Auto riddle

Discussion in 'Foundry tools and flasks' started by Cringleengineering, Jul 7, 2022.

  1. Hi, i thought you lot may be interested in this contraption i made.
    Its served me well for around 3 years of daily use and still going well.
    Its made from a 3lt alluminium pressure cooker and uses a cheep sewing machine motor all sorced from ebay.
    It realy does save a lot of effort as i found using my manual riddle was like grating cheddar cheese and realy worked the arms out!
    The motor is the 30rmp version and has a built in clutch, the bearing housing is a casting and so is the clamp ring for the mesh. The paddle is spring loaded against the mesh. The mesh has now worn through after around 3 years of daily use but its easily replaced.
    The pics will explain better than my words.
    If more are interested i will get together the files for the printed patterns and drawings to machine the parts. 20220707_105848.jpg 20220707_105856.jpg 20220707_105912.jpg 20220707_105924.jpg 20220707_105928.jpg 20220707_105933.jpg 20220707_105956.jpg 20220707_110003.jpg 20220707_110014.jpg 20220707_110024.jpg 20220707_110039.jpg
     
    Tobho Mott, DaveZ, FishbonzWV and 2 others like this.
  2. FishbonzWV

    FishbonzWV Silver Banner Member

    Very nice, a power riddle is on my list of upgrades for the foundry.
    Forcing PB through a hand riddle is tiring.
     
    Cringleengineering likes this.
  3. Tops

    Tops Silver Banner Member

    I saw one of these at the secondhand store recently. Probably should have brought it home but the mesh seemed too fine for PB sand. I was hoping to score an old semi-modern ice cream maker to start a auto riddle but none were in stock. I am also thinking something that could be powered by a cordless drill might be nice too. foley_ebay.jpg
    Rival-Electric-Ice-Cream-Freezer-Maker-4-Quart.jpg
     
    Cringleengineering likes this.
  4. HT1

    HT1 Gold Banner Member

    Guys, it looks like you are using a finer riddle then you really need, and you only need just enough sand to cover the pattern. get a 4 or 5 mesh and move on

    https://www.iwmesh.com/technical-mesh/


    V/r HT1
     
    Tops likes this.
  5. Tops

    Tops Silver Banner Member

    But...but...but...a manual riddle? :)

    I remember you or Jeff mentioning 4 or 5 mesh somewhere else too when I made this out of scrap fiberglass board. Holes were CNC'd so I did not have to mark or pull the quill down on each one. Had just enough material to make this and one slightly finer, both about 6" square.

    I can't lie though and say I don't want one (because I do) that you pull the trigger and it makes a noise and then little riddled PB pellets go flying around the bench.

    tops_4_5_riddle.jpg
     
    Cringleengineering likes this.
  6. I like the look of that pot thing in the first photo Tops, that would have been easy to just use with a cordless drill!
    I found the mesh i used works very well, it has around 3mm holes. I tried larger holes and it is of course quicker and easier to put through but gives a less smooth finish to my castings.
    i also have a whole stack of 8 hand riddles with different grades of stainless mesh so i figured out what works best for me before making the auto riddle.
     
  7. Tobho Mott

    Tobho Mott Gold Banner Member

    I tried out one of those hand cranked flour sifters. It works but it's slower going and less comfortable than using a normal kitchen sieve and pushing sand through it manually. Usually I use coarser (4 or 5 holes per inch) mesh, which is much faster and (for me) the results are identical. Something with drill action would be an added complication but fun to build and use. If it's actually saving time and effort too, so much the better! :D

    Jeff
     

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