ChloRure Posted August 16, 2012 Posted August 16, 2012 Hi, I made a star roller last week using a car wiper motor and a "kitchen stainless steel bowl". The speed look like to be perfect... I can use 2 speeds, around 60rpm and around 80rpm. Problem is that my core dont want to roll... they just slide in the bowl in a pack, even when I try to put the bowl near 90 degrees. Any input? Maybe stainless steel bowl is not a good material. Ill try to post video tomorrow. Thanks
Xtreme Pyro Posted August 16, 2012 Posted August 16, 2012 Hi, I made a star roller last week using a car wiper motor and a "kitchen stainless steel bowl". The speed look like to be perfect... I can use 2 speeds, around 60rpm and around 80rpm. Problem is that my core dont want to roll... they just slide in the bowl in a pack, even when I try to put the bowl near 90 degrees. Any input? Maybe stainless steel bowl is not a good material. Ill try to post video tomorrow. Thanks Sounds pretty normal too me. My cores do the same thing until I add my first spoon full of star comp. If they are still sliding, try ruffing up the drum with some fine grit sandpaper to give it some grip.
Arthur Posted August 16, 2012 Posted August 16, 2012 Star rolling is time consuming to start with! LOTS depends on the moisture content of the compound. I saw stars being rolled in a Factory once. -roller the size of a cement mixer with about 25 kilos of powder in, spinning slowly, then the operator simply sprayed the powder gently and little seeds of stars formed and grew with added moisture -no cores! As the stars grew the whole lot was poured through a screen and the "big enough" stars separated out. SO contrary to some methods all the powder was in the drum dry and turning over and only moisture was added.
ExplosiveCoek Posted August 16, 2012 Posted August 16, 2012 (edited) ChloRure, don't waste your time on RVS stainless bowls. I've been using them for quite a time, and NEVER got them to work. Despite what I tried. A friend of mine even modified them by welding a flat plate to the back, like those Chinese rollers, still no success. You'll need a different metal then RVS, it sucks. Even after grinding it with a wire brush, still no success. Just get yourself a bucket, or a different metal for rolling stars. The Chinese use brass or Alu for instance (brass is the best). Arthur, that's true, however not really possible for hobbyist right . Especially most of the peeps here who only make 100g of stars.. Easiest way for a hobbyist is to start with cores. Edited August 16, 2012 by ExplosiveCoek
Potassiumchlorate Posted August 16, 2012 Posted August 16, 2012 Star rolling is time consuming to start with! LOTS depends on the moisture content of the compound. I saw stars being rolled in a Factory once. -roller the size of a cement mixer with about 25 kilos of powder in, spinning slowly, then the operator simply sprayed the powder gently and little seeds of stars formed and grew with added moisture -no cores! As the stars grew the whole lot was poured through a screen and the "big enough" stars separated out. SO contrary to some methods all the powder was in the drum dry and turning over and only moisture was added. Well, it's a matter of routine and tested and known methods. As soon as you know exactly how to make something right, it isn't complicated at all anymore. This is a real truism
dagabu Posted August 22, 2012 Posted August 22, 2012 I am using a 5 gallon bucket inside my roller for rolling stars, it seems to do a better job of coating them then the smooth sides of my aluminum rolling bowl. -dag
Potassiumchlorate Posted August 22, 2012 Posted August 22, 2012 Yes, a somewhat rugged surface seems better, preferrably plastic or rubber. I'll probably never be really good at rolling stars, but some stars are easier to roll, for example all "BP" type compositions and Bleser Aqua. Ironically barium chlorate and shellac is not easy to roll, despite the high density.
ChloRure Posted August 23, 2012 Author Posted August 23, 2012 True, I switched to a plastic bucket and it roll fine now... still need to practice (more when you are starting them) I tried as a first batch to roll "Electric Magenta" and they look not super hard, at least not like when I was cutting them.
ChloRure Posted August 25, 2012 Author Posted August 25, 2012 I Have another question... When you roll your stars. let say to about 1/2, do you di it 1 shot ? Or you roll 1/4... let it dry and do another 1/4 and finaly prime layer ? Same goes for the 2 colors stars, do you wait for the first color/layer to dray (around 2 days) then do the other layer ?
Potassiumchlorate Posted August 25, 2012 Posted August 25, 2012 I roll a couple of millimeters, let it dry for some hours or maybe a day. Then I repeat until it's finished. I usually prime in a separate step.
dagabu Posted August 25, 2012 Posted August 25, 2012 I Have another question... When you roll your stars. let say to about 1/2, do you di it 1 shot ? Or you roll 1/4... let it dry and do another 1/4 and finaly prime layer ? Same goes for the 2 colors stars, do you wait for the first color/layer to dray (around 2 days) then do the other layer ? No more then 1/4" or 5mm in one rolling before drying them. -dag
dan999ification Posted August 26, 2012 Posted August 26, 2012 same here, i roll a few mm a time let dry then continue, its not uncommon for me to take three days to make 10mm tiger tail ( by hand rolling) worth it in the end, but cutting veline and shooting today is very attractive at the same time, or between drying, dan.
PyroThrills Posted June 15, 2013 Posted June 15, 2013 sorry for resurecting a dead thread, but something caught my eye. i roll full 3/4 inch stars in one rolling. ... with marginal success in the area of colors im after, but shape, uniformity, and hardness are good. is this wrong?
Arthur Posted June 15, 2013 Posted June 15, 2013 Not if it works for you!Issues could be that the core area of the star will retain moisture for a long while.Take a small batch of stars that you can weigh accurately and try to dry them to constant weight, see how long it really takes.
PyroThrills Posted June 15, 2013 Posted June 15, 2013 Ill have to try that, I have a heated/dehumidified drying box i built and have just been leaving them in for 12 hours and using them. guess i dont know for sure if the center is dry.
w4cbl Posted June 16, 2013 Posted June 16, 2013 Is there any place to BUY a small commercially made star roller?
TheArchitect23 Posted July 4, 2013 Posted July 4, 2013 (edited) sorry for the bump of the old thread but i have a bunch of posts to catch up on, and the above caught my eye. it was stated to roll 1/4'' at one time then dry. add 1/4'' then dry. i have never heard of such a practice. i roll to 5/8 on occasion in one shot, mostly 3/8. ive never had drying issues. nor color issues for that matter. scenario: micro red cores, wet, turn on roller. add powder, roll, wet, powder, and so on. i do tend to roll a bit dry as i hate to get almost up to size and get raspberries, only the final layers, and prime layers receive ample moisture water only to get a good bond with the dextrin. perhaps someone can chime in on the reasoning for the 1/4 rule. ( id assume that would be for high charcoal based stars, i may be wrong ) *add, i dry on screens for 1-3 days behind a box fan. my relative humidity is also not often very high, and usually warm out. Edited July 4, 2013 by TheArchitect23
plazwthanfo07 Posted July 12, 2013 Posted July 12, 2013 Getting your comp. to start cascading around in a Stainless bowl is like roller skating on a treadmill, its all about rubber and traction. The fix to this somewhat complex problem is a simple solution. Take the trusty hot glue gun and melt a 1-2" strip around the inside of the bowl right in the middle where the comp settles in the bowl. Take a heat gun and heat of the glue and smooth out the strip of rubber with something. Make sure to put the strip all the way around the inside. Thats all there is to it.
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