What comes down must get chewed up!

Chipper/Shredder–or Cutting a Tree Down to Size
Today, I was introduced to a Chipper/Shredder. Having a treed acre means that certain trees have to be felled, logged, stacked into piles… and the other branches that don’t have wood large enough to be logged end up getting piled into heaps. It’s those heaps of branches that need to be put through the chipper/shredder to make bite-sized bits of wood (bigger than sawdust, but in that ilk) that we can then use to put on the walking paths.
 
Needing to move this project along, we consulted Craigslist and found a slightly or lightly used Chipper/Shredder for a reasonable price. This one also has a vacuum in it, so you can suck up things in its big hose and it’ll shred them too. The guy who sold it said he vacuumed some leaves and they came out pretty well shredded.
 

 
Anyway, this machine is powered by gas, so a trip to the gas station was in order.
 

 
From this angle you can see the big round opening in the front—that’s where the vacuum hose goes and the big rectangular sleeve thingie is where you put the branches for shredding.
 

 
I even learned how to start it. There’s a lever that has Stop labeled at the bottom and an image of a rabbit running at the top. Put the lever between the two. Then put your foot on the base of the machine to hold it in place. Pull the starter cord—like you would a lawnmower. Fortunately for me, it started right up, and I’m not even very good at the pulling thing. It’s not like I have big upper arm muscles, so if I can do it, you can do it too.
 
When selecting branches to put into the sleeve of the chipper/shredder there are a few points to keep in mind:

• Put the sturdiest end in first.
• If the branch has too much bend in it, use some loppers to cut it into a piece that can actually fit into the sleeve.
• Try to feed one branch in it at a time.
• Don’t feed dead branches into it, which is indicated by a branch with no bark. Save those for firewood. They have already aged and can be burned right away.
• Use only one hand to guide the branch into the sleeve of the chipper/shredder.
• Do wear loose clothing that could get caught in the shredder.
• Be careful not to put your arm too far down into the chipper/shredder sleeve.
• It would be advisable to wear ear protectors if you’re going to do a lot of work with this machine to preserve your hearing.
• Goggles might be a good protection too for your eyes.

Here’s a photo of a branch being inserted into the sleeve of the chipper/shredder.
 

 
In this photo you can see the top part of the branch still in the sleeve and getting eaten up as it works it’s way into the shredder.
 

 
When you look on the ground you can see the remains of what used to be the branch… The amazing thing to me is that a whole pile of brush can be crunched up into such a small amount of shredded wood.
 

 
I kept thinking that we’d have mounds of this stuff… but when you try to cover paths, I think it’ll take a whole lot more than this. Fortunately, we have lots and lots of branches that need to be shredded. Think we’ll have enough wood chips to cover our paths?
 

 
I think I’ll find out tomorrow how much exercise I got with this effort. I can already feel muscles in my forearm that hadn’t been exercised that way in a while…
 
Stay tuned for more posts. I also learned how to change the headlight bulbs in my car and how to make mayonnaise from scratch! It was yummy… : )
 
Hope you are happy and well.