Here is a picture of the completed rod dryer motor, timer and power supply that allows a user to select a time from 1 second to 2 minutes and have the rod reverse direction automatically until the power is removed from the timer:

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Roger

I have no idea why you'd bother with this, it's so easy to get good results with a normal motor "set and forget"

Billy,
The reason is very simple.
Someone asked me to design it and build it.

That is the only reason that any of us do anything. i.e. someone wants something, so we do our best to supply it.

Be safe
Roger

At least you know what your doing with some thing like that - Me forget it would not know where to start

Bill - willierods.com

I don't see the point of it. I try to give people the best advice possible, rather than just do what they want.

Isn't that what makes this site and rodbuilding what it is today. When people stop going outside the box and trying new things the craft would stagnate. It applies whether it be tools, techniques, art, and a myriad of other things. If we had stopped with what the first generation of builders learned we might be in a stale craft. Seems some things work and some things don't, but if we don't step out there and try it, How will we ever really know. I've been in the craft for only about six years but I've seen lots of growth in all areas with new and innovative stuff. Considering the age of the craft there is still a lot of changes and improvement. Whatta ya think them old builders would have said if someone told them they would be able to use a computer program to design and do thread art??

You go Terry

Bill - willierods.com

There is an improvement from tape replica's to VisualWrap. THere is no improvement with a motor that turns 2 directions, and if there is I can't see what the problem is with it turning in 1 direction. TO me this is like reinventing a square wheel when a round one works perfectly.

Oh Billy! You know that we couldn't use Visual Wrap before we had computers, hence the tape. ;)

Ironically, with some savvy marketing, auto reverse drying motors would sell like hot cakes!

_________________________________________
"Angling is extremely time consuming.
That's sort of the whole point." - Thomas McGuane

I would love for someone to explain, to me, why it would make one iota of difference. Is the implication that the finish will level better if rotated CW as opposed to CCW or vice versa? If so, it would seem that by now people would have discovered that and all driers would function in one direction.

If it is the stop action (between directional changes) that is the advantage, then hand rotation would be the way to go.

Personally, I feel that the leveling is a gravitational function, not centrifugal function.

C.
I suppose that is based on the fact that lots and lots of folks hand dry their rods.


Many of these folks turn the rod one way, stop, then turn the rods the other way. The more interesting fact is that I doubt that if any of the negative posters have ever tried using such a system to see if it actually makes any difference in the finish.

After making the dryer, I tested it to meet the requirements of the specifications and shipped it to the client. But I am also curious as to what the client finds in his testing with various time delays and differences in finish or not.


--------------------------------
If a person talked about split grips 20 years ago, folks would have said, WHY.
If folks had talked about micros 20 years ago, they would have said WHY.
If folks had talked about graphite rods, when the only thing out was bamboo rods, folks would have said WHY.

I think life is made more interesting by doing different things, and drying different ideas. One learns, and grows by doing different things.

When I read about the number of experiments that Thomas Edison completed before he has a successful light bulb - it was in the thousands of attempts.

Life is more fun when you do different things every day.

Good luck , be safe and thanks for all of the comments.

Roger

I still have no idea why you would want to do this, and what the problem is in the first place to warrant making something like this. Why so difficult to answer such a simple question?

To rephrase Billy's question: Which problem are you attempting to solve? I, too, don't get it at all. This actually might hurt you, if the blank gets into a cycle where it spends more time on one side you may induce trouble.

_________________________________________
"Angling is extremely time consuming.
That's sort of the whole point." - Thomas McGuane

Obviously there is a problem that needs solving here, hence the need to reverse rotation of the dryer on a timed basis. So, why not take it one step (or 3 steps) farther and design in a laser distance measuring device that will measure the distance from a known point to all points on the wrap finish as it rotates. One could calculate the taper of the rod/thread/finish width and adjust for it easily enough. In addition, a simple calculation (given inputs of ambient room temperature and elapsed time from mixing plus cure rate) to find the viscosity of the epoxy at any given time, and adjust the speed of the dryer's rotation (OBVIOUSLY need a DC variable gear motor here....), to create enough centrifugal ( ok sorry, CENTRIPITAL) force to direct the epoxy outward or inward from the center of mass of each individual wrap. Probably should add in a mercury filled leveling device with micro servo motors to ensure absolute and utter parallelism of the rod centerline to the earth's gravitational center. Simple enough to ensure even, glass-like thread wrap finish....

OR.....

You could read/practice/learn the technique to apply the appropriate amount of epoxy to a thread wrap.

I'm just sayin...

Billy,
The simple answer to your question is that a client came to me and asked that I design a reversing direction dryer.

He wanted to try some different time variations to find if there would be any differences in finish appearance, quality of finish, leveling qualities and similiar finish related issues.

This was the final product that met his request.

I agree with all of your comments about no issues with a dryer that runs in one direction. But it was not up to me to ask why, it was only for me to do or else. So, I simply designed and built the tool per specifications from the client.

It is up to him to use, analyze and determine results that he might find from the use of this dryer.

I think it is all part of the big question -

I wonder what will happen if??

Thanks for all of the keen questions and answers.

Take care
Roger

That is just like me thinning my finish with lacquer thinners.

Every one said it will ruin the finish Ain't seen it yet ??

Bill - willierods.com

Rich Handrick Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Obviously there is a problem that needs solving
> here, hence the need to reverse rotation of the
> dryer on a timed basis. So, why not take it one
> step (or 3 steps) farther and design in a laser
> distance measuring device that will measure the
> distance from a known point to all points on the
> wrap finish as it rotates. One could calculate
> the taper of the rod/thread/finish width and
> adjust for it easily enough. In addition, a
> simple calculation (given inputs of ambient room
> temperature and elapsed time from mixing plus cure
> rate) to find the viscosity of the epoxy at any
> given time, and adjust the speed of the dryer's
> rotation (OBVIOUSLY need a DC variable gear motor
> here....), to create enough centrifugal ( ok
> sorry, CENTRIPITAL) force to direct the epoxy
> outward or inward from the center of mass of each
> individual wrap. Probably should add in a mercury
> filled leveling device with micro servo motors to
> ensure absolute and utter parallelism of the rod
> centerline to the earth's gravitational center.
> Simple enough to ensure even, glass-like thread
> wrap finish....
>
> OR.....
>
> You could read/practice/learn the technique to
> apply the appropriate amount of epoxy to a thread
> wrap.
>
> I'm just sayin...


Coffee on the keyboard AGAIN. Yes, through the nose.

yeah, sorry - sometimes just can't help myself... :-)