The season for treats like candy canes, figgy puddings, and bowls overflowing with nuts is here. The last option deserved a completely over-engineering snacking tool, which led to the creation of an utterly terrifying custom nutcracker.
In just a few years, Wighton has made a name for himself amongst makers showcasing their skills on YouTube with creations that include a ball-tracking basketball hoop that made it impossible to miss, a robotic auto-aiming pool stick, a self-targeting bow, and one of our favorites He learned from that last project that most nutcrackers are decorative pieces and not useful for cracking open nuts with tough shells, and in dire need of an upgrade.
Like his baseball bat, Wighton used blank shells that are used in construction to drive nails into concrete to power his nutcracker. Four can be used to drive a two-inch steel piston upwards at speeds of up to 200 miles per hour and with 80,000 pounds of force. The engineering behind his nutcracker, including the extensive safety features he designed to prevent an accidental firing and to stop the soldier from simply exploding in the process, are the most interesting parts of his latest video. He had to redesign components many times to get the amount of power he wanted.
The upgraded nutcracker is capable of turning nuts and their shells into a fine powder, as well as destroying metal nuts that are small enough to fit into a nut. If you are hoping to have a happy holiday this year, you will not attempt to build something like this yourself. Save yourself some time, money, and hearing, and just buy your nuts.
