Build log: DIY rotary sub for contemporary HT in 100 year old house? - Page 37

Yeah, it has no problem. It is a 5/8" rod. I haven't cut it down to length yet either. You could stand on it and it would flex a bit, but be fine. Axially it can take a tremendous load. You'll have a fair amount of friction, but with a drill powering it, it is no problem at all.

That would be an option if I could source the motors/gearbox for a decent price. I can get rechargeable drills (without batteries) for $15 each shipped on eBay. They run at 700 RPM with loads of torque at 9.6V. The problem is that they are a bit noisy -- they sound like a drill, go figure? Also, they have a chuck so I can mate the shaft of the threaded rod easily and they already have bearings to support an axial load making for easy mounting. Also, if one breaks it would be easy and cheap to replace. I just have to see if putting them in a plywood box with a bunch of fiberglass will make them quiet enough.

So, I made a box out of 3/4" ply to put around the drill. I laid the drill on some foam and then placed the box under the chair with some small cushions. The volume was reduced to a level I thought was acceptable. I didn't seal the box. The chair doesn't have a front or back and of course there is no cushioning. I think between all of that it should make the volume much less. I'll start ordering supplies for the chairs now. I'll finalize the prototype dimensions before ordering cushions and pleather.

I think almost all of the noise is high frequency. I don't think GG or mass is as necessary. Decoupling will be more problematic as they need to be connected to the chair through the threaded rod and the drill mount (and then the sound-reduction box mount). Also, I need to keep things as air tight as possible. These drills won't get much cooling, but they are only on for about 10 seconds at a time and at a reduced voltage.

Yeah, that is basically what I linked to a few posts back. Those were pretty reasonable at $25 a pop....but all the others I found were $100+.

I'm a bit disappointed. I had compared my white spandex with the Center Stage XD screen material previously and thought they were pretty similar in look with maybe slightly less gain in the spandex but butter smooth. I put up the spandex on half my screen to compare. Really, with content they look pretty similar, but the XD has more vivid colors while the spandex looks a little dull in comparison. I think it would be a step sideways in PQ. I just ordered some fabric samples to try in "shiny spandex". I hope one works well!

In other news, my poplar door threshold warped so I need to come up with another option. It was glued directly on the dryloked concrete floor. I should have known that wasn't going to work. I'm thinking maybe black marble or other stone.

I have the weekend free! I hope I'm productive.

Well, I did a lot of work this weekend. At the end of it, I wasn't so sure I got a lot accomplished. Looking back, I think I made good headway.

I made 6 frames for the walls with another 2 that I made a while ago as tests. I ripped 2.5 sheets of plywood (Lowes was out so I'll need to pick up more this weekend). I drilled, cut and modified french cleats for probably all of the frames in the room. I cut and installed a black marble door threshold. I finalized my seat dimensions and ordered "leather" and foam.

Yesterday I stapled spandex to 3 of the frames and hung them on the wall. They look pretty good! The white ones' fabric is pretty sheer so I decided I would either paint their frames white or add another layer of white spandex. Unfortunately, adding another layer allows less light to come through with the RGB LEDs. I did notice that when I put a layer of spandex on the back of those frames that the LEDs were brighter. So, looks like I'll put something white (spandex or white poster board?) on the backs of the white frames.

I received the "leather" in the mail today. This is it: http://www.fabricdirect.com/acatalog...oll-Black.html

If you haven't felt the polyurethane "leathers", they are quite close to leather in appearance and feel. They are also very durable and soft. They are also around 1/10 the cost and you don't have to deal with the variety of hides. I guess I'll know better when I get a chair together!

I promise to have pictures of the wall when I get a few more panels up!

The in-laws stayed over this weekend and I really didn't get anything done except for picking up more ply.

I received my switches for the recliners and they are nice for $5. They're just large rocker switches, but it is surprisingly hard to find them for less than $15-20. Also, I will be receiving my foam for my test/first chair tomorrow. I am curious how it will feel to sit on it.

We did a pizza extravaganza for our small group at lunch.

Breakfast pizza (bacon, potato, egg, cheese)


Shrimp Mozambique pizza (My wife's fav since she is Portuguese)


French onion pizza (carmelized onions, bacon, cheese). My wife's idea.


Mexican pizza (sour cream, cheese, refried beans, salsa, taco seasoned beef). Mangled half not shown.


All of these pizzas were GREAT and so different from the more simple pizzas I usually make. Yum!

I always say that even bad pizza is good. Pizza is pretty much the perfect food. If you think of bad pizza as a "different style" usually you can appreciate it for what it is.

That Mexican pizza had about 3 times too much stuff on it for the thin crust and therefore 1/3 of the pizza was pretty much ruined when it hit the 600 degree stone.

I received the foam for the chair today. I think they have about the perfect firmness, but I'll sit on it for the next few days (not continuously) to see if my opinion changes. I also received the cup holders that Jelloslug advised me to get.

Yes, you are right that less is more for toppings when dealing with thin crusts. I still can't help but overload the pizzas once in a while! I finally have my dough where it "window panes" (gets so thin you can see through it). Mind you, you don't make the dough quite so thin, but it will get that thin without breaking if you make it right (for Neapolitan dough).

I know this is not really a food forum, but I also have been making my own carbonated soda for a while now. Recently I have made cinnamon/vanilla, chocolate/PB, and unsweetened orange zest. My favorite is still vanilla/molasses. It is very similar to cream soda with a touch of molasses flavor. It is so good.

RT, I have heard that most prefer a little stiffer cushion. I guess that is why I bought the 2.4 pcf, 40 lb foam which was referred to as the "ultimate" seat foam. It is a bit stiff. I'm not sure if I want a bit softer. I have 30 lb foam for the seat back and that seems fine, although I could also go softer there maybe. I may try the 30 lb foam under my rear in a couple of days to see which I prefer.

...and thanks for thinking of me when looking at power tools! I *just* ordered my drills an hour ago. I'm hoping they are quieter then the one I have here, but am not holding my breath.

I will have more pizza pron, don't worry!

Question: Is making an ice cream machine considered HT related?

Second Question: Is making an ice cream machine going to infuriate those looking for more progress on a rotary sub?

Well, I'm not so sure I could swing that. I was thinking of powering the ice cream machine with.......a drill. (I'm so original.)

I did receive the 4 drills today for the recliners. They are quite a bit quieter than the one I have. That is a nice surprise. I still need to get them a bit quieter, but that shouldn't be as difficult. They also come apart easier with just the motor, gear box and chuck leaving a smaller power unit to mount.

I also realized after getting my foam that adding 6" of firm foam on top of my chair frame made my seat a bit higher than I planned. I'll have to do something about that which will affect my noise reduction of the drills.

9.6V They were only $16 shipped each. I was trying to run them at 5V so I could reduce RPMs/noise (and I thought I had plenty of torque.) Looks like I'll be running them a bit hotter than that. It's too bad because I had a nice 5V 32A power supply I was going to use.

I think I got it for less than $10 if I remember correctly. That was a great electronic salvage store.

Anyone know anything about heat transfer putty or know where to get it? I need it for the ice cream machine. I am using a mini fridge to cool a stainless steel pot. The evaporator/part that gets cool is a thin aluminum plate that I have curved around the pot, but I will need to more efficiently transfer heat/cold to get it to work well. I can get the same stuff that is put on heat sinks at Mcmaster, but I think maybe an adhesive might be better.....but then it might be better if it is flexible/semiflexible. I was also thinking of immersing the evaporator and SS pot in a bath of fluid like ethanol that won't freeze. I'm not sure if that will transfer heat as well as a heat transfer compound, but it may allow for more even cooling since the evaporator only covers 70% of the pot surface area and not the bottom.

(Slightly off topic....unless I eat the ice cream in the theater. )

It's so warm out that pizza in my LBE is getting more common. I finally got the pizza dough right where I can throw it without ruining it. Actually, this dough was the best I've ever done and pretty near perfection.

Chili cheese dog pizza!


Perfect pepperoni with fresh oregano


I also made a pizza with hot Portuguese peppers in the sauce, muffaletta, and sweet onion. I ate it before I could take a pic of it!

If anyone has ideas about the heat transfer stuff, I'll make you a pizza. Delivery not included. Ha!

RT, that pizza sounds good. I like spicy food. I always tell the Indian/Thai places that I "want to cry".

The chili cheese dog pizza had the chili as the pizza sauce. That one was my wife's idea. She likes "junk food".

I have ingredients to make another Mexican pizza. I really like those a LOT.