The sword of Kolesov - the main tool of labor in planting forests

In the CIS countries, the majority of forestry enterprises for the planting of seedlings of various trees by hand on an industrial scale in territories where there is no possibility to use machinery are using LPL-5,5. The abbreviation stands for a planting shovel weighing 5.5 kg. But this name is rare, and the "sword of Kolesov" is much more common. Currently, the use of a forest shovel is the most convenient and fast manual way of planting the forest.

On the Process of Invention

The planting shovel was invented in 1883 by Alexander Andreevich Kolesov. He was the director of the Kharkiv Agricultural College. At the school a forest nursery was founded, and for the convenience of planting it with young trees Kolesov invented LPL-5,5. His attempts to find a simple and convenient tool for planting pine trees have often failed. The first shovel (Kolesov's sword) weighed only about 2 kg, the size was twice less than the LPL-5.5, and its service life lasted only a year.

And the lifetime of today's version of Kolesov's sword is about ten years. So an agronomist by trial and error, after trying and remaking dozens of shovels for planting, still found the only version of the shape, weight and size, which could facilitate and accelerate the process of planting pine seedlings.

Description of the forest shovel

As it was said above, Kolesov's sword was created for the convenience of forest planting. Therefore, looking at the shape of the shovel, it is quite possible to say that the narrow bayonet (from 3 to 7 cm) and the bayonet (up to 38 cm) widened upwards (up to 38 cm) is necessary for better dissection of the soil. To this plate is attached a rod about 60 cm in height with an increasing diameter of 2.5 to 13 cm. Also, the thickness of the bayonet grows from the bottom up, and the thickness of the cross section of the blade is 2.5 cm. The lower edge of the bayonet blade is shifted forward relative to the part where Fastened metal rod. The main distinguishing feature is the bayonet, which is a wedge-shaped plate about 40 cm long. At the top of the rod, the clutch is hollow, into which a transverse handle 35-40 cm long is placed.

Landing under the sword of Kolesov

Consider the technology of the process. Landing under the sword of Kolesov Seedlings must necessarily be made with the participation of two people.

The one who manages the shovel is called a swordsman (comes from the name of a shovel), but the one who directly drops the seedlings of trees into the hole - the planter. Most often, the sword is a man, since the planting shovel is quite heavy, and the process of making the hole is not easy, but the woman becomes the planter accordingly.

So, the work begins with the fact that the swordsman drives the shovel into the ground to the full height of the bayonet. Then he swings the sword back and forth, thus forming a sapling well, and very carefully removes the shovel from the ground, so as not to damage the prepared pit. The next stage of planting is the plowing of the root of the finished seedling in the hole. The planter must ensure that the root is not twisted in any way, is not entangled or bent in the hole. Seedling should be located so that the neck of the root was at the top of the hole. The planter, placing the tree, throws several handfuls of soil into the hole and then holds the seedling. Meanwhile, the sweeper at a distance of 10 cm from the hole again plunges Kolesov's sword into the ground and, pulling the handle of the shovel slightly toward himself, compacts the bottom of the hole, fixing, thus, the bottom part of the root. And to fix the top part - pushes the handle away from itself.

Then the sword is removed, and the hole is trampled by the foot. Thus, the root is tightly clamped with soil and is quickly taken to growth.

Labor protection when working with a forest shovel

The first thing that workers should know is that planting of seedlings is done only in pairs. Before the beginning of work each of participants should familiarize with a technological card. The distance between the links (pairs of workers) should be at least 2.5 m. The legs of the worker who holds the Kolesov's sword should not be in the path of the shovel movement. If there is an obstacle in the form of a stone or a root in the path of a forest shovel, the landing site must be moved. The main rule of occupational safety is careful study of the process.

Smasteri himself

To date, the planting shovel LPL-5,5 can be purchased in any store of household equipment or in an online store with such specialization. But prices, of course, may not be available to everyone. For needleworkers to make a sword Kolesova own hands Will not be a big problem. Dimensions of the shovel are in many books, but here we show in the drawing its device.

The main thing is to find a suitable plate for the shovel itself and a pipe of the appropriate diameter and the required length. Then from the plate it is necessary to form a bayonet and tightly weld the handle from the pipe. If you have all the materials and the ability to use welding, making LPL-5,5 will be very simple and fast. And it will give an excellent opportunity to save money.