Powder Coated

B

Bootfoot

Well-known member
most fluid bed builds on the internet are so over engineered they border on the ridiculous. That’s a good design But I think my system is easier and cheaper to construct. I just buy one 2” coupler and epoxy that to a scrap board. glueing It to a board prevents it from being knocked over. I drill a hole and Glue an air inlet in the coupler. I cut a 4” length of 2” pvc pipe for each color paint. I buy two test caps for each tube. I cut the center out of one cap leaving the lip and shoulder. I take A piece of filter paper lay it over the pipe and press the cut cap over it and into the end of the tube. NO GLUE. This secures the filter paper and allows easy changing of the filter. If your like me you will be trying different types of paper for the filter. The second cap is kept intact and is a removable lid for the tube. If the lid is not a tight fit just wrap a wrap of blue painters tape around the inside edge of the cap to help tighten up the fit. All you need to do is lightly push the filter paper end of the tube into the coupler, remove the lid and turn the air on. You don’t want to force it all the way into the couple, just enough where it stays put. You want it easily removable to change colors. I find an adjustable if pump works better at regulating the air flow than the little plastic valve on the coupler. So you have one coupler, one air inlet and as many 4” tubes as you need. I have the second coupler glued to the board when I want to work with two colors.
 

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E

edcowan

Member
Bootfoot said:
most fluid bed builds on the internet are so over engineered they border on the ridiculous. That’s a good design But I think my system is easier and cheaper to construct. I just buy one 2” coupler and epoxy that to a scrap board. glueing It to a board prevents it from being knocked over. I drill a hole and Glue an air inlet in the coupler. I cut a 4” length of 2” pvc pipe for each color paint. I buy two test caps for each tube. I cut the center out of one cap leaving the lip and shoulder. I take A piece of filter paper lay it over the pipe and press the cut cap over it and into the end of the tube. NO GLUE. This secures the filter paper and allows easy changing of the filter. If your like me you will be trying different types of paper for the filter. The second cap is kept intact and is a removable lid for the tube. If the lid is not a tight fit just wrap a wrap of blue painters tape around the inside edge of the cap to help tighten up the fit. All you need to do is lightly push the filter paper end of the tube into the coupler, remove the lid and turn the air on. You don’t want to force it all the way into the couple, just enough where it stays put. You want it easily removable to change colors. I find an adjustable if pump works better at regulating the air flow than the little plastic valve on the coupler. So you have one coupler, one air inlet and as many 4” tubes as you need. I have the second coupler glued to the board when I want to work with two colors.
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Nice design, what filter are you using?
 
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Bootfoot

Well-known member
Brown Melitta coffee filter. I generally do not like coffee filters one bit but these do a nice job. Them or the cheapest brown paper lunch sack I can find.
 
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Don M

Don M

Well-known member
Back to the drawing board foe me. Made the fluid bed, but I think aquarium pump isn't strong enough. I'll try hooking up my airbrush compressor. Thinking since it will be strong I'll use a coffee filter.
These pratice sinkers came out ok, but when I start make jig heads it will have to be better.1.5 sinkers.jpg

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Bootfoot

Well-known member
How big is your aquarium pump? What size did you make your paint tubes? did you test different filter paper? Most coffee filters make terrible powder paint filters. try a brown paper lunch sack. The cheaper the better. Not a paper grocery bag, a cheap store brand brown paper lunch sack. it’s generally not the amount of air, it’s more the amount of powder in the cup, the size of the cup and the filter paper. many variables out there not just air volume.
 
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Don M

Don M

Well-known member
The pump is for a 10 gallon tank, 2" tubes, I used copy paper. I did hook up my airbrush compressor, and got movement in the paint. Seems as though it volcanoes on the side in 3 places (can see holes in the paint). I'm going to remove the paint off a couple old jig heads, and see how they turn out. Since the numbers (ounces) on the weights from 1 1/2 down. I decided to paint the 1 & 1 1/2 oz. that I use a lot so I can just pick them out. Oh the one's I showed were fully dipped, and I had to drill the holes out (egg sinkers), and the chipped. I'll file them down, so the line doesn't get damaged. going to half dip the others and splatter the top half with a brush. Again this was just a test before I buy a jig mold.
 
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Bootfoot

Well-known member
4” high 2” diameter tubes? If so we can eliminate that. Copy paper sucks. Get a cheap brown paper lunch sack out of the pantry and try that next. it might be your pump though. A ten gallon fish tank is kind of puny. Somewhere on the pump there should be an air rating.
 
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