Reciprocating nut sheller

Claim 1

In a hand operated nut sheller having an elongate base, a fixed nut-receiving jaw rigidly secured at the forward end of said base, a hollow cylinder rigidly secured near the rearward end of said base and extending therealong in opposed spaced relation to said jaw, a shellcracking piston slidable in said cylinder through a reciprocable movement alternately toward and away from said fixed jaw, a swingably movable handle pivotally fulcrumed at one end to said base at a position rearwardly of and in longitudinally spaced relationship with said piston, and connecting means joining the rearward end of said piston to said handle for effecting said reciprocable movement of said piston in response to a predetermined swingable movement of said handle, said connecting means comprising a longitudinally extending connecting rod pivotally secured at its forward end to said piston and swingable thereabout in a vertical plane between a lower latching position and an upper unlatching position, said connecting rod having an intermediate portion extending rearwardly along and beyond said handle, a plurality of linearly spaced recesses directed upwardly into the intermediate portion of said connecting rod from the lower surface thereof and extending transversely thereacross, and a transversely extending latch pin rigidly secured to said handle above the fulcrumed end and movable therewith to engagement with and disengagement from any one of said latch-receiving recesses to releasably latch said connecting rod to said handle, the improvement wherein each of said recesses in the intermediate portion of said connecting rod is undercut from its upper extremity to form a rearwardly directed opening registrable with said latch pin, and the end portion of said connecting rod projecting rearwardly from said intermediate portion is a fingerhold for manipulating said connecting rod.