bigbuck Posted July 12, 2016 Posted July 12, 2016 anyone ever used a minature cement mixer from harbor freight for rolling stars? ours only carry the ones with steel drums, would these be ok to use for rolling stars being the drums are metal?
OldMarine Posted July 12, 2016 Posted July 12, 2016 I'm about to get me one myself! That's what many pyros use and it doesn't need much modification from what I've read.
bigbuck Posted July 12, 2016 Author Posted July 12, 2016 i know right, ive been eyeballing them buuuuuuutttttttttt the metal drum makes me leary!!!! not sure if they are safe or not
OldMarine Posted July 12, 2016 Posted July 12, 2016 (edited) You take out the blades, seal the holes and barrel joint then prime the whole thing. There's a guy on YouTube who shows how to do Ned's "Stealth Mod" which replaces the gear drive with a roller and knocks the noise way down.If you think about it, the metal drum is no more dangerous than a plastic bowl unless you throw a handful of wrenches in there or something.Huh...Harbor Freight just sent me a coupon for the mixer. Must be a sign! Edited July 12, 2016 by OldMarine
memo Posted July 12, 2016 Posted July 12, 2016 I AM WORKING ON ONE RIGHT NOWjust primed the inside and bought a new tefc motor, just need a belt now. I welded the holes closed with a mig welder 1
OldMarine Posted July 12, 2016 Posted July 12, 2016 You'd think they'd use a TEFC motor to begin with since it will be exposed to corrosive/abrasive concrete dust but.... China. 1
memo Posted July 12, 2016 Posted July 12, 2016 got a cheapo drill press from china, it has a tefc motor, i was surprised
OldMarine Posted July 13, 2016 Posted July 13, 2016 I think I'll hunt on eBay for a motor since the suppliers we use for replacement motors are very proud of their product.Never paid much attention to cost until I was the customer looking at the bill!
memo Posted July 13, 2016 Posted July 13, 2016 those grizzly motors that ned specs are pretty damn good, but they have a price. I have a couple of them. if you saw my freight bill and import tax you would shit. 1
bigbuck Posted July 13, 2016 Author Posted July 13, 2016 anyone have a link on how to modify it to stealth mode?
memo Posted July 13, 2016 Posted July 13, 2016 bigbuck there are a lot of great DIY projects on fireworking, it is worth the money to join. ned has complete plans on converting the HF cement mixer to a star roller. I did the stealth mode add on also. memo
bigbuck Posted July 13, 2016 Author Posted July 13, 2016 (edited) im just curious if it will slip on the roller with a bunch of weight in it? and what model it is, hf has 4 different ones in turn makes me wonder if the part numbers he gave in video will interchange with all four models Edited July 13, 2016 by bigbuck
OldMarine Posted July 13, 2016 Posted July 13, 2016 You ain't gonna be mixing cement in it! At most a few pounds at a time will be all you can do and still get even build up. Too much and the larger stars rise to the top and grow larger faster.
bigbuck Posted July 13, 2016 Author Posted July 13, 2016 lol true!! are you building one old marine??
memo Posted July 13, 2016 Posted July 13, 2016 the 1 in the video is 1.2 cubic feet the smallest one, also the one I have, it takes different wheel for the 2 sizes I am aware of.
bigbuck Posted July 13, 2016 Author Posted July 13, 2016 ok they offer two 1 1/4 cubic feet, I cant see any differences in them other than color, so the part numbers he gives in video for McMaster carr are correct for the 1 1/4 cubic feet mixer? thanks for the help, I only want to order them once!!
memo Posted July 13, 2016 Posted July 13, 2016 (edited) most likely the same one, I live in central America they probably figured 1 .2 was close enough. it is the same machine that is in the video that comes from HF. I got all my parts numbers off of fireworking Edited July 13, 2016 by memo
OldMarine Posted July 13, 2016 Posted July 13, 2016 lol true!! are you building one old marine?? I'm going to pick up a mixer this weekend before my inside track coupon expires. It may be a while before I can modify it since I've got to pay for a dog leg amputation shortly.
bigbuck Posted July 13, 2016 Author Posted July 13, 2016 i think the stealth mode kit lists parts for the 1 1/4 cubic mixer not sure though
memo Posted July 13, 2016 Posted July 13, 2016 there really is no kit, you buy the roller and the bronze bushing from mcmaster car. the rest of the stuff you get at the hardware store. and the part numbers on the video are the ones you want
OldMarine Posted July 14, 2016 Posted July 14, 2016 i think he was talking about the stealth add onI was too because i'm getting the listed one. We have one at work that we use for small jobs and it is super noisy.
memo Posted July 14, 2016 Posted July 14, 2016 (edited) the coupon looks like it is for the cement mixer, the stealth add on was made by shawn ashburg, totally different deal. (probably spelled his name wrong) it is home built. I got mine finished today. it is nice and quiet. memo Edited July 14, 2016 by memo
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