this post was submitted on 03 Aug 2025
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474
DIY rule (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 6 days ago by thal3s@sh.itjust.works to c/196@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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[–] MachineFab812@discuss.tchncs.de 56 points 6 days ago (3 children)

Sorry to say, your #16 sheet-metal plus a couple 2x6's on either side with bolts is not heavy enough nor strong enough to consistently and repeatedly do the job on the scale required. 16guage is about as rigid as a wet noodle. I would go with 1/8", 3/16" or even 1/4inch sheet metal.

However, please, do NOT let my critique discourage you from building and using this demonstrator repeatedly until you can crowd-source the necessary repairs and upgrades.

Personally, I don't care if having their vertebra repeatedly used to sound the flimsiest gong possible makes a few billionaires last moments that much more painful and humiliating.

It is worth mentioning though, the French Revolution did not have access to semi-auto, reliable, firearms, while both bullets and guns are, today, both plentiful and cheap.

[–] Mycatiskai@lemmy.ca 19 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I have two comments:

Firstly I know it might be slower to take more than one go to take a head off but it really builds anticipation for the crowd and especially for the next in line.

Secondly sometimes the traditional method has lasting effects that strike fear and education into the minds of the population and the elites. It would be better to educate the 1% in how many times the heads bounce in the town square when the basket is full than to have unbridled capitalism stealing from the workers.

[–] MachineFab812@discuss.tchncs.de 15 points 6 days ago

I don't want them afraid of being caught-out in public. I want them afraid of being murdered in their beds, in their mcmansions, of having rattlesnakes dumped in the air vents of their bunkers. Catch them when they are trying to flee the country, absolutely, but frankly, most aren't worth the spectacle and resources of a guillotine, or transporting them to such.

I'm not interested in educating people whose mode of being should not exist. For those worth educating, the deterrent of a guillotine is a comical hassle versus a bullet to the head - there's good reason modern revolutions use the latter.

[–] ameancow@lemmy.world 10 points 6 days ago

I'm no engineer nor experienced in revolutions, but I think the pricing is woefully low for the amount of high-quality materials and lumber needed to make this functional enough to be used enough times to finalize a regime change. I would estimate just from my own home projects that it would probably be closer to a thousand dollars or even more if you care about good parts, working hinges and tracks for the blade, etc.

[–] SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Username checks out.

#16 would be comical when it catches on a vertebra and bends. You don't want it too thick, though, as the mechanism relies on the weight, angle, and relative thinness of the blade to slice through. I'd recommend 1/8" with a concrete cap for weight. I'm torn between 304 and 5160, though.

[–] MachineFab812@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 5 days ago

I mean, if the edge is sharp enough, the thickness of the rest hardly matters. As for the need for repeated attempts as-specefied, I think God says it best:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rnx6n1lj4hU&t=252s

[–] Bluewing@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

304 Stainless steel? Your soup spoon is made from that. Great for corrosion resistant items that don't need much hardness. 3xx stainless is also considered easier to machine. Perhaps you meant something from the 440 series A through C? Those are hardenable.

5160 is a spring steel alloy and would be excellent. Except it's not very corrosion resistant.

[–] Mycatiskai@lemmy.ca 17 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I think welding the doors of their bunkers shut and cutting off the communication lines is the best thing to do with the bunker 1%ers.

[–] Inucune@lemmy.world 6 points 5 days ago (2 children)

There is an air vent or pipe somewhere for a bunker. Plug, drown, or build a fire on/in it.

[–] Mycatiskai@lemmy.ca 8 points 5 days ago (1 children)

If you lock them in and don't let them communicate and try and control the outside world or do anything but live on canned food then they would probably off themselves.

Let them do themselves in all by themselves with the rest of the world moving on without them.

[–] Inucune@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

So how do we get them all into their bunkers so the rest of us can carry on?

[–] Mycatiskai@lemmy.ca 3 points 5 days ago

If we all work together to make it seem like we are about to gather them all in central areas of towns to chop their heads off using hastily thrown together guillotines with questionably sharp blades, then the 1% might start moving themselves into their bunkers so we can leave them alone to their thoughts.

[–] Wizard_Pope@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

Nah. Surround the intake with fresh manure every day. Maybe some other stinky stuff. Make thrm sufffer for a bit before they go out.

[–] Gates9@sh.itjust.works 11 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Sure you could go with #16 plain sheet metal, but why not spring for tool steel? It’ll last longer and it just looks better, more professional.

[–] derpgon@programming.dev 7 points 5 days ago

I am not sure what #16 is, I assume thickness, but not sure how much. Guillotines had a big hunk of metal that weighted a lot in order tocbe effective.

[–] derpgon@programming.dev 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I am not sure what #16 is, I assume thickness, but not sure how much. Guillotines had a big hunk of metal that weighted a lot in order tocbe effective.

[–] Gates9@sh.itjust.works 5 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Alls I’m saying is, you get what you pay for. Frankly, the slide assembly should be tempered steel as well, to minimize deflection and wear. You’re not gonna maintain rigidity with galvanized L-brackets either, and the pulley system should have bushings. Slap a small motor on it and a palm button control, you got efficiency and ease of operation.

[–] MoonMelon@lemmy.ml 3 points 5 days ago

If we want to truly honor the 18th century craftsmen we wouldn't use L brackets at all. Maybe some nice wedged through-tenons and dovetails and stuff. I guess it depends on the aesthetic. Like are we going for historic, or can we 3d-print the little decorative swirly bits?

[–] cannon_annon88@lemmy.today 14 points 6 days ago (1 children)

It does look fairly easy to build

[–] ceenote@lemmy.world 17 points 6 days ago (1 children)

No way it will be that cheap, though.

[–] burntbacon@discuss.tchncs.de 9 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Sure, the screws an nails and L-angles are going to add up. It's looking like $100-150 could do it though.

I'm betting that we would be able to source some of the ingredients from local houses and kitchens. Instead of the sheet metal, use a butcher's knife or (lol, the hilarity) one of those cutco knives, as long as it's the ceo of cutco.

[–] lemjukes@sopuli.xyz 6 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (2 children)

Maybe in material alone but the labor costs in cutting, sharpening and honing that steel sheet stock into the blade is gonna run at least another couple hundred in labor at a first guess. I also seriously doubt 16g steel is going to have the heft needed for an effective blade of that type.

Name of the game is efficiency and if you’re having to do multiple runs or add extra weight to the blade mechanism it just slows things down.

[–] Passerby6497@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

Name of the game is efficiency and if you’re having to do multiple runs or add extra weight to the blade mechanism it just slows things down.

Is it though? Like, do we want them to just come through like an assembly line and be in and out quick? Or would we rather do the job like that hero John C Woods and send a message with it?

[–] lemjukes@sopuli.xyz 2 points 5 days ago

I see your point, but yes. The French method was created specifically as a means of efficiently and reliably getting the job done without having to rely on the skill of an executioner.

If a vengeful display is what you’re after there are better methods suited to that goal.

[–] ameancow@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

There's a lot missing too, like tracks for the blade, quality lag-bolts to hold together high-strain points, other moving parts, and I don't think the lumber is even really quoted at all. You would absolutely want pressure-treated if you plan on changing an entire governmental regime.

To say nothing of the specialized tools you need to cut and assemble the components. I would wager a proper model would cost closer to a thousand, maybe more.

[–] hOrni@lemmy.world 12 points 6 days ago

And when buying the supplies think about that time Benny Shapster told you to support Home Depot while holding a single plank of wood in a plastic bag.

[–] MedicPigBabySaver@lemmy.world 9 points 6 days ago

I can get a quality machete from Costa Rica for $2.10 USD.