Landscape Rake Build

[GuglioLS]

J.J.

Thanks for that epoxy paint link, looks like tough enough stuff and the price is right too. I'll have to check around here and see if I can get something like that local. Maybe even find some in a rattle can?

Larry

 

[GuglioLS]

Today I was hoping to do some welding, but before that, I wanted to do some sandblasting to remove mill slag from all the rake parts. I got everything ready - sand, sand blaster, hose, hood, goggles, respirator, gloves etc...When I flipped on the breaker for the air compressor...... BUZZZZZZZZZZ.....SNAP, the breaker blows I don't understand, it was working fine just last week. Now my 20 Y/O 5 HP Ingersoll Rand compressor motor does not want to start. not good.
After removing the belt between the motor and compressor, I tried again, same thing, motor buzzes - no go. It turns freely by hand so the bearings are not frozen. So now I take the motor off and take it apart. Fortunately I found the starter winding contacts burned and pitted. After sanding them down and putting the motor back together...... Viola - she starts and runs smooth again - whew.....





I was hoping to post some serious progress, I was lucky to get the compressor back up and running.

Larry

 

[GuglioLS]

After getting the compressor back on-line, I did get to do some sandblasting of rake parts after all:






LOL - I used a kiddie pool to help catch and recycle some of the sand, I think I captured maybe 25%, good thing too because I only had about 50 #'s of sand and used every bit. When I was finished, I took the shop vac and sucked up the sand dunes laying on the ground. Then ran it through a flour sifter to be used till it turned into dust. Esther's going to pick me up some more sand tomorrow so I can finish playing in the sand and start welding. What do you think? The parts look pretty clean now. With any luck, tomorrow, the welder will start.

Larry

 

[mjncad]

I'm looking forward to seeing the completed rake.

 

[Renze]

Larry,

I bought a used compressor last year, it had an allmost new 3 cylinder pump, a used wind vessel and an electrical motor coming off a worn out pressure washer.

I took the chance for the allmost new 3 cylinder pump. 2 months ago the motor burnt. Its a 4 hp 3phase 400V

A new motor would be 190 euro. Could you explain me what exactly are the parts that you ground smooth ? Maybe my compressor motor suffers the same, and i could fix it myself instead of buying a brand new motor.
I'm not really into electrical devices...

And: How long did it take you to make the sandblasting progress you show in those pictures ? I might want to buy a sandblasting pistol for my compressor too, but only if its worth doing, time-wise.

 

[GuglioLS]

I'm looking forward to seeing the completed rake.

Me too!!! Seems like it's taking forever. So far I think I have less than a month of Saturdays and a few week day evenings into it. I guess that's not to bad.

Could you explain me what exactly are the parts that you ground smooth ?

Renze - I'm not sure of the wiring on a three phase motor, but on my 220 single phase capacitor start motor, there is a set of starter windings that are momentarily energized to get the motor going, after the motor starts and begins to spin, centrifugal force opens a set of contacts that de-energize the starter windings. On mine the starter winding contacts were burnt, so there was no current going into the starter circuit, only the run windings. I sanded the burnt carbon and pits off the internal contacts that open and close the circuit to the starter field windings. The contacts I sanded are shown in the pictures above. Only pics of the burnt contacts are shown as no pictures were taken after sanding them. Not sure if a three phase motor has starter windings or not. Maybe some three phase motor guru will chime in and explain that.

And: How long did it take you to make the sandblasting progress you show in those pictures ? I might want to buy a sandblasting pistol for my compressor too, but only if its worth doing, time-wise.

Getting the mill slag off some parts was super fast, like those arms I bent in the press, those only took a few minutes to clean off. The plasma cut index plates were another story, I spent at least an hour on each one. The metal on those was in bad shape, they had mill slag, rust , and pits. Is a small handheld sand blaster worth i?, for occasional small home projects I think so.

Larry

 

[EddieWalker]

Larry,

That's a pretty cool sand blaster that you have there. I've never seen one like it and would appreciate any info you can share on it. Where did you get it, how much and your impressions of it's performance? Did you use any special type of sand?

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[J_J]

Larry,

That's a pretty cool sand blaster that you have there. I've never seen one like it and would appreciate any info you can share on it. Where did you get it, how much and your impressions of it's performance? Did you use any special type of sand?

Thanks,
Eddie

Eddie,

Harbor Freight has these. $15.99, $12.99

 

[J_J]

Larry,


Did you happen to notice any differences in the plasma cut holes from top side compared to the bottom side. The reason I ask is that a plasma stream cuts in a small cone. A laser cuts better, and straighter. With plasma cutting the thicker the metal the worse it gets. I had some holes cut with plasma , and I noticed some difference. Anywhere from 1 to 5 degrees. On 3/4 thick metal, one side of the hole might be 1 inch, and the bottom might be 1 1/8 On thin metal, you will not notice much difference. This is just something to think about. It all depends on the cutting tip, whether it is new or well used.

 

[GuglioLS]

Larry,

That's a pretty cool sand blaster that you have there. I've never seen one like it and would appreciate any info you can share on it. Where did you get it, how much and your impressions of it's performance? Did you use any special type of sand?

Thanks,
Eddie

Eddie,
The sandblaster is the 15.99 Harbor Freight one that J.J. posted. The sand I use is "Play Sand" from Wal-Mart 2.39 for a 50# bag. Sometimes I get bagged sand from Home Depot, if there are grains in the sand that are too coarse, it will not feed through the gun. If that's the case, I use a flour sifter to sift out the larger granules. The gun works great, the only drawback is on large projects, the hopper is too small and I have to keep filling it often. Oh and the sand must be bone dry to feed properly.

Larry