BallReviews
General Category => Coverstock Preparation => Topic started by: Tarasevich on March 30, 2007, 07:51:05 AM
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Howdy. Has anyone here tried building their own spinner with a used electric motor, automotive belt or other, and an appropriate metal or other heavy duty cup on a spindle? What about a used centrifuge with the vial casing removed and a cup mounted? Just wondering, I have thought of this as a possible option to create a variable speed spinner on a metal tube frame. Does anyone have any experiences?
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Several people have made custom ball spinners. Can't think of the names, but I know one person used a heavy-duty power drill that he just mounted to the underside of a work table. A few have used old washing machine motors. I have an electric lawn mower that I got for $50 from Lowes that I'd like to try using, but it's several horsepower, a bit more than a spinner would usually have.
I like the idea of the centrifuge. My wife works in the lab at the hospital here, maybe she can get an old centrifuge for me.
SH
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I made one from a power snake from a plumber.As soon as I saw it, It just looked like a ball spinner! used the motor and the frame, welded an automotive belt tensioner to the frame, turned a truck water pump pulley upside down and welded it to the tensioner pulley, put the belt on it and lined the inside of the wp pulley with a piece of a tire tube. Been using it for over 10 years!
Edited on 3/30/2007 5:11 PM
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ok, this might be long so bear with me. i got a 1/2" power drill. made a small platform on the side of an old cabinet in my garage using 2 L brackets on the top and bottom for stability. sat the drill on that and got a piece of flexible sheet metal (about an inch wide) with holes across the whole piece at lowes for about $6.00. the piece is about3 ft. long. you will only need about 8"s of it. bend the metal around the drill body and drill holes in the cabinet to attach the bracet onto. using the the bolts, tighten the drill on, make it snug so it won't shift but if you go too tight, you will actually slow up the motor inside the drill, a lesson i learned. get a 8" green flower pot for about $3.23. mount that on a piece of wood because you will need the stability when the ball is sitting on it. i used 6 bolts to be safe. drill a hole thru the middle of the wood and pot. i found a long thick bolt and cut the head off. grind 3 sides of the bolt that is going in the drill, you will need that done because when you start the drill with the ball on it, the bolt will loosen up if you don't lock it in the drill shaft. put it down the drill shaft till it hits bottom, and lock it in tight, i used pliers. with the threads sticking up, place the pot mounted on the board thru the hole in the middle. use a washer and then a lock nut to tighten it in, if you use a regular nut it will come loose(trust me). i got a extension cord with a foot peddle so i can keep both hands on thball and be able to turn it off quickly. (trust me again, LOL). it sounds tuff but it really isn't, it took me about 3-4 hours to get it right but i could probably make one now in about an hour. the foot peddle is important in case you mess up along the way. total cost about $25.00. you first shot at using it you may want to use an old ball. LOL. good luck and if you need any help, give me a holler.
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I made one with go-cart axle parts and furnice motor. 3 hp I believe. Good luck stalling this baby. Used it for years, never a problem. It is beast. Spent about $100 on everything.
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ok, this might be long so bear with me..... good luck and if you need any help, give me a holler.
Scooter, thanks for the detailed write-up. NAy chance that you've got some pics of the setup?
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pjr300
live from the Bowling Capital of the World
specs and transaction record (positive and negative) in my profile
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Thanks folks. I am definitely building my own, But after I made the centrifuge comments and after seeing your replies, it seems many others were thinking the same thing. I don't like the whole side mounted motor, belt driven design. I actually want to mount mine under my 2" workbench table top, and put the cup on that. I am thinking a drill is probably the best, but any motor will really do as long as it is powerful enough. The flower pot is a perfect idea i hadn't thought of, but do we really need the full 8"er? A smaller cup (5-6") Would seem better to get more of the ball at once. Thanks again folks. All of this was really a great help.
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One drawback to most of these "homemade" spinners... portability.
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"A word to the wise ain't necessary -- it's the stupid ones that need the advice." Bill Cosby
"Never argue with an idiot. They bring you down to their level and beat you with experience."
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Touche! Excellent point. If I were a heavy tournament competitor, Where I would need to make cover stock changes between days or rounds depending on what I am seeing out there, then it would be totally impractical to build your own. Unless, you built a 12V model and mounted it in the trunk of your car. That would be hardcore DIY bowling tech right there! If the general public knew what a spinner was, I could sell that joke to Foxworthy.
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You can make it lightweight using a wood frame, plywood or 1/4" thick aluminium across it to mount the motor and bowl. Use a old aluminium pot as bowl and aluminium pulleys.
Heaviest will be the motor. If you can find a old domestic washing machine or dishwasher motor which are quite small and lightweight.
Drawback is the base will have to be quite big for stability.
Try to size the pulleys to get around 400 rpm at the bowl and you'll have no stability problems.
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baiki
"Faulty mechanics makes all balls bad." Bill Hall, BTM Dec. '98
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Not familiar with the dirt devil.
If it's a vacuum motor, it may not been designed to do any work with load and may have too high RPM.
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baiki
"Faulty mechanics makes all balls bad." Bill Hall, BTM Dec. '98
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I built one from a power drill (even easy to transport, though messy when used) for infrequent home use.
Some pics here: http://www.putfile.com/dizzyfugu/images/58550
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DizzyFugu - Reporting from Germany
Confused by bowling? Check out BR.com's vault of wisdom: the FAQ section (http://"http://www.ballreviews.com/Forum/Replies.asp?TopicID=74110&ForumID=16&CategoryID=5")
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i have made one that works that is almost like dizzys. my question to him is what is the piece that is between the drill and the flower pot? right now i have a bolt that goes up and is attatched to a round piece of wood that is attatched to the pot. it looks like your base that the pot sits on is more stable than mine. mine works but i just din't feel real safe with it, i used your idea but missed that part, thanks.
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The grey thing is an inverted PVC water drain end cap, as a drop and splash protector for the drill's cooling air intake.
Yes, and it ads much stability to the rather weak flower pot from below. Without the PVC cap/base, this thing would certainly fall apart after the 1st resurfacing 
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DizzyFugu - Reporting from Germany
Confused by bowling? Check out BR.com's vault of wisdom: the FAQ section (http://"http://www.ballreviews.com/Forum/Replies.asp?TopicID=74110&ForumID=16&CategoryID=5")
Edited on 4/16/2007 9:25 AM
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dizzy, i hate to bug you, but how did you attatch the inverted pvc to the drill. i got all the pieces and was thinking about attatching the drain to the chuck, if i do that i am going to have to either add some tape (which i don't want to do) or sand down the incide of a pvc tube to get it to fit. i was checking out your photo but i couldn't see underneath to see how it was anchored. any info would help, thanks.
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Scooter, it is a tricky but simple design
I put much thought in it to find a stable and secure solution, and checking DIY stores I found a steel mount for the drill to use cutting disks - you can safely insert it into the drill mount and fasten it, and theoretically you can mount a cutting disk on top with a screw and lock it, safely.
Only thing to do next was drilling a tight hole into the flower pot and the PVC cap, put the cutting disk mount through it, and seizing the holding screw tightly. Works like a charm, is durable and even cheap (I guess this piece costs less than $10).
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DizzyFugu - Reporting from Germany
Confused by bowling? Check out BR.com's vault of wisdom: the FAQ section (http://"http://www.ballreviews.com/Forum/Replies.asp?TopicID=74110&ForumID=16&CategoryID=5")
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dizzy, mucho-grassy-ass. i found the grinding bit i think you were talking about, it goes in the the chuck then has a screw at the top that anchors it. i am not sure the pvc piece was right but it was a one that works to attatch the pot onto. i have a 6" pot on it. works great. i think the grinding bit was $5.86 and thepvc was $4.86, the pot was $1.19 and about 4 screws to hold the pot on, so the total is about $13.00. not bad if you have an old drill laying around. i am still looking for that ultimate motor like a dryer motor or something with a little more juice. i was even looking into a grinder and take the stone off that might have a little more power. for now, it's cleaning all of my stuff real well. the guy at lowe's was concerned that eventually the bearings will go out from spinning a 14-15# bowling ball. we will see. thanks again for your help, i am sure it will help someone else out too. cheap and easy, just like my 1st wife. (just ask all my buddies).
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grassy-ass? I believe you meant gracias? wow, that made me really laugh out loud
And if I had the time and patience, I'd probably try and build my own spinner but of course I won't even give it a try.. but hey, I'm glad you got yours working, let us know how it holds up. Mine would probably fall apart within the first couple of resurfaces
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No pressure could hold sway
Or justify my kneeling away
My center.. ~Tool~
Waste life when youth is sweeter, neater
Content with contents
Cultures cringing at accents
And it's too tense, camp out.. ~Silverchair~
Would you forgive me I'm gifted with this poison pen
Are ya silently, lividly, waiting - for the ever end?.. ~Injected~
Edited on 4/19/2007 12:46 PM
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AbAdA, what i really meant was muchass-grassy-ass. but i don't know spanish any better then they know english, but that's another subject. it really is quite easy. one thing i forgot to mention, i have a foot peddle extension cord so i can keep both hands on the pot and ball and still turn it on and off. also, when everything is ready to go, make sure your drill is set on forward and not reverse. another lesson learned the hard way, if it's reverse, the screw that holds the pvc in place will unscrew itself. hence the foot peddle for easy and quick stops. if you do try it, my suggestion is use an old ball just incase of a stafu till you get it sound and you feel comfotable with it. good luck to all.