Red Devil Cat 30 Paint Shaker - Vibration Solutions?

[SWPruett]

Hello all,

I have a very nice 1941 Red Devil Cat 30 paint shaker I just finished freshening up. The machine works extremely well but is walks itself all over creation during operation. The machine came with no base of any sort and only harder rubber pads under each corner.

I found Radia (who now owns the Red Devil brand) still makes a spring-foot base for it for the ridiculous sum of about $300 (that ain't happening). With that, I was wondering if anyone out there has already tackled a mounting solution to remedy the vibration problem with success.

I'd like to keep the machine portable rather than permanently mounted to the floor, but perhaps that's the only viable solution. I'd appreciate any thoughts or experiences you've got!

Thanks!

Sven

 

[rlitman]

I bolted my pneumatic paint shaker to the floor plate of my standing drill press. When the press started walking, I put a rope around the column tied to an eye on the wall.

 

[Nick P]

Sven, Maybe 2x4s around the base, mounted to a piece of plywood on the bottom. Set the shaker inside. You could bolt that to the floor yet lift out the shaker to carrry elsewhere for mobility. If you don't want to bolt the base down, you could probably glue thin rubber to the bottom side of the plywood to prevent it from moving around, or add a couple of arms that could be clamped to a nearby object.

Some pictures might elicit different options from other members.

Nick

 

[SWPruett]

Sven, Maybe 2x4s around the base, mounted to a piece of plywood on the bottom. Set the shaker inside. You could bolt that to the floor yet lift out the shaker to carrry elsewhere for mobility. If you don't want to bolt the base down, you could probably glue thin rubber to the bottom side of the plywood to prevent it from moving around, or add a couple of arms that could be clamped to a nearby object.

Some pictures might elicit different options from other members.

Nick

Nick,

I am definitely on the same train of thought! I am almost finished making a base with 4 spring "feet" to help as the primary vibration absorber but I think a base similar to what you describe will be the key to sinking the energy into the floor. I am noodling up a rubber isolated mounting base similar to what you describe with about 100 sq inches of contact surface to the floor. I think the spring feet need to be somewhat constrained and the base design I have in mind should serve both tasks. Time to collect some materials!

Thanks!

 

[Nick P]

Sven, post some pictures when you get it done, along with an evaluation of whether it works to keep the shaker in place.
Nick

 

[rlitman]

I’m making a base for a tetherball pole out of an old tire that I’m filling with RV antifreeze (it’s still on the rim). I doubt that will even hold one of these still. Maybe if it was filled with sand...

 

[marinusdees]

Had a friend years ago with a similar problem. Solved it with Tote Goat motor mounts. No idea whether these are still available.

 

[RTM]

Rubber mounting feet might quiet it a bit. If restrained by wood, it will make a lot of noise hitting the wood at vibration speed. Rubber feet between the sides and the wood may help.

I had a noise problem at work, and put these in, made a big difference.

mini Super W pads by Mason Industries.

 

[SWPruett]

Will do! Thanks Nick!

 

[Cykotic]

I bolted mine to my garage floor with 1/2" x 4" Hex Nut Head Sleeve Anchors. Sits SOLID!
Additionally, I located a new gasket for the top cover on eBay. Here is the link in case anyone needs a new gasket.
Also, I pulled that top cover and there is only about a pint of oil total inside. My dipstick is missing but I am sure it needs to be filled up further. What I am planning on doing is emptying ALL of the old existing 20W oil and replacing it with new. However, I can't seem to find just 20W oil. Everything is now 0-20, 10-30, etc. Does anyone have a suggestion on what to use? Would a 10-30 Synthetic suffice? Or should I use a non-synthetic and hunt down regular 20W oil somewhere? Here are some pics of how I bolted mine to the floor, as well as what I used to secure it.
Thanks much,
Cykotic



PS: Here is the link to eBay for the new gaskets: https://www.ebay.com/itm/154115445513?hash=item23e1ff1309:g:xiYAAOSwsMZfd9D7

 

[rlitman]

...What I am planning on doing is emptying ALL of the old existing 20W oil and replacing it with new. However, I can't seem to find just 20W oil. Everything is now 0-20, 10-30, etc. Does anyone have a suggestion on what to use? Would a 10-30 Synthetic suffice? Or should I use a non-synthetic and hunt down regular 20W oil somewhere? ...

There are a number of scales that measure oil "weight", which is why gear oil has different numbers than engine oil. If you're sure that your 20W is in SAE crankcase oil, then I'd choose a 10w40 or even 15w50 synthetic. The synthetic oils are quite a bit thinner at room temperature than conventional, and there's no reason to think that your paint shaker's gearbox will get anything beyond warm.

 

[Gary_G]

I stayed away from synthetic on mine; the oil is simply too thin. I would also be concerned about all the additives in automotive type paint and stick to good old dino juice type oil. I ended up using a SAE 30W grade oil that we also use on our farm equipment and that's worked good for me.

As for the vibration, I didn't want to lock mine down to the floor as I often re-arrange my workshop so I created the following setup and I find that placing a heavy metal chunk of metal on the base keeps it from moving too much (note: in this picture its actually sitting in 'storage' until its needed ).

Hope this helps

 

[Gary_G]

I will defer to rlitman's answer as he knows much more about oil's than I do

Here is the specs for the red devil oil; back in those days I believe SAE 20 referred to crankcase oil

 

[rlitman]

I will defer to rlitman's answer as he knows much more about oil's than I do

I know enough to get myself into trouble, but yeah, I've never heard of 20W gear oil, so I kind of think it has to be crankcase oil. ND30 oil (the stuff you use for compressors) is probably on the thick side, which will drag unnecessarily. Even 15w50 will be thinner than 20W concentional at room temperature, but not by all that much. You could always add something like Lukas or Slick 50 or Motor Honey to thicken it up (not something I'd ever recommend in a car, but this is different).

 

[tool_scrounge]

In general on vintage machinery you want to use non-detergent oil. 20 weight = ISO 68. Search using that term and you will find lots of options. McMaster.com sells it for <$20/gallon.

 

[tool_scrounge]

A lot of air compressor oil is non detergent ISO68. Here is some on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BO6TVO/?tag=atomicindus08-20