackable almonds. ;-)

In the days when I went to that sort of
party

'That sort of party' ... ? ;-)

I used to take a Leatherman Crunch which would produce amusement
and appreciation in equal measure at the "nuts" stage.

;-)

I did like the nut-splitter idea, though!

Yeah, something like that but with a motor drive of some sort (as the
thread pitch is normally quite fine).

And they already do a thumbwheel / threaded style of nutcracker but
I'm aware how slow they can be.

Cheers, T i m

It does seem odd that the world has conquered space has made a vaccine in a
year etc, but cannot design a set of universal nut crackers.
Key elements then would be minimal effort needed, so some kind of powered
device, the ability to stop when the nut cracks, and of course a suitable
guard to retain the nut and its fragments while also allowing the nut not to
slip out so perhaps a kind of serrated jaw system and a semi flexible
washabbble retainer of some kind.

Brian

--

This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"T i m" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 26 Dec 2020 08:30:01 -0000, "Brian Gaff \(Sofa\)"
wrote:

Yes mole grips inside a plastic bag?

That would restrain the flying nuts Brian but I'm not sure Mole grips
(well standard ones anyway) would have enough cracking power if left
at an opening that would allow the insertion of all sizes of nut?

I have some round jawed Mole grips so can give them a try.

Cheers, T i m

Brian Gaff (Sofa) wrote

It does seem odd that the world has conquered space has made a vaccine in
a year etc, but cannot design a set of universal nut crackers.

Presumably because those that develop small appliances
don’t see that there is enough of a market for one.

Its clearly feasible.

Key elements then would be minimal effort needed, so some kind of powered
device, the ability to stop when the nut cracks, and of course a suitable
guard to retain the nut and its fragments while also allowing the nut not
to slip out so perhaps a kind of serrated jaw system and a semi flexible
washabbble retainer of some kind.

"T i m" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 26 Dec 2020 08:30:01 -0000, "Brian Gaff \(Sofa\)"
wrote:

Yes mole grips inside a plastic bag?

That would restrain the flying nuts Brian but I'm not sure Mole grips
(well standard ones anyway) would have enough cracking power if left
at an opening that would allow the insertion of all sizes of nut?

I have some round jawed Mole grips so can give them a try.

Cheers, T i m

On 27 Dec 2020 at 06:39:01 GMT, ""Brian Gaff \" Sofa\)"
wrote:

It does seem odd that the world has conquered space has made a vaccine in a
year etc, but cannot design a set of universal nut crackers.
Key elements then would be minimal effort needed, so some kind of powered
device, the ability to stop when the nut cracks, and of course a suitable
guard to retain the nut and its fragments while also allowing the nut not to
slip out so perhaps a kind of serrated jaw system and a semi flexible
washabbble retainer of some kind.

Brian

Perhaps our rather arbitrary and disparate set of favourite nuts aren't all
suitable for a single device to open them. I have always thought that almonds
present a different problem from the other common nuts and probably warrant a
separate opening instrument. It would be interesting to see the devices used
commercially.

--
Roger Hayter

On Sun, 27 Dec 2020 06:39:01 -0000, Brian Gaff \(Sofa\) wrote:

It does seem odd that the world has conquered space ...

Well opened the door a crack and peered out.

... has made a vaccine in a year etc, ...

When needs must and bottomless pit of money appears.

... but cannot design a set of universal nut crackers.

Or a toaster that can produce consistent toast slice after slice
without adjustment or needing a pre-heat.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Sun, 27 Dec 2020 10:07:42 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:

On Sun, 27 Dec 2020 06:39:01 -0000, Brian Gaff \(Sofa\) wrote:
snip
... but cannot design a set of universal nut crackers.

Or a toaster that can produce consistent toast slice after slice
without adjustment or needing a pre-heat.

Yeahbut I think dealing with all the different thickness and densities
and moisture content of bread you are trying to toast is actually way
more complicated than cracking a range of nuts (with the right
approach).

Eg, as long as you (can / do) apply enough force then every nut *will*
crack. So as long as you have more power than you would ever need then
that's that box ticked.

As long as there is the minimum of elasticity in the mechanics, it
should 'just' crack the nut and no go further, eg. damaging the nut
itself.

So, say you had a pistol grip like a battery drill with a square
hopper at the front providing the anvil and an electrically driven
'ram' that could be driven onto the nut via a drill like trigger ...
you drop the nut in (orientating it if you prefer), pull the trigger
and a clear / mesh guard 'flap' flips down that both stops any bits
flying out and acts as a safety interlock to stop you leaving your
finger(s) in there ... and then the ram is wound forward quickly till
it senses the increased load of the nut and then slower as it breaks
the nut.

It could either cut off after a further distance traveled (say 1mm) or
waits till you let go of the trigger (so you could crush the nut flat
if you chose to).

Let go the trigger and it (quickly) unwinds the ram and when you press
a second trigger (maybe like a drill Fwd / Rev button or a second /
integral trigger) the lower hopper flap(s?, like bomb doors) opens and
drops the nut / shell into your hand.

Or it could be designed for (/also) table-top use with a shallow tray
under the hopper an on top of the battery to catch the nut / shell
instead.

With PWM and micro controllers the speed / torque thing should be easy
and current sensing should be able to measure the increased load on
proper contact with the nut and then how long you would need to run
the motor at slow speed / high torque to get the nut to fully crack.

You could even have a selector knob for the nut type (as each might
need slightly different treatment) and maybe a user adjustable knob
for whatever turns out to be the most important function.

You could set the prototype up to be learning assisted like running a
PID Tuning on a 3D printer.

With a potential 'world wide' gadget obsessed market, it could be a
good seller. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

p.s. There are several 'bulk' nut crackers but they 1) take some of
the fun out of doing them one at a time and 2) need to be 'set' for a
specific size / type of nut each time / run.

https://youtu.be/hHlsL8pGk-g?t=459

This would be one for our Mr Rumm: ;-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhSzfre8Kn0

On 27/12/2020 08:41, Roger Hayter wrote:
On 27 Dec 2020 at 06:39:01 GMT, ""Brian Gaff \" Sofa\)"
wrote:

It does seem odd that the world has conquered space has made a vaccine in a
year etc, but cannot design a set of universal nut crackers.
Key elements then would be minimal effort needed, so some kind of powered
device, the ability to stop when the nut cracks, and of course a suitable
guard to retain the nut and its fragments while also allowing the nut not to
slip out so perhaps a kind of serrated jaw system and a semi flexible
washabbble retainer of some kind.

Brian

Perhaps our rather arbitrary and disparate set of favourite nuts aren't all
suitable for a single device to open them. I have always thought that almonds
present a different problem from the other common nuts and probably warrant a
separate opening instrument. It would be interesting to see the devices used
commercially.

It would be amusing to design one using a PIC or somesuch and a small
electric motor with a worm drive so that you minotred a 'delta peak' in
current drain and when he nut cracked and the current fell, it backed
out of it all.


--
€œThe ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to
fill the world with fools.€�

Herbert Spencer

On Sun, 27 Dec 2020 11:25:40 +0000, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:

snip

It would be amusing to design one using a PIC or somesuch and a small
electric motor with a worm drive so that you minotred a 'delta peak' in
current drain and when he nut cracked and the current fell, it backed
out of it all.

Yup, that was my 'Electric' design variant, along the lines of this
one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0bUvW0QcJ0

But in the form of a self contained 'battery hand drill'.

Or you could even have a strain gauge built under the anvil part,
giving you a more direct reading of the load (and so removing any
friction / aging issues in the drive).

Cheers, T i m

"T i m" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 27 Dec 2020 10:07:42 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:

On Sun, 27 Dec 2020 06:39:01 -0000, Brian Gaff \(Sofa\) wrote:
snip
... but cannot design a set of universal nut crackers.

Or a toaster that can produce consistent toast slice after slice
without adjustment or needing a pre-heat.

Yeahbut I think dealing with all the different thickness
and densities and moisture content of bread you are
trying to toast is actually way more complicated than
cracking a range of nuts (with the right approach).

That's very arguable indeed given that all you really
have to do with a toaster is have the toaster watch
the slice itself and stop when it's the right color.

Eg, as long as you (can / do) apply enough
force then every nut *will* crack.

But different types of nuts do best when the
force is applied to the right part of the nut.

So as long as you have more power than you
would ever need then that's that box ticked.

Not necessarily if you want a nice
undamaged eatable part of the nut.

As long as there is the minimum of elasticity
in the mechanics, it should 'just' crack the nut
and no go further, eg. damaging the nut itself.

And that the hard part with the different types of nut.

So, say you had a pistol grip like a battery drill with a square
hopper at the front providing the anvil and an electrically
driven 'ram' that could be driven onto the nut via a drill like
trigger ... you drop the nut in (orientating it if you prefer),
pull the trigger and a clear / mesh guard 'flap' flips down
that both stops any bits flying out and acts as a safety
interlock to stop you leaving your finger(s) in there ...
and then the ram is wound forward quickly till
it senses the increased load of the nut and then
slower as it breaks the nut.

I'd prefer an appliance with a bin for the uncracked
nuts and two output bin, one for the part you eat
and the other for the outer shell. And it should stop
auto when the input bin is empty or it jams.

It could either cut off after a further distance traveled
(say 1mm) or waits till you let go of the trigger (so
you could crush the nut flat if you chose to).

Cant see that last being useful.

Let go the trigger and it (quickly) unwinds the ram and when
you press a second trigger (maybe like a drill Fwd / Rev button
or a second / integral trigger) the lower hopper flap(s?, like
bomb doors) opens and drops the nut / shell into your hand.

Or it could be designed for (/also) table-top
use with a shallow tray under the hopper an on
top of the battery to catch the nut / shell instead.

With PWM and micro controllers the speed / torque
thing should be easy and current sensing should be
able to measure the increased load on proper contact
with the nut and then how long you would need to run
the motor at slow speed / high torque to get the nut to
fully crack.

But you basically need different jaws for peanuts
and almonds and maybe walnuts. And for coconuts,
particularly what you get from the coconut tree.

You could even have a selector knob for the nut type
(as each might need slightly different treatment) and
maybe a user adjustable knob for whatever turns out
to be the most important function.

You could set the prototype up to be learning
assisted like running a PID Tuning on a 3D printer.

With a potential 'world wide' gadget obsessed
market, it could be a good seller. ;-)

Unlikely imo when all the stores sell shelled nuts.

Cheers, T i m

p.s. There are several 'bulk' nut crackers but they 1) take
some of the fun out of doing them one at a time and 2)
need to be 'set' for a specific size / type of nut each time / run.

https://youtu.be/hHlsL8pGk-g?t=459

This would be one for our Mr Rumm: ;-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhSzfre8Kn0

"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...
On 27/12/2020 08:41, Roger Hayter wrote:
On 27 Dec 2020 at 06:39:01 GMT, ""Brian Gaff \" Sofa\)"
wrote:

It does seem odd that the world has conquered space has made a vaccine
in a
year etc, but cannot design a set of universal nut crackers.
Key elements then would be minimal effort needed, so some kind of
powered
device, the ability to stop when the nut cracks, and of course a
suitable
guard to retain the nut and its fragments while also allowing the nut
not to
slip out so perhaps a kind of serrated jaw system and a semi flexible
washabbble retainer of some kind.

Brian

Perhaps our rather arbitrary and disparate set of favourite nuts aren't
all
suitable for a single device to open them. I have always thought that
almonds
present a different problem from the other common nuts and probably
warrant a
separate opening instrument. It would be interesting to see the devices
used
commercially.

It would be amusing to design one using a PIC or somesuch and a small
electric motor with a worm drive so that you minotred a 'delta peak' in
current drain and when he nut cracked and the current fell, it backed out
of it all.

But just cracking the shell isnt enough with some nuts like walnuts.

On Mon, 28 Dec 2020 01:10:52 +1100, Rod Speed wrote:

"T i m" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 27 Dec 2020 10:07:42 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:

On Sun, 27 Dec 2020 06:39:01 -0000, Brian Gaff \(Sofa\) wrote:
snip
... but cannot design a set of universal nut crackers.

Or a toaster that can produce consistent toast slice after slice
without adjustment or needing a pre-heat.

Yeahbut I think dealing with all the different thickness and densities
and moisture content of bread you are trying to toast is actually way
more complicated than cracking a range of nuts (with the right
approach).

That's very arguable indeed given that all you really have to do with a
toaster is have the toaster watch the slice itself and stop when it's
the right color.

Eg, as long as you (can / do) apply enough force then every nut *will*
crack.

But different types of nuts do best when the force is applied to the
right part of the nut.

So as long as you have more power than you would ever need then that's
that box ticked.

Not necessarily if you want a nice undamaged eatable part of the nut.

As long as there is the minimum of elasticity in the mechanics, it
should 'just' crack the nut and no go further, eg. damaging the nut
itself.

And that the hard part with the different types of nut.

So, say you had a pistol grip like a battery drill with a square hopper
at the front providing the anvil and an electrically driven 'ram' that
could be driven onto the nut via a drill like trigger ... you drop the
nut in (orientating it if you prefer), pull the trigger and a clear /
mesh guard 'flap' flips down that both stops any bits flying out and
acts as a safety interlock to stop you leaving your finger(s) in there
...
and then the ram is wound forward quickly till it senses the increased
load of the nut and then slower as it breaks the nut.

I'd prefer an appliance with a bin for the uncracked nuts and two output
bin, one for the part you eat and the other for the outer shell. And it
should stop auto when the input bin is empty or it jams.

It could either cut off after a further distance traveled (say 1mm) or
waits till you let go of the trigger (so you could crush the nut flat
if you chose to).

Cant see that last being useful.

Let go the trigger and it (quickly) unwinds the ram and when you press
a second trigger (maybe like a drill Fwd / Rev button or a second /
integral trigger) the lower hopper flap(s?, like bomb doors) opens and
drops the nut / shell into your hand.

Or it could be designed for (/also) table-top use with a shallow tray
under the hopper an on top of the battery to catch the nut / shell
instead.

With PWM and micro controllers the speed / torque thing should be easy
and current sensing should be able to measure the increased load on
proper contact with the nut and then how long you would need to run the
motor at slow speed / high torque to get the nut to fully crack.

But you basically need different jaws for peanuts and almonds and maybe
walnuts. And for coconuts, particularly what you get from the coconut
tree.

You could even have a selector knob for the nut type (as each might
need slightly different treatment) and maybe a user adjustable knob for
whatever turns out to be the most important function.

You could set the prototype up to be learning assisted like running a
PID Tuning on a 3D printer.

With a potential 'world wide' gadget obsessed market, it could be a
good seller. ;-)

Unlikely imo when all the stores sell shelled nuts.

Cheers, T i m

p.s. There are several 'bulk' nut crackers but they 1) take some of the
fun out of doing them one at a time and 2)
need to be 'set' for a specific size / type of nut each time / run.

https://youtu.be/hHlsL8pGk-g?t=459

This would be one for our Mr Rumm: ;-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhSzfre8Kn0


We used to put them in a door hinge, but doors were stronger in my day.

On 27/12/2020 14:14, Fred wrote:


"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...
On 27/12/2020 08:41, Roger Hayter wrote:
On 27 Dec 2020 at 06:39:01 GMT, ""Brian Gaff \" Sofa\)"
wrote:

It does seem odd that the world has conquered space has made a
vaccine in a
year etc, but cannot design a set of universal nut crackers.
Â* Key elements then would be minimal effort needed, so some kind of
powered
device, the ability to stop when the nut cracks, and of course a
suitable
guard to retain the nut and its fragments while also allowing the
nut not to
slip outÂ* so perhaps a kind of serrated jaw system and a semi flexible
washabbble retainer of some kind.

Brian

Perhaps our rather arbitrary and disparate set of favourite nuts
aren't all
suitable for a single device to open them.Â* I have always thought
that almonds
present a different problem from the other common nuts and probably
warrant a
separate opening instrument.Â* It would be interesting to see the
devices used
commercially.

It would be amusing to design one using a PIC or somesuch and a small
electric motor with a worm drive so that you minotredÂ* a 'delta peak'
in current drain and when he nut cracked and the current fell, it
backed out of it all.

But just cracking the shell isnt enough with some nuts like walnuts.
Ah well, you need a walnut detector and a new algorithm....

--
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign,
that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."

Jonathan Swift.

On Mon, 28 Dec 2020 01:14:44 +1100, Fred wrote:

It would be amusing to design one using a PIC or somesuch and a small
electric motor with a worm drive so that you minotred a 'delta peak' in
current drain and when he nut cracked and the current fell, it backed out
of it all.

But just cracking the shell isnt enough with some nuts like walnuts.

Walnuts are easy - 2 in the hand, squeeze, one will crack and can be turned
to do another bit. The last walnut is more difficult.
Even for almonds I've always used the old 'calssic' crackers and put fingers
3 & 4 between the handles to act as a buffer. Don't know if I still could -
20-odd yeras and all that.
--
Peter.
The gods will stay away
whilst religions hold sway

"PeterC" wrote in message
. ..
On Mon, 28 Dec 2020 01:14:44 +1100, Fred wrote:

It would be amusing to design one using a PIC or somesuch and a small
electric motor with a worm drive so that you minotred a 'delta peak' in
current drain and when he nut cracked and the current fell, it backed
out
of it all.

But just cracking the shell isnt enough with some nuts like walnuts.

Walnuts are easy - 2 in the hand, squeeze, one
will crack and can be turned to do another bit.

But that bit was discussing a machine which would
do all nuts automatically, not how to do it by hand.

The last walnut is more difficult.

Not with a tool that that does the cracking.

Even for almonds I've always used the
old 'calssic' crackers and put fingers
3 & 4 between the handles to act as
a buffer. Don't know if I still could
- 20-odd yeras and all that.

On Sun, 27 Dec 2020 22:38:59 +0000, PeterC
wrote:

On Mon, 28 Dec 2020 01:14:44 +1100, Fred wrote:

It would be amusing to design one using a PIC or somesuch and a small
electric motor with a worm drive so that you minotred a 'delta peak' in
current drain and when he nut cracked and the current fell, it backed out
of it all.

But just cracking the shell isnt enough with some nuts like walnuts.

Walnuts are easy - 2 in the hand, squeeze, one will crack and can be turned
to do another bit.

If they are 'tough' ones I do that but mostly I can crack them with
just my hand(s). I hold the nut across its joint between my right
thumb and the side of my bent index finger and then grab all that with
my left hand to additional power and control.

The last walnut is more difficult.

If it won't go using the above it is. ;-)

Even for almonds I've always used the old 'calssic' crackers and put fingers
3 & 4 between the handles to act as a buffer. Don't know if I still could -
20-odd yeras and all that.

With the almonds I have left here and using the middle 'opening' (of
3, they don't open wide enough to get them in the smallest opening
near the hinge), on the bigger crackers, I can feel the steel handle
flexing as I squeeze and believe the next thing to break will be one
of the handles (as that's happened twice previously).

Cheers, T i m

T i m wrote:
No, not the trolls, nut crackers of some sort that can actually crack
say an almond shell without risk of:

You breaking the crackers (done that twice now so it's not down to the
effort you can (or can't) apply).

Crushing the entire nut.

Firing the nut across the room.

Taking ages.

Daughter dropped off a Tofurkey and some other bits yesterday along
with a bag of mixed nuts-in-shells (as she knows I like them) and a
pair of 'conventional' crackers (bless her, we did already have some)
but neither feel like they will do the remaining nuts without breaking
themselves. I did all the walnuts in my bare hands and either
nut-cracker will do the hazelnuts.

So, whilst it's a bit late for today, can anyone recommend some nut
-crackers that will do all nuts nicely please?

Cheers, T i m



I have a very old iron pair they must be pre WW2 if not WW1. No idea how I
came by them. The trick is to burst rather that crush the nut by apply the
pressure to the natural join line if there is one.

Hazel nuts are the worst you just need gentle pressure. Crack a few times
and the shell falls off.

Modern ones seen to be made of cr*p metal look in a junk shop for an old
pair.

On 26/12/2020 20:58, T i m wrote:
On Sat, 26 Dec 2020 20:00:14 +0000, Martin Brown
wrote:

On 25/12/2020 13:43, T i m wrote:
No, not the trolls, nut crackers of some sort that can actually crack
say an almond shell without risk of:

You breaking the crackers (done that twice now so it's not down to the
effort you can (or can't) apply).

Crushing the entire nut.

Firing the nut across the room.

Taking ages.

If you have the strength and muscle control then a simple lever based
one will do. Sometimes the shell will explode though.

Or, as has happened to me twice (so far), the crackers handle snaps in
half across the weakest part of the section. [1]

So, whilst it's a bit late for today, can anyone recommend some nut
-crackers that will do all nuts nicely please?

Otherwise ratchet mechanism ones are expensive but hard to beat.

Assuming they last, I don't mind spending the money on something that
actually does what it says on the tin.

Ours
was an Xmas present to my father from Langley Alloys many decades ago.

Nice gift (one that is useful and lasts).

It was massively over engineered.

So probably why they don't make them any more? ;-(

They are available same model on eBay though second hand. I noticed
later that it had some brandname on it as well as a company logo.

"crackerjack nut cracker"

Will find it. The indestructible version has no plastic bits.

It will sometimes put the nut in orbit but only occasionally.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On 28/12/2020 12:02, Martin Brown wrote:
On 26/12/2020 20:58, T i m wrote:
On Sat, 26 Dec 2020 20:00:14 +0000, Martin Brown
wrote:

On 25/12/2020 13:43, T i m wrote:
No, not the trolls, nut crackers of some sort that can actually crack
say an almond shell without risk of:

You breaking the crackers (done that twice now so it's not down to the
effort you can (or can't) apply).


I have a wonderful old cast iron screw nut cracker, looks like a mini
workshop press does the job perfectly never crushing a kernel.

Mike

On 25 Dec 2020 23:34:02 GMT, Bob Eager wrote:

On Fri, 25 Dec 2020 15:04:36 +0000, R Souls wrote:

On Fri, 25 Dec 2020 13:43:27 +0000, T i m wrote:

No, not the trolls, nut crackers of some sort that can actually crack
say an almond shell without risk of:

You breaking the crackers (done that twice now so it's not down to the
effort you can (or can't) apply).

Crushing the entire nut.

Firing the nut across the room.

Taking ages.

Daughter dropped off a Tofurkey and some other bits yesterday along with
a bag of mixed nuts-in-shells (as she knows I like them) and a pair of
'conventional' crackers (bless her, we did already have some) but
neither feel like they will do the remaining nuts without breaking
themselves. I did all the walnuts in my bare hands and either
nut-cracker will do the hazelnuts.

So, whilst it's a bit late for today, can anyone recommend some nut
-crackers that will do all nuts nicely please?

Cheers, T i m

Mole grip works perfectly.

Ron

THat was going to be my suggestion. Adjustable for size of nut, too.

Exactly. You adjust the mole such that when fully closed the jaws are
open a bit less than the size of the nut.

On Mon, 28 Dec 2020 17:58:16 +0000, R Souls wrote:

snip

Exactly. You adjust the mole such that when fully closed the jaws are
open a bit less than the size of the nut.

Whilst that might work for one type of nut (in repetition) probably
wouldn't work for different nuts or anything that can range in size
quite a bit, like the almonds I have here.

Plus, if you pick up a slightly smaller nut, go to use it and find it
only holds, not breaks the nut, you have to release it again, tighten
the adjustment screw before trying again.

If you then leave it set as is and the next nut (of the same type) is
a larger one, would you still have the crushing power and what might
it then do to the kernel?

I'm not suggesting Mole grips wouldn't work at cracking 'a nut', just
that they might be a bit clumsy at cracking a batch of nuts when done
individually and with a random selection of types.

Cheers, T i m

On 25/12/2020 13:43, T i m wrote:
No, not the trolls, nut crackers of some sort that can actually crack
say an almond shell without risk of:

You breaking the crackers (done that twice now so it's not down to the
effort you can (or can't) apply).

Crushing the entire nut.

Firing the nut across the room.

Taking ages.

Daughter dropped off a Tofurkey

Did the Tofurkey come with a warning of which part of the Amazon rain
forest was cleared to farm your curdled Soy milk?

And how may Kg of fuel burnt to ship it to the UK?

Do be careful of the magnesium toxicity from the coagulating agents.

"T i m" wrote in message
...
No, not the trolls, nut crackers of some sort that can actually crack
say an almond shell without risk of:

You breaking the crackers (done that twice now so it's not down to the
effort you can (or can't) apply).

Crushing the entire nut.

Firing the nut across the room.

Taking ages.

So, whilst it's a bit late for today, can anyone recommend some nut
-crackers that will do all nuts nicely please?

The best sort that I have seen for being controllable (ie no danger of
crushing the entire nut) are those which use a worm-gear action to advance
the jaws: you turn a handle and the jaws are screwed together - but the
screw thread prevents the jaws from suddenly coming together as soon as the
resistance of the outer shell is removed. You probably still need to cup
your hand around the jaws to prevent the nut being fired across the room. It
may be comparatively slow compared with instantaneous cracking using
conventional nutcrackers.

I think nutcrackers (of any sort) are most effective if you apply the
pressure to the seam between the two halves of the nut (for an almond)
because that tends to split the shell at the seam. Likewise for a brazil
nut, line up one of the corners of the (roughly!) three-side nut in the jaw.
But you have probably already discovered that - the nut-cracking equivalent
of teaching granny to suck eggs!

"Fred" wrote in message
...
But just cracking the shell isnt enough with some nuts like walnuts.

I have often wonder how the hell walnuts are cracked commercially without
breaking the kernel into several pieces as it is being taken out of the
stiff membrane that covers it at the seam in the two halves of the shell. I
presume a machine (and not an army of low-paid people) *is* used.

On Fri, 1 Jan 2021 15:55:14 -0000, "NY" wrote:

snip

So, whilst it's a bit late for today, can anyone recommend some nut
-crackers that will do all nuts nicely please?

The best sort that I have seen for being controllable (ie no danger of
crushing the entire nut) are those which use a worm-gear action to advance
the jaws: you turn a handle and the jaws are screwed together - but the
screw thread prevents the jaws from suddenly coming together as soon as the
resistance of the outer shell is removed.

Good idea.

You probably still need to cup
your hand around the jaws to prevent the nut being fired across the room.

I don't that's such an issue if the nut is stable in the jaws in the
first place. Like with the conventional nut crackers with their
specific 'jaw areas'.

It
may be comparatively slow compared with instantaneous cracking using
conventional nutcrackers.

And that's the compromise isn't it, speed V *controlled* power. Eg, a
3' long lever and a floor mounted base you stand on would probably
crack anything but that's not exactly 'convenient.

I think nutcrackers (of any sort) are most effective if you apply the
pressure to the seam between the two halves of the nut (for an almond)
because that tends to split the shell at the seam.

Agreed.

Likewise for a brazil
nut, line up one of the corners of the (roughly!) three-side nut in the jaw.

Yeah, they are the most unpredictable I think.

But you have probably already discovered that - the nut-cracking equivalent
of teaching granny to suck eggs!

Quite. ;-)

The thing is, say we only have a 75mm 'grip span' and use crackers
that are rarely able to provide that as we make contact with the nut
.... (*and* still have sufficient mechanical advantage to crack the
worst of the nuts), we often find the span of the crackers too great
to deal with a nut in one jaw and already mostly closed in the next.

The conical tapered ones that were referenced elsewhere look like they
may go some way with dealing with the grip / range but may still
suddenly 'collapse' on the nut on a really hard one. I think I'll get
one as they look to be worth a go.

Cheers, T i m