Monthly Archives: October 2010

…build an entire project 😦 So the only thing left to do is throw the switch and watch the thing start to rotate, right? I did this with some trepidation, a little for my own health and safety vis a … Continue reading →

Before I start this entry I have to say that I am more comfortable with electrics than I am with woodwork but I am also not an electrician so that doesn’t say very much. As the disclaimer goes “You should … Continue reading →

Now that I had a dressed motor, some mounted pulleys and a selection of vee-belts the time had come to put it all together. I’d been wracking my brains to work out a way to mount the motor to the … Continue reading →

As I said, the load pulley didn’t come with any way of securing it to the scratter’s aluminium shaft. When I got it out of the bag I was a bit disappointed and, beyond “Araldite!” I didn’t have a decent … Continue reading →

I found working out my pulley dimensions and belt lengths etc wasn’t too hard. Starting with the rpm of the motor as ~1400, the diameter of the aluminium bar = 25mm and the diameter of the the motor shaft = … Continue reading →

To get this beast of a motor horizontally mounted so that it could drive the scratter we chose to use some of the 18mm ply, figuring that it would have enough strength to take the weight. I measured 3″ up … Continue reading →

Here is the beating heart of the scratter, the 1/3HP motor 240v single phase motor that I managed to track down at The Barras. I found it quite difficult to source one at a reasonable price on eBay because the … Continue reading →

Not my finest hour this I’d have to say. For a non-woodworker from Manchester, living on the West Coast of Scotland, I’d like to think I’ve managed to engineer some “Somerset Charm” into the machine at this point! Here’s the back board … Continue reading →

Day two and now the drum is oiled and dry and I’ve managed to get the screws into it following the original pattern: I’ve got a 25mm aluminium bar that goes through the centre and two pillow bearings with 25mm … Continue reading →

Other things I’ve done today: Applied 2 coats of Danish Oil (available from any decent diy store and some crap ones as well) to the drum and one face of the ply wood (not to give too much away but … Continue reading →