Dirt sifter redux

[PJs]

Thanks PJs! I'm not sure what you mean by the big O ring. I think you are talking about the 1/2" rod ring that the upper rollers are attached to. That I rolled on the the big HFT Tubing roller. I should take some pics of it as it's also handy as a shirt pocket. It of course has been modded to do different stuff. I'm learning from you and Paul's excellent builds how to take pics. Unfortunately I never think of that until after I'm done.

Most welcome C-Bag! Pic 1, 2, & 3 looks to me like some kind ring is around the neck of the drum. Assumed it was an O-Ring for the channeled rollers to ride on. Would imagine it could be a steel/tube ring though to stiffen the neck of it for riding on your roller support and the weight of the dirt.

Thanks for the detail on the coupling, pretty sharp thinking and repurposing! I get it now! I've tried to avoid fruit and nut trees because of a summer picking walnuts as a teen...for someone 6'6" it was a long summer... However I never minded getting apples for my Gma to make her unbelievable apple sauce.

[C-Bag]

I guess I should make some detail pics. The ring only holds the upper rollers and the rollers ride right on the upper lip of the plastic drum. Since the rollers had rubber a circular depression in them they tracked perfectly on that lip of the drum without messing up the plastic. It was one of those things I wasn't sure would work but when I tried it under "armstrong" power it worked out. The lower rollers are really the ones that carry the weight and the uppers are just more for stability. That's why the 3/4" pipe crossmember on the bottom that the bottom rollers bolt through. The ring is bolted to that. The uppers help keep all 4 rollers in their grooves on the rim of the plastic barrel as the barrel was not perfectly round and the whole thing flexes as it rolls. I know it seems hard to believe that plastic drum with all the holes in it would be strong enough to hold up rock and dirt and actually stand up over time but I assure you it has done the job much to my surprise. And way faster and with the plastic tarp on it, very little dust.

[PJs]

I get it now C-Bag, just couldn't finger out the dark ring. Surprised that the rim on the rollers holds the weight but excellent that it does. Think the rear probably takes the bulk of the weight anyway and it's plenty beefy. That tarp was a Sensible Idea!! Gets better and better with all the detail! Thanks for sharing!

[C-Bag]

finally got some time to do hopefully some better details for Paul and PJs.

Here's another pic of the upper roller and "big O ring"
the circular part that the roller is bolted to is a camber adjuster off a Ford or Merc been in my junk drawer for years. Take the nut loose and put a wrench on the bolt through the roller to adjust with, then tighten the nut.
With the tarp cover off a little more detail of the coupler and drive setup. I almost never get a chance to paint because I'm not sure what I've contrived is going to work. Then when it does it's either too dirty or whatever. I've come to consider rust the same as patina
some of the frame that holds the tarp. You'd have to look close but the original pix have less holes. As time went on and the plastic drum didn't fall apart I put more holes with the hole saw and also along the bottom rim to see if I could get more sift per revolution. As you can see it wanted to plug up. This last run I didn't try to clean it out, rode 'er hard and put 'er up dirty. a little HFT grouping....the ring roller that I did the pipe, big "O" ring, and the tarp frame. It has some optional rollers in it for square tubing that I used the lathe to make bigger so I could do this:this project is how I talked my SO into buying the ring roller

[PJs]

Thanks C-Bag for the additional pics. Thought those camber adjusters looked familiar...really excellent use of them and probably worked better for this application. ~¿@ Can also see clearly how the drum is what rides in the rollers, another great re-purposing!! Pretty amazing build C-Bag and looks to handle a fairly significant load...love it when an Idea with bit and pieces comes together like this. Based on your beautiful arbor and your sifter, I think your investment in HFT has paid for itself a few times over. Thanks for all the details and sharing a great project. and cheers!!

[C-Bag]

Thanks so much PJs you are too kind. Just engineering to stock. When I realized the huge job ahead of me with the tons and literally weeks of sifting I needed to do I knew the box setup wasn't going to cut it. My 7th grade metal shop teacher once said "a lazy man is a smart man" and that has stuck with me.

I live in a huge project so I use my ADD to good effect by moving between several projects. Working on one till I get stumped (or bored )then rotate to the next, rinse and repeat. This took several months of part time to get to the testing phase. But it justified to my SO that I needed my HFT 9x20 lathe and the RF-30 mill. Both off cl and for a total of less than $1,000. Yeah, they were both a project but have earned their keep. The sifter mount and coupler were the first things I ever tried to machine.

[PJs]

My 7th grade metal shop teacher once said "a lazy man is a smart man" and that has stuck with me.

I vacillate between the "works smarter, not harder" clan and the "Laziness is the mother of invention" Clan. But then again not sure if either clan wants to be associated. It's amazing the similarities, in that I call your practice "freewheeling", bouncing between Way too many projects when stumped or Bored, but my OCD keeps me going. Some projects just need pondering/cogitation or Lunch or a change of focus to let the light in. I do some of that justification my self but luckily I have the Best SO ever, to put up with me and support my "Projects".

For your first machining, I think you Nailed it!! Till Then, ~PJ

[kbalch]

I vacillate between the "works smarter, not harder" clan and the "Laziness is the mother of invention" Clan.

I tend go with "'Perfect' is the enemy of 'good enough'". The trick being, of course, in knowing what constitutes "good enough" in a given circumstance. I typically use "airworthy" as my judging metric.

Ken

[PJs]

I tend go with "'Perfect' is the enemy of 'good enough'". The trick being, of course, in knowing what constitutes "good enough" in a given circumstance. I typically use "airworthy" as my judging metric.

Ken

Love it Ken...what ever turns your prop! And you are absolutely right about the circumstance...me I always look back and ask Did I really spend this much time on this? but the smiles and grins have it! Think I might start using "Airworthy" too in the appropriate circles of course. ~PJ

[C-Bag]

I typically use "airworthy" as my judging metric.

Ken

After I got out of aircraft school I used that alot. But because I'd gone back to automotive because it paid more and I didn't have to sign a log, when I said it people looked at me funny. So it just kinda got dropped. But when I think of it is that why people say "that'll fly" " or "lets see if it'll fly"?