Very cool... I am planning on building a sand muller in the near term. I like your idea of using a section of the 55-gallon drum rather than buying a cement mixer which is the way many people are doing it. Your way is more in my price range... Thanks for sharing your build...
I know this is an older vid, , but this is perfect for my needs. I'll bye using most of your ideas along with mine, depending what i find in my garage. Nice work and thanks for sharing.
so clever in using recycled parts to build this - Great Job....I am just wondering if an old blender can be used to break up the sand instead of using the muller
Yes, I believe it would. In fact, I had considered using the gearbox on my store-bought cement mixer which is like this one. www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-5-0-cu-ft-Portable-Concrete-Mixer-RMX001/305293801
It won't be enough to just add crush rollers. You also need plows to tear up the sand in between compaction. But still, these electric mixers rotate about the right speed, and it would simplify obtaining the rotating mechanism.
I'm late to the party too, wow, a wooden muller! How's it holding up a few years down the line? I modified a cement mixer to build mine. Removed the paddles, tacked in a steel plate for a flat floor and wear surface, cut down the mixing drum to widen the opening, and attached a crossbar which holds the wheel and plows. A short size plastic garbage bin is perfect for dumping several loads out into. Works great for making and maintaining molding sand, I can freshen up about 1/2 a bucket of petrobond or maybe a little more of greensand at a time (approx. one side of a 12X12 flask), but it comes out bigger than that. I've seen guys use pneumatic wheels to great effect but mine has two 2" wide 8"OD cast iron wheels bolted together side by side. So far their lawnmower wheel bearings are holding up fine. The concrete wheel cast in the bottom of a bucket is a great idea!
How well does it work at 45 RPM. I am building a 30 inch unit and wondering if I need to slow down the shaft to keep the same feet per minute on the wheel
It works the best at the higher RPM. I rarely use the low RPM. I think it would do fine. Keep in mind it may take a bit more power. What I have found is that the washing machine motor is a little under powered for the 22 inch standard barrel, so if you are going to increase the diameter to 30" it may do a bigger batch but have different power needs.
I guess I'm spoiled because I have a steel shop that will sell me from the scrap pile very low cost. I tend to think of fabricating more with my welders.
In New Jersey scrap is free all over . Here in Florida there is no scrap metal at the curbs or laying around anywhere. No town dump to go get metal either.
I have replaced the wooden gear once. The first one was made with real cheap 5-ply 3/4" wood with lots of voids in it. The new gear is 2 layers of 1/2" russian birch plywood, similar to aircraft plywood. You can see it getting machined on my CNC here: th-cam.com/video/j56nl06Ok0U/w-d-xo.html
Dan, Great build! Was looking on your website for a place to send you an email, but couldn't find one. I have a couple of questions about your muller. How much sand can be mulled in a batch? Do you remove the sand by shovelling it out? I didn't see a mechanism for it to dump. I like you build enough that I am thinking of duplicating it for myself. The last question is, if I build one, do you have any objections to documenting it on my website and perhaps a couple TH-cam videos. I will give you credit for the design and link back to your site in return. Joe H. www.myheap.com
+My Heap I remove the sand by shovel, and it's super easy to do with the muller rotating. There is no dump mechanism, but my earlier thoughts were to build trunnion mounts on the sides so the whole thing would tilt. But I have not gotten that far, and it's easy enough to use the way it is. You're welcome to copy the design -- my intention with this video was to be free with information and inspire others in their adventures.
+My Heap I haven't evaluated yet how much it will do in a batch. In rough numbers, it seems like about a five gallon pail's worth. It will also mix dry ingredients a lot better than wet. Once that bentonite gets sticky, too big of a batch will stall it.
+dansw0rkshop I went to woodgears.ca and played with the gear calculator, but I couldn't figure out how you made the segmented gear you have with it. Any suggestions? Joe
+My Heap I used the $26 pay version of the gear generator, plus DeltaCAD to copy just a few teeth to fit on a 8.5x11. Give me a moment and I'll put a pdf of a sector on my site.
+My Heap Here's a link to the shop drawing I made using DeltaCAD: www.dansworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/sandmuller_sectors.pdf If you use it, make sure to print it out at 100% with no scaling. I'm not sure if this will work for you -- it uses 5/8 OD bearings, and these were some from my junk bin. You know how that goes. :)
Wood absolutely has its place! Just ask an old skool sheet metal guy. They pound out interesting shapes using wooden tools (stump, they call it). Furthermore, I didn't realize I was a "metal" guy. Yes, I enjoy making things of metal, but it's not a religion. Wood is good for many, many things. Especially when you're in a hurry and have lots of free and cheap lumber.
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Very cool... I am planning on building a sand muller in the near term. I like your idea of using a section of the 55-gallon drum rather than buying a cement mixer which is the way many people are doing it. Your way is more in my price range... Thanks for sharing your build...
Thanks for stopping by! Great job on the ramming tool you made! Are those mold alignment pins 3D printed?
Really fantastic, loved the gear drive and the simplicity of the build. Thank you for sharing. I am going to use a bunch of your ideas!
I know this is an older vid, , but this is perfect for my needs. I'll bye using most of your ideas along with mine, depending what i find in my garage. Nice work and thanks for sharing.
Hey really liked this tool especially the ball bearing gear!
This is great. Recycled parts and no welding.
Very nice. Thanks for sharing!
so clever in using recycled parts to build this - Great Job....I am just wondering if an old blender can be used to break up the sand instead of using the muller
Check olfoundryman's "muller" -- it's more like a blender and he seems to be having success with it
Do you think a cement mixer would work for this ???it has everything except a crush roller(s) maybe those could be incorporated easy enough?
Yes, I believe it would. In fact, I had considered using the gearbox on my store-bought cement mixer which is like this one. www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-5-0-cu-ft-Portable-Concrete-Mixer-RMX001/305293801
It won't be enough to just add crush rollers. You also need plows to tear up the sand in between compaction. But still, these electric mixers rotate about the right speed, and it would simplify obtaining the rotating mechanism.
I'm late to the party too, wow, a wooden muller! How's it holding up a few years down the line? I modified a cement mixer to build mine. Removed the paddles, tacked in a steel plate for a flat floor and wear surface, cut down the mixing drum to widen the opening, and attached a crossbar which holds the wheel and plows. A short size plastic garbage bin is perfect for dumping several loads out into. Works great for making and maintaining molding sand, I can freshen up about 1/2 a bucket of petrobond or maybe a little more of greensand at a time (approx. one side of a 12X12 flask), but it comes out bigger than that. I've seen guys use pneumatic wheels to great effect but mine has two 2" wide 8"OD cast iron wheels bolted together side by side. So far their lawnmower wheel bearings are holding up fine. The concrete wheel cast in the bottom of a bucket is a great idea!
How well does it work at 45 RPM. I am building a 30 inch unit and wondering if I need to slow down the shaft to keep the same feet per minute on the wheel
It works the best at the higher RPM. I rarely use the low RPM. I think it would do fine. Keep in mind it may take a bit more power. What I have found is that the washing machine motor is a little under powered for the 22 inch standard barrel, so if you are going to increase the diameter to 30" it may do a bigger batch but have different power needs.
dansw0rkshop I will keep that in mind. Thank you!
I guess I'm spoiled because I have a steel shop that will sell me from the scrap pile very low cost. I tend to think of fabricating more with my welders.
You're certainly fortunate! I've bought some things from the local scrapyard, it is nice to have one nearby.
In New Jersey scrap is free all over . Here in Florida there is no scrap metal at the curbs or laying around anywhere. No town dump to go get metal either.
Nice build. How is it holding up?
I have replaced the wooden gear once. The first one was made with real cheap 5-ply 3/4" wood with lots of voids in it. The new gear is 2 layers of 1/2" russian birch plywood, similar to aircraft plywood. You can see it getting machined on my CNC here: th-cam.com/video/j56nl06Ok0U/w-d-xo.html
Dan,
Great build! Was looking on your website for a place to send you an email, but couldn't find one. I have a couple of questions about your muller. How much sand can be mulled in a batch? Do you remove the sand by shovelling it out? I didn't see a mechanism for it to dump.
I like you build enough that I am thinking of duplicating it for myself. The last question is, if I build one, do you have any objections to documenting it on my website and perhaps a couple TH-cam videos. I will give you credit for the design and link back to your site in return.
Joe H.
www.myheap.com
+My Heap I remove the sand by shovel, and it's super easy to do with the muller rotating. There is no dump mechanism, but my earlier thoughts were to build trunnion mounts on the sides so the whole thing would tilt. But I have not gotten that far, and it's easy enough to use the way it is.
You're welcome to copy the design -- my intention with this video was to be free with information and inspire others in their adventures.
+My Heap I haven't evaluated yet how much it will do in a batch. In rough numbers, it seems like about a five gallon pail's worth. It will also mix dry ingredients a lot better than wet. Once that bentonite gets sticky, too big of a batch will stall it.
+dansw0rkshop
I went to woodgears.ca and played with the gear calculator, but I couldn't figure out how you made the segmented gear you have with it. Any suggestions?
Joe
+My Heap I used the $26 pay version of the gear generator, plus DeltaCAD to copy just a few teeth to fit on a 8.5x11. Give me a moment and I'll put a pdf of a sector on my site.
+My Heap Here's a link to the shop drawing I made using DeltaCAD:
www.dansworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/sandmuller_sectors.pdf
If you use it, make sure to print it out at 100% with no scaling. I'm not sure if this will work for you -- it uses 5/8 OD bearings, and these were some from my junk bin. You know how that goes. :)
Great but you are a metal guy . Fabricate stuff from metal not wood ! Although wood had its place in the metal shop. Nice build .
Wood absolutely has its place! Just ask an old skool sheet metal guy. They pound out interesting shapes using wooden tools (stump, they call it). Furthermore, I didn't realize I was a "metal" guy. Yes, I enjoy making things of metal, but it's not a religion. Wood is good for many, many things. Especially when you're in a hurry and have lots of free and cheap lumber.