Crushing of a branch of an old cherry tree felled by the neighbor; rather twisted branches requiring a little preparation, but very fast grinding thanks to the same neighbor who passes me the branches ... Soon, a bunch of apple tree branches and various leafy trees will complete the heap of crushed material that will cover my future patch of potatoes. ..
On my chute, I cut the temporary false cap and replaced it with another made of thin sheet metal so that it could be easily bent to the desired angle: it is the simplest system for this category of machine. For the experiment I welded it, but in a final version I will opt for a fixing by pressure of a targeted screed: it is difficult to weld the small thicknesses, especially since the sheet that I have used is zinc-plated on the outside and oxidized on the inside ...
I will put you a photo, I promise, I swear ... 
Yesterday I attended a shredding session of large aucuba branches with a German-designed Eliet brand shredder (Maestro model). I have always been very reluctant about the design of this mulcher: the tool-holder shaft is located in the extension of the motor shaft and the cutting tools are triangular knives (like mower sections) arranged either obliquely, or in line with the introduction chute. The latter is of reduced section, provided with a metal valve articulated on rubber buffers ... This particular arrangement of the knives prohibits the presence of a counter blade and this has several unfortunate consequences, from my point of view. First, the large ends tend to get stuck between the knives and block the motor, then and vice versa, the softer ends and the leaves are not pulled and are difficult to pass through the chamber. chopped off. As big ends are cut, a calibration grid is necessary and keeps them in the chamber up to the required dimension (this explains the very sturdy valve, because the returns are numerous and brutal). In short, many stops marked this session, for a fairly modest volume of branches treated. According to the operator, the other previously crushed plants were in much better conditions. There would therefore be a strong sensitivity to the nature of the branching treated; anyway, the narrowness of the introduction chute implies meticulous defourching, the cutting system requires a lot of introduction effort and the capacity of the basket forced to frequent stops (notwithstanding blockages or jams) . It does not grind even a little soft plants well, but perhaps it is more comfortable with dry branches than our Chinese grinders? Anyway, the overall efficiency of this device, quite equivalent in terms of motorization (but much more expensive) is far from reaching the performance we are used to ...
In the particular case observed here, the ground material obtained was very fine (logical, due to the calibration grid) and well suited to certain uses, such as strawberry mulching.
