Metal Enforced Big Handle Nutcracker

thingiverse

As we gather approximately 130 liters of walnuts every year, we deal with them quite frequently. Recently, I decided to include a self-printed nutcracker for fun. We experimented with some designs here, but for my mother (87 years old and still going strong), I needed one that feels smoother in her hands (especially the handle) and requires less force to crack a nut. Enter my design, a press with a big handle and M30 screw size. It combines some features found here with my own preferences. The underside has a 43 mm diameter curvature. This is the average diameter of all real walnuts. To assemble the handle, you will need some M3 socket head cap bolts: 2x 25 mm (top), 1x 20 mm (middle), and 1x 12 mm (bottom). You can use three standard nuts, but I prefer lock nuts - the design has room for those. After printing both sides of the handle, the best way to assemble it appears like this: * Screw the two 25 mm and the 20 mm bolt into the correct half of the handle, just until they reach the flat surface. * Place both halves on their back (flat surface up), apply a small amount of glue to both surfaces, and let it dry for 5 minutes. * Put the two halves together neatly and immediately screw in the three bolts to secure the alignment. * Insert the nuts into their holes and screw the whole thing firmly together. Make sure that the head and nut of the 20 mm bolt are inside the screw thread. * Screw the 12 mm bolt into the underside of the handle, with a small drop of glue first. It will rest against the 20 mm bolt and should protrude slightly from the bottom. The first times you operate the handle, it probably won't turn equally smoothly over its full length. Turn it in and out a few times (full length) to smooth out the run. You'll find three designs for the box. They're all the same except for the text. The one with the Dutch text is only for people from one of the three Dutch villages called Den Ham (OV, GR, or UT). The box has a small round niche at the bottom, with a diameter of 26 mm and a height of 2.4 mm. It happens to fit a 2 euro piece perfectly. Now, when you crack a nut, it's metal against metal! And when you put in the 2 euro piece yourself before giving it away, you can tell the recipient it's a gift of real value.