I need the help of members with a bit of electrical/DIY savvy. I want to power my two manual bead rollers (same ones as in photos) in a similar way to the example shown in this Youtube link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqErTwU1rSE
What I don't like is; The complicated cable style foot control. I rather have an electrical foot control on the variable speed drill just like my Mom's sewing machine used.
MY QUESTION: Will the foot control pedal from a sewing machine work? If yes, what's involved? is it pretty much a Plug-N-Play conversion or is there much more to hooking it up? I don't have a foot pedal at the moment but confirmed they are offered on eBay in great numbers.
Please be kind, (and remedial) I am not very good at fooling with things electrical. However, I'm not completely 'In the Dark' That's a joke son...............
Jimmy
PS> I only work with thinner gauge sheet metal ie. 22 ga. cold roll and aluminum sheets. FYI: I know the drill with a 1" pulley and a 14" on the roller shaft has enough torque to do the job.
James:
I saw this video a couple days ago - another motorized Harbor Freight bead roller.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M37lnkkvSw
You wouldn't be able to use a rheostat foot switch from a sewing machine on the above set-up but maybe it doesn't matter if the RPM is slow to being with.
Harbor Freight also sells two different types of foot switches:
http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=foot%20switch
I'm not sure the sewing machine pedal would handle enough current for a motor large enough to be useful. It's basically just a variable resistor controlling a universal motor. The slower the speed, the less torque produced by the motor.
A better design uses a PWM controller and DC motor. Nearly full torque is produced at any speed because the voltage is pulsed rather reduced. The speed control rheostat could be contained in a foot pedal for more control. You would have both hands guiding the work and still be able to control the speed on the fly. I tried several variations when I motorized mine. I've been using a geared dc motor and PWM controller for many years now.
Here's a couple of shots of my setup. The pedal has a cover that's not shown.
One poor boys way would be to use a variable speed 1/2 inch drill with a belt and pulley reduction to drive the roller. Remove the variable speed switch from the drill and build it into a homemade foot switch.
Find a couple of the old treadmills that people have in thier basements that never use them.DC motors with controllers,power supplys and all.
Should handle the load.
Ted,
The poor boys method still seems like my best bet to start because I already have a US made nice power drill I got for free & a 14" V belt pulley from an old washing machine. I'll pick up a Harbor Freight foot switch and the other little items and it should be no more than a long afternoon and less than $20.00 to get a prototype together. I need something asap because I'm normally on my own when I'm doing projects in the workshop & the crank-stop-crank method is not working well. Jimmy