Simplify Gardening - Close to perfect tools?

A quick, easy-to-use, humane....mole trap.

Also, I always have the problem when digging up bushes etc. to move them, that I get the fork/spade under the plant, then manage to lever it just to a point where if I carried on the tool would break (learnt from experience with expensive, quality tools), and it's just that point where a bit more leverage would have the plant out in one go.

A tool which gets to the bottom of a tap root, like dandelion, so that you can pull the whole thing out without snapping it. I know there are lots on the market which are supposed to do this, but so far I haven't found any that work.

Good luck, and as "M" says, let us know how you get on, and bear us in mind when looking for volunteers to test out prototypes....

 

My thoughts. For the more elderly, not so capable amongst us, a tool for planting the potted plants, bought from most stores. ie. A large 'hole saw' as used in woodworking that has a collar to adjust the size of pot between perhaps 4 to 8 inches with adjustable depth on a (long) shaft to save bending down. Perhaps an accessory for a battery drill or stand alone tool to alleviate using hand tools such as hand spades/forks to get required size hole.

 

@ CanadianLori: I had an idea for a similar concept - kinda like a spherical cement mixer with a sealable hatch so the contents could properly decompose and you can roll it around to the location where you want to deposit the compost; the only concerns I'd have (apart from it quite costly to make as a one-off prototype) would be, well I'm not sure if it's a necessity or not, but the ability to actually measure and quantify the 'values' of the contents to truly determine whether or not it has all the contents required to be 'perfect' - so stuff like acidity = 45%, etc.

I'm not sure if that's necessary at all - what would you say?

@ Lorea: I'm not too sure about the mole trap, ahaha but I quite like the other ideas - the only unfortunate aspect is that there are about 25 people on my course currently tackling the same/similar issue; I'm not even joking, 25-30 people all on one topic; it's like they don't even care.

@ Rustler: I actually had an idea for that a while back! Sort of like an Auger bit with an adjustable diameter to bore out a hole in the soil.

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On a different note, I've had various ideas ranging from things such as indoor plant incubation chambers which grow exotic species under ideal conditions to things such as wireless lawnmowers (remote controlled through smartphones, etc.) but yeah, they've all been shut down due to them all in one way or another not being "hand tools" which is something quite specific on the brief.

Which I guess is why I've been asking around for potential inspiration in case I find something more feasible than my current idea (something I've had for a few weeks now) which is essentially a self adjusting shrub trimmer. So it has sensors and what not that make sure the blade is always horizontal, etc. so however you hold it, mechanical components will adjust the position to keep is perfectly straight. Now of course you can change settings, etc. to obtain whatever position you'd require; it's all very straightforward to use (even if it doesn't sound it, ahaha).

I can't really provide the functional details (for certain reasons) but since I haven't fully completed the design, I'm sure I can get away with showing you all one of the more recent CAD models. It's just a quick mock-up to demonstrate the key features.

 

I think you have it sorted already from the drawings. A great concept. May I suggest an additional straight handle at 90 degrees to the blade to enable two handed operation?

 

A tool that will do that job already exists, but its not seen so much in Europe.

A battery drill, or even a normal household drill - Bosch, Black & Decker, etc. even if it had the torque to do the job, would need serious modification to allow it to work as designed.

 

I stand corrected sir! Was just a dream. I'm going to bloody make one though just to prove me wrong! He he! Cheers.

 

Got one of these in my shed

 

Surprised nobody asked the reason for 5 wheels...

 

Hold on a moment. Are you sayingthat you are using a volunteer run forum on behalf of a commercial organisation (bosch in this case)?

If we give Bosch, via you, their market intelligence, will bosch, possibly via you, contribute in some way to the costs of running this forum?

 

So pleased to see the thread reinstated

 

Oh lovely, I get a chance to explain because there seems to have been a MASSIVE misunderstanding!

So yes, I have NO affiliation with Bosch whatsoever - they're just our target company for this project; now when I say "target company" I mean we have to study their ways of manufacturing (injection moulding, etc.) and design so that we gain a realistic sense of the whole design process (and how in a working environment, different things would be considered, etc. as opposed to making something random because you thought it'd be cool); it's all useful info to have for placements and stuff in the future.

They also don't offer any financial support for our projects so we have to pay for all the parts out of our own pocket, the end goal hopefully being a decent enough grade as compensation for all the time and effort spent on this project.

In regards to my reason for asking for information - I can assure you I have no intention of exploiting anyone nor am I asking anyone to design anything on my behalf. I'm really just interested in issues you may have encountered during your activities, this could even be something like "I dug a hole and hurt my back" at which point I would disappear and work on some designs and conduct research into the areas of the body that would easily be susceptible to muscle straining, and so on and so forth. It really is just research to help me come up with a backstory to justify the reasoning for pursuing my final design.

If anyone has any questions they'd like to ask, I'd be happy to answer the best I can.

Thanks.

Regards,
A.K

 

On that note, just so you know, you can contact any of the Admin Team via the Private message facility (only here it is called "Conversations" ) which is an ideal opportunity to explain, and hopefully resolve, any misunderstandings

Now, back to the business in hand ...


... I'll come back after I've put my thinking cap on (now, where did I leave it?? )

Just curious ... are you final year?