Tobho's HT1-Inspired Cement Mixer Muller Build

Discussion in 'Sand Mullers' started by Tobho Mott, Mar 22, 2018.

Page 11 of 14
  1. Tobho Mott

    Tobho Mott Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    Huh? You lost me there.

    Jeff
     
    Tobho Mott, Aug 1, 2018
    #201
  2. Jason

    Jason Gold

    I ALMOST opened my big mouth. :eek: I was thinking I could run a sheet of wax into a pooper scooper shape and stick a handle on it. Or are you just baiting me to try your scoop?:p
     
    Jason, Aug 1, 2018
    #202
  3. Tobho Mott

    Tobho Mott Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    Oh, you were talking about yourself! Lol, no, that was really just a sand test. Maybe I'll try it again at some point, but there's no rush, I'm not trying to bait you into anything. Heh, I know you're busy with a swimming pool to weld up and some lanterns to make anyhow. Besides, I'm pretty sure the sand would just scrub the patina right off the bronze in no time. :D

    Jeff
     
    Tobho Mott, Aug 1, 2018
    #203
  4. Jason

    Jason Gold

    We could pour it in aluminum ala ceramic shell style? The pool is just a wild hair, with tons of questions that need answering before taken the plunge. This week, the wife has me laying travertine in the laundry room. I'd like to castrate the muppet that put linoleum in there. Scraping that glue off concrete sucks big time.:mad:
     
    Jason, Aug 1, 2018
    #204
  5. Tobho Mott

    Tobho Mott Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    Heh, the plunge. I see what you did there. :D

    Unless maybe you have an anniversary coming up and your wife has been dropping hints that she wants a custom made kitty litter scoop (Danger Will Robinson, those'd better be some really clear hints), I don't know how you would justify all the waxwork, dipping, burnout to duplicate this $5 thrift store item... For me it was just playing in my sandbox for maybe half an hour, probably less, cost me nothing but a little time which I consider well spent on 'coping down' practice, plus as a test mold the broken hanging core told me something helpful about my new sand's strength.

    If you're just looking for a project to get you out of laying down flooring, it would make for a decent thin casting challenge...

    Jeff
     
    Tobho Mott, Aug 1, 2018
    #205
  6. Jason

    Jason Gold

    I got ya beat man. That mirror frame was one single dollar at the thrift store in Montrose.
    Strange how I can't get someone to pony up $295 in a nice jewelry shop in Florida for it.

    GetFileAttachment.jpg
     
    Jason, Aug 1, 2018
    #206
    Rtsquirrel likes this.
  7. Tobho Mott

    Tobho Mott Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    Lol, you should have smeared a little bit of wax to cover up the "made in china" stamped on the back of the original, maybe? :D
     
    Tobho Mott, Aug 1, 2018
    #207
  8. Jason

    Jason Gold

    lol... I knew I forgot something.:p
     
    Jason, Aug 1, 2018
    #208
  9. Rtsquirrel

    Rtsquirrel Silver

    I just saw the test of the new sand. Looks pretty good. In waiting for final results & weighing "DIY vs. Buy" before pulling the trigger on that myself. I have a pile of DIY from a while back, recipe from AA or somewhere. Sadly, my ramming skills are still in the beginner stages & other excuses.
     
    Rtsquirrel, Aug 5, 2018
    #209
  10. Tobho Mott

    Tobho Mott Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    Couple more videos, parts 2 and 3, covering the rest of the test castings I poured and additives, well, added, getting the sand dialed in. Which really just amounted to following HT1's advice in the end. I've already posted wirh pix about the eventual success upthread, just took me a while to edit the footage. The second one is the one rtsquirrel is talking about I think. I played around with some olfoundryman gating on some of the molds, and there's a pretty dramatic flask runout in part 3 that some of you guys might enjoy. Please point out anything I could me doing better or differently if any of you are watching and spot something.





    Jeff
     
    Tobho Mott, Aug 5, 2018
    #210
    Jason and Rtsquirrel like this.
  11. Tobho Mott

    Tobho Mott Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    Here's another cement mixer muller conversion video I found; short and sweet, for anyone who doesn't want to sit and watch me drill holes and insert fasteners for however long my own build videos added up to:



    I think the cheap rubber wheel approach is not only cheaper than my steel wheel, but also just a better way to go, period. Mine is only 2" wide and its bearings tend to get gummed up with sand and clay if I don't keep flushing it out with a shot of grease a lot more often than I'd like to have to...

    Jeff
     
    Tobho Mott, Jan 22, 2019
    #211
  12. Melterskelter

    Melterskelter Gold Banner Member

    Jeff,
    It might be worth your while to switch over to a simple sealed trailer wheel bearing for you muller. that is what I use and after at least 100 hours of use is operating just fine. I can see why an open bearing wold not function well or last long in this environment.

    upload_2019-1-22_8-59-59.png

    Every time I run my muller, I think of your build.

    Denis
     
    Melterskelter, Jan 22, 2019
    #212
  13. oldironfarmer

    oldironfarmer Gold

    Interesting the guy reaches in while it's running to check his sand. Where's HT1 when we need him?:eek:

    My Mini Mite muller has a cheap rubber wheel too...

    But it has a double sealed ball bearing.
     
    oldironfarmer, Jan 22, 2019
    #213
  14. Tobho Mott

    Tobho Mott Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    Good idea Melterskelter, I never took shop class in high school so I had (and still have, although now due to this muller I at least have learned the difference between a grease gun and a caulking gun) very little experience working with moving parts of machines, hence the easy cement mixer conversion approach in the first place. Even the pic you posted sort of confuses me a bit...

    Back when it first gave me trouble I quickly filmed and showed this (not made public) rough video to a couple of guys to show them how the existing bearings are set up and get some advice, and they told me to just keep feeding it grease to keep pushing the dirt back out... but I kind of figured there had to be a better way. I thought I had posted it here before, but I am not seeing it, must have forgotten to do that.



    That plan has been working, but if I am mulling a bunch of sand one day, I pretty much have to grease it again before the next time I use it. I've been living with it because I don't mull and cast every day or even every week, but it's still a PITA and something I always worry is about to rear it's ugly head and slow me down right when I'm on a roll...

    Very open to any other suggestions, though it'll be a couple months probably before I get a chance to fix it. The Big Bucket's kinda snowed in under its grill cover out in the back yard right now. I did get some loctite for the grub screw (I think that's what it's called) for the pulley that keeps coming loose off the motor shaft, so there are a few upgrades/maintenance issues I will have to get on top of once spring comes.

    Edit - Lol, yeah, he is gonna lose a few piddies that way if he's not careful. I too was reminded of HT1's PSA video on muller safety. :eek:
     
    Tobho Mott, Jan 22, 2019
    #214
  15. oldironfarmer

    oldironfarmer Gold

    Take your wheel to a bearing supply house and see if you can buy a couple of sealed ball bearings to fit in the bore. You can use a spacer around the axle to keep them at the edge of the wheel. You don't need much capacity and a couple of $3 ball bearing with the right OD and double seals (that means both sides) will go a long way toward keeping the sand out. Or find a wheel with sealed ball bearings.
     
    oldironfarmer, Jan 22, 2019
    #215
    Mark's castings, Petee716, joe yard and 2 others like this.
  16. Tobho Mott

    Tobho Mott Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    So... Take it to someone who knows what they're doing it and let them figure it out, eh? What a concept! o_O Thanks...

    Jeff
     
    Tobho Mott, Jan 23, 2019
    #216
  17. Mark's castings

    Mark's castings Gold

    Yes, like Andy says, take it to a bearing shop and get some sealed ball bearings with rubber seals. Also I'd suggest the two steel wheel supports are moving/pushing the sand towards the bearings: if you could maybe open up the gap/fork that the wheel goes into by cutting and welding or even bend up a bracket with a wider gap, a longer bolt through the wheel and maybe some tube spacers each side.

    muller wheel.jpg
     
    Mark's castings, Jan 23, 2019
    #217
  18. Petee716

    Petee716 Gold Banner Member

    That's exactly what I did. They set me up with the right shielded bearings, shafting, etc. They even sandblasted the bearing seats in my cast iron wheel. My local shop is also a great source of belting, chain, pulleys and gears among other things - cheap too.

    Pete
     
    Petee716, Jan 23, 2019
    #218
  19. oldironfarmer

    oldironfarmer Gold

    Well, not exactly, if you're thinking "do this because you don't know". It is very common to let the bearing supply house do the measuring and find a bearing that will fit. The best machinists and engineers let the bearing guys help with selection because often they know of another way to skin the cat. Less capable machinists and engineers know they are so smart they pick something from a catalog and run with it. They are often successful but often miss a better solution.
     
    oldironfarmer, Jan 23, 2019
    #219
  20. Tobho Mott

    Tobho Mott Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    Oh, I know I'm not smart about this. I'll find one of those bearing suppliers and see what they say. I'll keep Mark's spacer tubes and fork modification idea in mind as well. Probably not going to act on this until spring though, the muller is currently pretty much snowed in.

    Thanks for the great suggestions!

    Jeff
     
    Tobho Mott, Jan 23, 2019
    #220
Page 11 of 14

Share This Page