David Einhorn Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I have been building a broom winder that will accommodate the wider handles on forged broom handles up to 2" in diameter as well as art brooms. Not quite done yet but here is my progress. The one photo shows a standard work surface on top of the winder, and the other photo shows a small removable storage unit sitting on the work surface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurlyGeorge Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 That's pretty cool, David. We have a wooden one at the historic site. They are pretty neat to watch work. Thanks for sharing. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fosterob Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Can one of you guys give those of us who don't know what a broom winder is a description of how it works? It looks like a nice, well made machine. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurlyGeorge Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Rob, a simplified answer is that a broom winder is used to make brooms. The handle is placed in the spindle/holder and clamped tight in place. Broom corn straws are laid along side the end of the handle. Then a string is used to wrap around the handle and broom corn to bind it together. More broom corn straw is added and more wrap. The winder turns to allow the string to be wrapped around the whole. I hope that I made sense with this. It is pretty neat to see it done. The finished brooms come out pretty sturdy and work very well. My wife has several that she uses. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted August 16, 2011 Author Share Posted August 16, 2011 The broom machine is basically a hollow revolving shaft that is capable of latching onto a broom handle at the near end. This type of device is a kick winder because the blue wooden spokes are spun by the operator's foot. I was going to make a ratchet mechanism but needed to keep the cost down. The main differences between this device and other wooden kick winders is that I welded the frame out of angle iron, used a larger 2" ID pipe for the shaft, No. 80 sprockets and roller chain, and a removable storage unit. When finished the storage unit will have two drawers added to the lift-up hatch to store small items used in the broom-making process. The roller chain should eliminate the problems of slippage reported by some broom-makers whose machines are powered by flat belts. I was not sure if the top of the storage shelves would be too high to easily retrieve bundles of broom straw, so I made it removable. Most broom machines that I have read about are limited to a handle that is less than one inch. I only wanted to make this once so I have half-inch holes drilled in the back of the frame to hang removable rods to support small spools, and other bracing installed to support two or more industrial sized spools of wire or thread if necessary. I aggravated my shoulder so for the next few days all I can do is try to heal and think about building the drawers. I suspect that the gentleman in the video might be having problems with slippage of his belt powering his machine because he is hand turning the broom rather than using the kicker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 REALLY NICE video David! Thank you!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Once again I find advantage in not reading the forum every day. Someone else asked THE question and was answered with a video and explanation, meaning I can pretend I knew what a broom winder is and how they work. (well, okay, there isn't really much if any advantage to not getting to read every day) It's a really cool machine and I can think of other uses for it or similar. Thanks guys! Frosty the Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fosterob Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Those were some good videos, they made it look easy. Thank you. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted September 25, 2011 Author Share Posted September 25, 2011 Here is the finished broom winder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Miller Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Nice job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianinsa Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Really interesting! cool looking broom winder too. Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted September 25, 2011 Author Share Posted September 25, 2011 Thank you for the kind words. The main purpose of a broom winder is to spin a hollow shaft that clamps down onto a broom handle pulling either wire, cord or twine off of spools. While most winders allow for a maximum of less than a one inch diameter handle, this winder is designed for use on blacksmith made handles and other "art" handles with a spinning shaft clamping onto handles up to two inches in diameter. As shown in the photos, wire and cord can be found or placed on small horizontal spools, vertical spools, or loose coils, depending upon the supplier. This version of the broom winder is also referred to as a kick winder because the operator will spin the wooden spindle with his/her foot causing the chain to provide motion to the sprocket attached to the 2" schedule 40 black pipe serving as the shaft holding the broom handle. From what I have seen so far, the goal seems to be three turns of the broom for each shove of a foot on the kicker, something to keep in mind when choosing sprockets. A cord/wire tension adjuster is seen near the top center of the device. The wire or cord rides between two washers that are adjusted by tightening of a wing nut. For loose wire and vertical cones of cord sitting on the blue rotating discs, additional pulleys will need to be positioned to send the wire or cord over and then up to the tension adjuster that is inline with the spinning broom. Without a way to adjust the tension on the wire/cord, you will likely be exerting far more time and energy keeping the wire or cord tight on the broom. The boards on the lower level as well as the boards serving at the top of the storage unit are all recycled old oak boards that were flea market finds. The drive chain is used #80 roller chain found on EBay imported from Russia. The sprockets are also #80 sprockets, also from EBay. 2" to 1" pipe bell shaped reducers are used on the lower shaft to reduce the size and cost of the bearings and other hardware attached to the lower shaft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted November 5, 2011 Author Share Posted November 5, 2011 Here is a free downloadable version of a book on making brooms and growing broom corn. http://books.google.com/books?id=v7ApAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=broom+making&hl=en&ei=7IK1Tu3NEcLa0QGWrJzRBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CEMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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