Need a solution for balancing a cylinder

[aquixano]

I’ve built a fastener/small items holder that is a nine-sided horizontal cylinder approximately 45 inches long and 12 inches in diameter to which I mount various size jars, the largest a quart canning jar, to hold the items. I got the idea from a much smaller design that used baby food jars. My larger design has created a balancing problem that I didn’t anticipate when I originally planned it. On the smaller version, for example, all screws were in the same ring around the drum so he would rotate the drum to look for the one he wanted. I decided to mount all the same item on the same horizontal side. So when looking for a bolt, I just rotate the drum to the bolt side and I can see all the bolt jars at one time. There can be a significant weight difference between the side of bolts and a side with woodworking biscuits and pegs. Bottom line is the cylinder is horribly out of balance making it much harder to rotate than it should be. I’m stumped on a way to fabricate a balancing mechanism that is relatively simple to use given what’s already been built. I’m willing to sacrifice a steering wheel on one side of the drum to mount something on the outside or remove one of the existing rings of jars to mount some balance mechanism directly on to the drum. I’ve attached several pictures from different angles to show you the existing design. I’d really appreciate any thoughts or suggestions on solving this problem. If anything is unclear or you need more information, please let me know.
Thanks for reading.

 

[texasranger]

Couple thoughts:

Organize by weight from one end to the other rather than putting all nails on one side and spray paint opposite.

Add a worm gear drive on the axle that can supply enough torque to overcome your existing design. Either a hand crank or chuck it in an old cheapo drill for convenience.

Cut your drum in half (at the 22.5" mark). Allow each section to rotate independently. Presumably both sides will have a "heavy" face that will naturally point down. Rotate one of them 180 degrees, then attach them back together for better balance. Won't be perfect, but should be better. I'm picturing a pin on one side with 8-10 holes on the other so when your assortments change you could re-balance. I could draw a picture if it's not clear what I mean.

 

[wendlwacker]

What about some type of clutch like those used in harness systems where you can pull on the cable all you want but unless you crank the handle it won't spin?

Or what about a hear with a locker so you could always use the weight to hold it against the stopper?

Could you just add enough tension that would make it hard to spin?

 

[LXCam]

Fill half of the drum up with BB's


Or drill a hole for every stop position and use a spring loaded plunger on that hub the steering wheel is attached too.

 

[txvwnut]

Your gonna have to add some sort of friction brake brake to your design. You can balance for the weight of the items but when you remove them the balance will be off and then you will be back to where started.

 

[texasranger]

Fill half of the drum up with BB's [emoji14]


Or drill a hole for every stop position and use a spring loaded plunger on that hub the steering wheel is attached too.

That would be a LOT of BBs! It looks like he already has a plunger to stop the rotation at each face.

 

[LXCam]

That would be a LOT of BBs! It looks like he already has a plunger to stop the rotation at each face.

Ya it would but it'd work.

Just hopped on a real computer and why yes it does.


https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_...KODCRLPZE&rh=n:16310091,k:steel+shot+abrasive

 

[aquixano]

Couple thoughts:

Organize by weight from one end to the other rather than putting all nails on one side and spray paint opposite.

Add a worm gear drive on the axle that can supply enough torque to overcome your existing design. Either a hand crank or chuck it in an old cheapo drill for convenience.

Cut your drum in half (at the 22.5" mark). Allow each section to rotate independently. Presumably both sides will have a "heavy" face that will naturally point down. Rotate one of them 180 degrees, then attach them back together for better balance. Won't be perfect, but should be better. I'm picturing a pin on one side with 8-10 holes on the other so when your assortments change you could re-balance. I could draw a picture if it's not clear what I mean.

Thanks texasranger for the ideas – like the worm gear idea, but that may require a level of precision for tolerances the project may not justify. Thinking about the torque this would generate got me thinking that I could do something similar by replacing the steering wheel with a large sprocket and using a bicycle chain to a small sprocket attached to the steering wheel mounted below it. Your observation was correct; I do have a plunger stop already incorporated. I could make a new stop on the small sprocket which would have much less strain on it due to the inherent mechanical advantage. Thanks for your assistance.

 

[aquixano]

Thanks everyone for your comments and ideas – I appreciate your time and interest.

 

[kkroger]

brake disk and a grub screw...

 

[bgarrett]

water

 

[toplessHO]

sand vs BBs

 

[rsanter]

Thanks texasranger for the ideas – like the worm gear idea, but that may require a level of precision for tolerances the project may not justify. Thinking about the torque this would generate got me thinking that I could do something similar by replacing the steering wheel with a large sprocket and using a bicycle chain to a small sprocket attached to the steering wheel mounted below it. Your observation was correct; I do have a plunger stop already incorporated. I could make a new stop on the small sprocket which would have much less strain on it due to the inherent mechanical advantage. Thanks for your assistance.

Go get a cheap winch from HF. They have ones that have the worm gear.
Just re task the system so you crNk the winch and it turns your drum instead of the winch drum

Bob

 

[yhprum]

Spring loaded friction clutch. Could be nade with two circular plywood discs at the end.

 

[Bighead38]

Turn the whole drum vertical.

 

[Ironcrow]

Relegate the last row to counterweights instead of jars. Have pieces of 1/2 inch all-thread sticking out and a collection of steel hockey pucks with a hole in the center. You shift them around to maintain balance.

 

[volksnick]

What if you put some weight INSIDE the drum, so that no matter which way it was turned, the majority of the ballast was below the axis. As long as it was more significant than any side of the fastener weight, it would maintain position.

Maybe sew lead shot in socks to dampen the noise, not that it'll be much louder than the fasteners in glass jars! Do a bunch in 5lb sacks so that you can adjust the weight as needed.

 

[tarbellb]

Whatever you do make sure to put a crash pad under for when those jars start dropping.