Build Updaye 1.0

[james.lindgard]

I have been making new bellows. These will be sturdier and I'm alsosealing them with fiberglass resin. I may use permatex on the 2 compression seals. I hope to have it reassembled by this weekend.
I do have a "perpetual motion" (title to search on facebook) where I show more of my work.
And if it works, then I will have learned some new things while working through cancer and complications from treatment for it.

@Pequaide and Kirk, if this works out, contact me if you'd like to continue the discussion about 4 times higher and scissors.

[james.lindgard]

Am getting it reassembled. Will be making new pulleys. Hopefully the bellow closing easily is a good signy

[james.lindgard]

I thought I would post this picture for the fun of it. I am having to do more modifications than I thought I would. In the end this should be a simpler design. And by using pulleys to run a line to connect the 2 levers together, all I need to do is to attach a lever directly to the bellow as shown (almost) in Bessler's drawing.
I should have most of it finished tonight. I'll need to buy some more wood screws to make sure everything stays together. If my wheel had a little larger diameter then it would be pretty close to what Bessler drew.

[ME]

Interesting, and nicely build.
Are those bellows connected to each other?
And is that bellow somewhat protected against opening too wide?

Good luck with your test run.

[james.lindgard]

Thanks ME. The bellows are connected. There is a PVC pipe that they are both attached to. . If the plastic I am using can't support 2 weighted levers, then it will tear. And since you mentioned it, I'll see if I can't add a stop. It'd be kind of a shame to get this close and then have something like that happen.

edited to add picture showing work getting done. If I work on anything like this again, I'll need a test fixture for filling and trying bellows.

[james.lindgard]

Basically just need to cap the bellows and add water. I will cap one bellow today and then in the morning fill with water. I'll have access to my vents with the levers off of the wheel. It will take little work to rig the lines.
With the stops, since weight will rest on them, gluing them in place should work. As for the pulleys used to run the lines from one lever to the other, I will make a small loop out of duct tape to help the line stay on the pulleys. If I can think of a simple tensioner, then I will use that as well.
It might be close as to the amount of force needed to open the bellows. At the moment barring any leaks, that is what I am most interested in finding out. It's after that when if it will work perpetually or not will matter.

edited to remove Mt 125 tag at beginning of comment.
edited to add; Trevor, why Mt 127 matters is that it is the same as Mt 125 as far as the mechanics go. And if this does work, it will show it took work to realize.

[james.lindgard]

The bellow leaks. Might be too broke to fix it. Have been off work unpaid for a year because of medical issues. Should be healthy enough to work again in a couple of months.
I did some math and 5 1/2 lbs. of force should open the bellows. The levers working together generate more than 7 lbs. of force.
Be it as it may, I am not the first person to go broke because of cancer.

[Art]

Quote "The bellow leaks."

Yes , I sympathise , - fluid builds are some of the most frustrating builds imaginable IMO,- but stick with it they are great patience builders if you can bring them to completion !

I developed a material /technique which might be of some use to you if you investigate it for making waterproof bellows and /or repairing leaks etc .

Its a cheap material , easy to make and use and quite versatile . Also the ingredients are easy to obtain. The main ingredients are Silicone sealant available at builders supply stores [ either the Acid cure (acetic acid ) type or the Neutral cure type . Both work equally well , but don't use the tinted or coloured material ] .

You can make and use it in the following manner :-

1. Mix approximately 20% of Silicone Sealant into 80% Mineral Turpentine at room temperature .
Mix until the mixture is smooth and somewhat of the viscosity of thin honey .

2. Spread a thin strong nylon material (the nylon in womens stockings are ideal and only cost a few dollars at your local supermarket) or other fabric material over the area you want to seal


3. Paint a layer of the solution from step #1 onto the fabric and leave to dry/cure for a few hours .

4. Repeat step #3 until you get the thickness/strength desired for your particular application and then leave to cure for 24 hours or more .

With a little practice of the above , very acceptable useable bellows can be made .I have some which are now around 8 years old and are still as strong and functional as they were when first made .


I have also repaired leaking metal roofing and guttering with this material and it outlasts the metal !.

The combination of the silcone with the nylon especially gives a very strong flexible and somewhat stretcheable very tough material .

Try it ,- you'll like it ! : )

Good luck with the rest of your leakfree build .

[james.lindgard]

Art,
If I do any more builds after this one, I will definitely try that. That is one problem that I have always had with bellows.
With what you're suggesting, it would probably allow for easy dis assembly of bellows. And with developing them for this
type of use, that is important. With me, I could see where that would allow me to try different seal fittings and still have
clean mating surfaces.
My present situation might require me to quit until I can get back to some sort of financial stability, basically be able to
work again and have a place to build.

Jim

[james.lindgard]

I have cleaned up the surface where the plastic will sit on the base. I am going to use permatex :-( The 2 pictures show using fiberglass and using permatex. This is where if I build a 4 bellow wheel, then I'll take the time to learn Art's method. I think with what he suggested, wax paper and a rolling pin would allow it to be rolled out. Then using a pattern, the seal could be trimmed before using. That seems to me like something that would be referable even if as he said, it might take a little time to let the mixture "cure" or set some.

edited to add; the wooden box is for mounting the plastic and top part of the bellow. Once the top part is mounted on that, it can be set on the base where the sealant will hold the plastic in place and then the seal retainer can be fastened to it to create hopefully what will be a nice seal.

[james.lindgard]

I'm using double back tape, one piece on top of the plastic and one piece below it. With any sealant, using painters tape to prevent sealant from getting on other surfaces might be necessary. The box is to hold the plastic in place and at the right distance/length.

[james.lindgard]

I am going to be modifying my build once again. I have been taking it one step at a time and this allows me to focus on each component of the build process.
One thing I started wondering this morning after watching a video about Bruce Lee's 1 inch punch (Thanks John Doe) is if a point on a set of scissors moves 3/4 of an inch and performs 2 1/4 inches of work, is that the same thing ? I think so.
With the modification I will be making, where the scissors are connected to the lever, that point will drop only 3/4 of an inch. Still, as in Kirk's thread, scissors are shown how they can work with a solid weight. But I am working with water :-)
By making this modification, my build will go from 8 to 12 ounces of over balance while the imbalance will decrease from 8 ounces to less than 6 ounces. This makes finding a way to seal my bellows even more important.
And with such a slight movement, as the wheel rotates, the levers shifting position might happen rather quickly and with maximum force, just like Bruce Lee's 1 inch punch.

edited to add; And just as in "Bruce Lee's "The Big Boss", it should kick ass, after all, it will have close to 6 ounces of force at 10 inches to power it :-D

[james.lindgard]

Here is the other way scissors can be used. It gives the basic idea as one lever would extend a set of scissors while a different lever would retract it.

[John doe]

I am going to be modifying my build once again. I have been taking it one step at a time and this allows me to focus on each component of the build process.
One thing I started wondering this morning after watching a video about Bruce Lee's 1 inch punch (Thanks John Doe) is if a point on a set of scissors moves 3/4 of an inch and performs 2 1/4 inches of work, is that the same thing ? I think so.
With the modification I will be making, where the scissors are connected to the lever, that point will drop only 3/4 of an inch. Still, as in Kirk's thread, scissors are shown how they can work with a solid weight. But I am working with water :-)
By making this modification, my build will go from 8 to 12 ounces of over balance while the imbalance will decrease from 8 ounces to less than 6 ounces. This makes finding a way to seal my bellows even more important.
And with such a slight movement, as the wheel rotates, the levers shifting position might happen rather quickly and with maximum force, just like Bruce Lee's 1 inch punch.

edited to add; And just as in "Bruce Lee's "The Big Boss", it should kick ass, after all, it will have close to 6 ounces of force at 10 inches to power it :-D

Awesome glad to be of assistance. It's funny the places inspiration can come from...
I personally have had a number of epiphanies in the last few days unfortunately with my extremely busy work schedule I'm not sure when I will have time to put them into practice....

[james.lindgard]

I think it was a good analogy. I'm going to finish my build as is. If the bellows work, then I should have 3 to 4 ounces of over balance. That might be enough.
With scissors, it would require a new build and maybe doing some developmental work. I think if people saw scissors actual moving a weight and seeing that only a small movement is needed, then they might shocked. They'd probably look at the drawings of scissors I've posted and wonder how so much force could be moved so far so quickly when little work is being done.
Myself, I'll probably be moving to another state at the end of the month. I'm just not a good fit for Kentucky. And with a working wheel, it would help
me to get things back to normal a little more quickly.
And as I mentioned, scissors can work with or without bellows/water. After all, they would be causing a change in force and this is by opening a bellow or rolling a weight in a channel.