Talk:String trimmer/Archives/2012

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 * I have just bought a new petrol powered strimmer (I have two now - one for me, one for the wife). I have taken a few photos showing both a nylon twine head and a cutting blade disassembled and assembled. Both are generic Chinese made units, 26 cc and so I use 2.4 mm round nylon twine. I'll post these in a short while. Ttiotsw 17:54, 15 May 2007 (UTC)


 * As Ttiotsw and I have uploaded pictures I'm removing the reqphoto stuff Dryeo (talk) 23:11, 25 December 2007 (UTC)

Weed-Eather?
I was brought here from Weedeater. What other metaphers are there? What could be meant when someone refers to a person as "weed-eater"? Vegetarians? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.60.34.3 (talk) 12:56, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

History of the String Trimmer
I would like to see a 'history' section added to the article on String Trimmers.

When was it invented? Who invented it? Where was the inventor from? Maybe a timeline showing the development of the string trimmer from its first design up to the newest models.

--Funky Dragon (talk) 07:41, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

theory of operation
The principle of inertia plays an essential role besides the centrifugal tension explanation, but I don't have the right wording worked out.. jump off a high bridge, and the inertia of water makes it comparable to striking a hard surface. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.170.68.234 (talk) 22:35, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

The principle of operation of the string is the same as that at the end of a Whip. The end of the string has a lot of kinetic energy (Mv^2)and angular momentum of rotation (Mvr) and is rotating around the attached end with a reducing radius of rotation, and an according increase in velocity (v). The stress in the retaining material is increasing in accordance with the value v^2/r, and if it exceeds the tensile strength of the retaining material a piece of the end can break off.WFPM (talk) 18:56, 14 February 2011 (UTC)


 * So it's not just sticking out straight and acting like a blade? Source?  Dicklyon (talk) 21:53, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

Your point is well taken and some of them are like that. But some of the fine stringed ones must be operating on the Whip principle, which is a valid principle. And that's where the principle involved with the end velocity and possible breakoff condition becomes an important consideration.WFPM (talk) 23:59, 14 February 2011 (UTC) Am I jumping to conclusions again?WFPM (talk) 02:15, 15 February 2011 (UTC) I must add that you guys are causing me to read a lot of stuff in an effort to support my conclusions! Like I just read in my Sokolnikoff differential equations book (page 61) that the earth's rotation exerts a centrifugal force on a particle that is falling to the earth and that this force diminishes the force due to the earth's attraction. And what do I do with that information?WFPM (talk) 03:32, 15 February 2011 (UTC)
 * I think you must have misread it. The CF in the rotating system applies to all objects, falling or not.  The falling object also experiences a Coriolis force.  But yes, the CF effectively reduces the pull of gravity, as viewed in the rotating frame.  Dicklyon (talk) 21:25, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

No I quoted it to you. See Sokolnikoff Higher Mathematics for Engineers and Physicists (1941). In the Wikipedia article on Gravitation they show the existence of a "Centripetal force". Is that the same thing? And if everything else were the same on a rotating spherical planet the rotational velocity would reduce the attractive force to the surface as one moves from the equator to the pole by the "centrifugal force" amount, and would also reduce it to zero at the escape velocity. What are we now calling that gravitational force reducing factor?WFPM (talk) 22:42, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

Oh yes Now I see that the CF means the Coriolis force. But the direction of this force is perpendicular to the earth, and I thought that the Coriolis force was in the direction of the velocity of the earth's motion.WFPM (talk) 22:54, 15 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Coriolis force is orthogonal to particle velocity, in the plane of the rotating system. Dicklyon (talk) 22:55, 15 February 2011 (UTC)


 * He's probably talking about centrifugal force, the fictitious force in the rotating frame, reducing the apparent attraction of gravity (this is, in the rotating frame). But I don't have it handy, so can't say for sure.  Can you quote it actually? Dicklyon (talk) 22:59, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

I'm trying to understand the article Coriolis effect.WFPM (talk) 00:47, 16 February 2011 (UTC)Please read the definition of the Coriolis effect in the formula section.WFPM (talk) 01:12, 16 February 2011 (UTC)

After all, If you're going to take off on a horizontal flight from a rotating planet into space, it makes sense to take off in the direction of the planet's rotation, (all other factors being the same).WFPM (talk) 15:07, 16 February 2011 (UTC)

Operation Sections
Why are there two 'Operation' sections and should they be combined? Invmog (talk) 19:01, 15 January 2010 (UTC)
 * I've merged them. LVC (talk) 11:22, 25 May 2010 (UTC)

When Exactly Did George Ballas Devise the Idea for the String Trimmer?
Could anyone please enlighten me as to exactly when did George Ballas devise the idea of the string trimmer? It was sometime in the late 1960s-early 1970s, but whoever wrote that definitely needs to know what site he picked up this information. I know Black & Decker had introduced its first electric string trimmer in 1970 (model #8200 - could be this be the first electric string trimmer ever made?), beating out Ballas's original Weed Eater by a year. WikiPro1981X (talk) 07:17, 30 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Got to correct myself: B&D's first string trimmer was actually introduced in 1976. I would think the Weed Eater invented by Daniel Taibo or George Ballas was indeed the first string trimmer after all. Sorry if I confused you on that last time. WikiPro1981X (talk) 03:07, 31 December 2011 (UTC)

Daniel Taibo Claims to Have Invented the Weed Eater
 Take a look at the above link. Daniel Taibo says he is the man behind the Weed Eater, and not George Ballas as many claim to believe. WikiPro1981X (talk) 08:02, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

Who Invented the String Trimmer?
I tried finding a citation for this in the article, but didn't find anything conclusive. George Ballas is predominately attributed to this, including the eHow weed wacker article (which I can't link because it is blacklisted), and which I would regard as a questionable source.

Additionally, there is this fellow claiming some mixture of him and George invented it.

Also, there is the section above provided by User:WikiPro1981X, which includes multiple people in the UK claiming the rights. Niluop (talk) 23:52, 18 April 2011 (UTC)