Trenchers are equipment used to dig trenches, varying in size from small models for gardening to industrial-sized ones. They can be rented or made to order. Heavy equipment trenchers include wheel and chain trenchers, which require special precautions. The term “trencher” also refers to a dish used to hold food in medieval times.
A trencher is a piece of equipment that is used to dig trenches. Trenchers vary considerably in sides, from small models designed for use by people digging trenches in their gardens to industrial-sized trenchers that are capable of digging sizable holes in the earth. A number of construction companies produce trenchers, including special heavy equipment that can be made to order according to customer requirements.
At the smaller end of the scale, a trencher is designed as a step above the shovel. To use this type of ditcher, people push the ditcher through the soil to be dug. The trencher gets the job done much faster than it would with a shovel and cuts a deep, even trench. These types of trenchers can be used to dig trenches in someone’s yard for utility lines, sprinkler lines, and so on. Landscaping companies and utilities often maintain this type of equipment, and sometimes people can rent trenchers from tool libraries or project equipment rental companies.
Trenchers used in construction and other tasks where heavy equipment is needed are much larger. They can be designed as attachments to tractors or as stand-alone pieces of heavy equipment. In both cases, the ditcher is controlled by a heavy equipment operator who sits inside the equipment cab and controls the ditcher from there, driving the equipment over the ground to be excavated and manipulating the depth and speed of the ditcher according to need.
Heavy equipment ditchers include wheel ditchers and chain ditchers. Wheel trenchers are used in relatively soft ground, while chain trenchers are capable of cutting through hard ground, operating much like a chainsaw. Both can be dangerous to use and the operator and people in the workplace must observe special precautions to avoid injury. This type of special digging equipment can also be quite expensive.
For those who have read novels set in medieval times and wonder what heavy construction equipment was doing at the table, the term “trencher” is also used in a food and dining sense, to refer to a dish used to hold food. The original trenchers were partially stale pieces of bread that were carved into bowls and eaten after the meal, eventually being replaced by wooden plates. Typically, each diner had to bring their own trencher and knife to cut and manipulate the food on the table. Both senses of the word come from the same root, which means “to cut.”
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