rockstar.esq Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Maillemaker I started out with a heat gun that had a broken element which is close to a hair dryer. While anything moving air will work to a degree, it's important to recognize that air flow, not velocity is what's important. The hand crank blowers are much more like a pump than a blower in that they push a large volume of air with relatively slow air speed. After trying to use the heat gun and a vacuum cleaner, I came to realize that bellows were better for me. A Sheet of plywood and some second hand "pleather" coats from a thrift store are readily available wherever you live. I looked for over a year for an inexpensive hand cranked blower, the least expensive one I could find was $200.00 on e-bay. My bellows were roughly $30.00 in parts. One tremendously important thing about bellows; the cross sectional area of the valves must be large enough to allow rapid intake and evacuation. Several smaller valves grouped together are easier than one larger and hard to seal one. After building one set, I will probably move to making a smaller box shaped model for space savings. If you have the room, there are water bellows plans http://www.google.com/imgres?q=water+bellows&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=CkC&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1920&bih=947&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=nEJAMG7OOMuLdM:&imgrefurl=http://www.garden-sculpture-art.co.uk/blacksmiths_forge_bellows.htm&docid=Lo-oRNmAimzUJM&imgurl=http://www.garden-sculpture-art.co.uk/Water%252520Bellows%252520Drawing%2525202%252520comp.jpg&w=600&h=487&ei=cUDJTouQF_TJiQKv5KX-Dw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=279&sig=117065086116668325303&page=1&tbnh=140&tbnw=172&start=0&ndsp=49&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=105&ty=89, this seems like it's be very cheap if you can find old drums. Good luck and thanks for taking care of the scout tradition! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mtrewyn Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Rockstar.esq, That is a really cool idea. I think I'll stick with the blower, but the creativity of coming up with your own way of solving a problem is one thing I enjoy about building things on my own. I think it keeps me sane some times ya know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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