Home-Built Walnut Husker

Home-Built Walnut Husker MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 22-3-36 I made my own walnut husker out of a 1950s-era Allis-Chalmers small round baler. It takes the wet husks off and leaves the nuts clean and tan in color. Note: The husk should not be too dry. I stripped the baler down to the large power drum. Then I cut around the ends, close to the drum, leaving the ends on the shaft that goes through the drum. Then I removed the drum. Next I welded 1/4-in. chains to the shaft, spacing the chains about 4 in. apart. The chains are spiraled around the shaft to make a sort of auger. The chains were just long enough to barely touch the outside of the drum after it was reinstalled. I then cut a rectangular slot in the drum from end to end and replaced it with an old hammer mill screen with 3/4-in. dia. holes. This is the bottom of the drum. The drum was then placed back in its former position and held stationary, leaving a small space between it and the drum ends. I cut a 3-in. dia. hole into the bottom of the drum which is where the nuts come out. On top of the drum, at the other end, I cut a 4-in. dia. hole and made a funnel where I pour the nuts in. (Note: A hole that's too large will let the nuts back out). I installed a 16-in. pulley on the shaft and belted it to a 1 hp electric motor that's equipped with a 3-in. pulley. The pulley speed has to be regulated in order to keep from cracking the nuts. I cut the baler's wide axle in half in order to move the wheels closer together. I also welded a 2-ft. bar to the bottom of the frame at the back in order to keep the machine from tipping backward. I feed 3 to 5 gal. of nuts in at a time. They come out at about two nuts per second. More nuts can be cleaned in a short period of time with this husker than can be picked out all winter long. Sometimes I run the nuts quickly through again if they're not clean enough the first time. They are then black with a thin coating. I spread them out to dry and then run them through the husker again after they've dried. They are then clean and of a tan color. (Orvile E. Flager, 1245 Labette Rd., Ottawa, Kan. 66067 ph 785 566-3504)

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