Jock Brandis has turned his inventive mind from being a Key Grip on B grade movies like the sci-fi comedy Normanicus to helping poor folks discover a more efficient method of shelling peanuts and other material.

The design is simple and solid and can be built for around 50 bucks. The bulk of the invention is two concrete cones, which can be formed with a set of fiberglass molds that Jock's North Carolina company provides. The latest incarnation uses pedal power to get the grinding done while producing a fan effect that helps to separate the shells from the nut.

Someday I'd like to build one of these and try to adapt it for the heavy walnuts that drop from the trees around here.

Want more in-depth information? Browse through our books.

Or explore more posts by date or by subject.

About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



Want to be notified when new comments are posted on this page? Click on the RSS button after you add a comment to subscribe to the comment feed, or simply check the box beside "email replies to me" while writing your comment.

Powered by Branchable Wiki Hosting.