Hello,

I'm a product designer doing some research for my degree.

I was wondering if anyone here has ever accidentally cut their lanwmower, hedgetrimmer (and any other power tool) power cable by accident. If so could you briefly just say what you had an accident with, your posts will help me justify the design of a porduct to stop this happening.

Thanks for your time

hoods wrote:
:: Hello,
::
:: I'm a product designer doing some research for my degree.
::
:: I was wondering if anyone here has ever accidentally cut their
:: lanwmower, hedgetrimmer (and any other power tool) power cable by
:: accident. If so could you briefly just say what you had an
:: accident with, your posts will help me justify the design of a
:: porduct to stop this happening.
::
:: Thanks for your time

Flymo (spit) hover mower, went right through the cable...I don't know how
though as it couldn't manage to cut the grass.


--

http://www.blueyonder256k.myby.co.uk/

hoods wrote:

Hello,

I'm a product designer doing some research for my degree.

I was wondering if anyone here has ever accidentally cut their
lanwmower, hedgetrimmer (and any other power tool) power cable by
accident. If so could you briefly just say what you had an accident
with, your posts will help me justify the design of a porduct to stop
this happening.

Thanks for your time


A bit off topic, but it was funny. In yea olde days, when Aaron was a
pilot, I was a young airman working on a sort of telephone system where
cables were laid across the airfields to a parking area for aircraft,
these were then plugged into the aircraft so that the pilot could
receive "Scramble" messages from the tower. A young man decided to cut
the airfield grass, no one knew why, he blighthly ran across the cables,
several times, chopping then into tiny pieces, now that is what I call a
cable accident. His punishment was to re-lay the cables over the
weekend, some job. I always thought if only the Russians had known they
could have attacked with impunity. Mind you they could have done that
any weekend in any case, as I am sure they knew. :-)

"hoods" wrote in message
...

Hello,

I'm a product designer doing some research for my degree.

I was wondering if anyone here has ever accidentally cut their
lanwmower, hedgetrimmer (and any other power tool) power cable by
accident. If so could you briefly just say what you had an accident
with, your posts will help me justify the design of a porduct to stop
this happening.



Yes, both a lawn mower and a hedge trimmer (not at the same time :-).

The cause is the poor design of the products and the fact that.......ok I
admit, it, the cause was me being careless.
Dont know what product you might have that would cure that?

Removing the power cable is the obvious solution, but they already invented
the battery, so you are out of luck there.

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

You could incorporate a metal detector into the lawnmower so it would cut
the power if you got too close to any metal ( the wire included) or I
suppose some sort of scarifier would lift the grass ready for cutting and as
a side effect would lift the cable up over the machine instead of under it.

--
Martin & Anna Sykes
( Remove x's when replying )
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~sykesm

"hoods" wrote in message
...

Hello,

I'm a product designer doing some research for my degree.

I was wondering if anyone here has ever accidentally cut their
lanwmower, hedgetrimmer (and any other power tool) power cable by
accident. If so could you briefly just say what you had an accident
with, your posts will help me justify the design of a porduct to stop
this happening.

Thanks for your time


--
hoods

"Phil L" wrote in message
k...
hoods wrote:
:: Hello,
::
:: I'm a product designer doing some research for my degree.
::
:: I was wondering if anyone here has ever accidentally cut their
:: lanwmower, hedgetrimmer (and any other power tool) power cable by
:: accident. If so could you briefly just say what you had an
:: accident with, your posts will help me justify the design of a
:: porduct to stop this happening.
::
:: Thanks for your time

Flymo (spit) hover mower, went right through the cable...I don't know how
though as it couldn't manage to cut the grass.


Me too. Repaired cable with junction box, but Flymo since expired terminally and
gone to garden heaven.

Bevan

i worked with this sort of eqipment and in all cases as far as i could
determine it came down to human error, there is a process to follow to
prevent from coming back over the power lead. but don't know how you
are going to fool proof whatever it is you are trying to fool proof,
humans will be humans.

the best safety prevention is a safety pack to plug the device into or
a safety switch fitted to the power supply.

len

On Tue, 8 Feb 2005 12:05:30 +0000, hoods
wrote:

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

my e/mail addies have spam filters you should know what to delete before you send.

In article ,
len gardener wrote:
i worked with this sort of eqipment and in all cases as far as i could
determine it came down to human error, there is a process to follow to
prevent from coming back over the power lead. but don't know how you
are going to fool proof whatever it is you are trying to fool proof,
humans will be humans.

Well, the only time that I did it was because of the insane 'safety'
devices fitted to it. I disabled the damn thing, and the machine
became a lot safer.

Some moronic bureaucrat produced regulations demanding a control
that couldn't be engaged just by squeezing the handle. An equally
moronic designer produced one that couldn't be engaged with one
hand, except perhaps by an orangutang. So, while wrestling with
that on a slope, the machine slipped sideways.

In my life, I have been injured half a dozen times by safety devices
of the added-on variety, and almost never had one save me from an
accident. They are a disaster. Safety devices should be engineered
in as part of the basic design.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"hoods" wrote in message
...

Hello,

I'm a product designer doing some research for my degree.

I was wondering if anyone here has ever accidentally cut their
lanwmower, hedgetrimmer (and any other power tool) power cable by
accident. If so could you briefly just say what you had an accident
with, your posts will help me justify the design of a porduct to
stop
this happening.

I learned the art of controlling the mower power cable in wide open
spaces but have been caught out while doing the fiddly bits.
But, I have to say that the hedge trimmer cable gets shorter each
year. I usually have the cable slung over a shoulder but that doesn't
stop it getting caught up on the flat top of the hedge and getting
snagged on a return stroke.
I guess an auto reel in device would help but over a long distance
would produce quite a drag and consequent fatigue problem.
Good luck.

--
ned

http://www.bugsandweeds.co.uk
last update 30.12.2004

hoods wrote:
Hello,

I'm a product designer doing some research for my degree.

I was wondering if anyone here has ever accidentally cut their
lanwmower, hedgetrimmer (and any other power tool) power cable by
accident. If so could you briefly just say what you had an
accident with, your posts will help me justify the design of a
porduct to stop this happening.

Thanks for your time

Too late. It's called a fuse.

Franz

"len gardener" wrote in message
...
i worked with this sort of eqipment and in all cases as far as i could
determine it came down to human error, there is a process to follow to
prevent from coming back over the power lead. but don't know how you
are going to fool proof whatever it is you are trying to fool proof,
humans will be humans.



A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely
foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.
- Douglas Adams -


--
Regards,
Alan.

Preserve wildlife - Pickle a SQUIRREL to reply.

wrote:
On Tue, 8 Feb 2005 22:14:55 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
wrote:


hoods wrote:
Hello,

I'm a product designer doing some research for my degree.

I was wondering if anyone here has ever accidentally cut their
lanwmower, hedgetrimmer (and any other power tool) power cable by
accident. If so could you briefly just say what you had an
accident with, your posts will help me justify the design of a
porduct to stop this happening.

Thanks for your time

Too late. It's called a fuse.

That won't stop it cutting the cable.

And on the rare occasions when it actually matters, your heirs may or
may not be glad you didn't use a circuit-breaker instead.

Mike.

Mike Lyle wrote:
:: wrote:
::: On Tue, 8 Feb 2005 22:14:55 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
::: wrote:
:::
::::
:::: hoods wrote:
:::: Hello,
::::
:::: I'm a product designer doing some research for my degree.
::::
:::: I was wondering if anyone here has ever accidentally cut their
:::: lanwmower, hedgetrimmer (and any other power tool) power cable by
:::: accident. If so could you briefly just say what you had an
:::: accident with, your posts will help me justify the design of a
:::: porduct to stop this happening.
::::
:::: Thanks for your time
::::
:::: Too late. It's called a fuse.
:::
::: That won't stop it cutting the cable.
::
:: And on the rare occasions when it actually matters, your heirs may
:: or may not be glad you didn't use a circuit-breaker instead.
::

Even without a circuit breaker there's not much chance of an electric shock,
unless of course you do something stupid like pick up the bare ends of the
cable and touch the copper wire.

--

http://www.blueyonder256k.myby.co.uk/

exactly my point douglas,

just got to follow the mower threads in the usa, to see that with all
the safety junk fitted the fool is still in opperation.

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

my e/mail addies have spam filters you should know what to delete before you send.

"Franz Heymann" wrote in message
...

hoods wrote:
Hello,

I'm a product designer doing some research for my degree.

I was wondering if anyone here has ever accidentally cut their
lanwmower, hedgetrimmer (and any other power tool) power cable by
accident. If so could you briefly just say what you had an
accident with, your posts will help me justify the design of a
porduct to stop this happening.

Thanks for your time

Too late. It's called a fuse.

Sorry about the messed-up attribution marks. Let's leave it as a
puzzle for the intelligent reader to provide them in imagination.

Franz