Rockygibraltar
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,404
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Post by Rockygibraltar on Mar 8, 2008 21:55:54 GMT -5
The concept of the bubbler sprayer is nothing fancy. The idea is to create a little air flow in a tube then let water enter in and hold back the air to create a small amount of pressure. The water is them spit out of the tube and the cycle begins over again. It's action is far from precise, it makes a sort of a gurgling - hissing - spitting sound, but it's good for wheel wetting It takes very little air flow and pressure to do what we need to keep a grinding wheel wet. A fish tank type air pump is the answer here. The air pump I've been using is a Hagen Elite 801. I have seen them as low as $2.99 but about $6 is more average. Any air pump that produces about 2500 cc/min air volume at 3 psi will work well. Here is a drawing of a sprayer that I use in my home made cabbing machine. The body can be made of most any material, mine is brass, and the dimensions are not picky. This is one that I cobbled out this afternoon just to illustrate that there isn't anything critical involved. It is made from 3/16" brass tube and wire. The tools I used where a hack saw, hand drill, 5/32" drill bit and a soldering iron. This one spits more than enough water for cabbing work. In fact it spits more than my commercially made one.
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lapidopterix
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2008
Posts: 216
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Post by lapidopterix on Mar 9, 2008 18:02:17 GMT -5
Thanks, I've been wondering how that worked.
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Post by docone31 on Mar 9, 2008 19:47:12 GMT -5
That sure makes sense. Silver soldering the elbow, then tin soldering it into a piece of larger tubing would eliminate the outrigger wires.
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ol3m3
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since September 2006
Posts: 85
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Post by ol3m3 on Mar 10, 2008 23:47:59 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing your design information
om
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grant
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since March 2007
Posts: 85
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Post by grant on Jan 11, 2009 0:49:56 GMT -5
Strangely enough we used to have an air lift grit seperator at the treatment plant I used to work at. It worked like a charm for lifting grit up to 12 ft just by air bubbles in a 4" pipe. Hmm, makes me wonder if you could set up a rock cutting machine that uses a steel blade and a bubble lift of diamond grit..
Nahh, that would be too cheap..
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UtahRockHound
spending too much on rocks
Sometimes your the Windshield, sometimes your the Rock.
Member since May 2008
Posts: 301
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Post by UtahRockHound on Jan 11, 2009 1:24:50 GMT -5
I have heard of bubblers, but never seen one in action. Could you give a little more detail like how much water to submerge it in, and where do you connect the air.
I am assuming you connect the air to the bottom tube, then submerge above the T section.
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Post by akansan on Jan 11, 2009 11:26:45 GMT -5
Yup - you want the "T" completely submerged. On my commercially manufactured one, I fill the tank up to just below the top. This ensures the single hole has enough water in it.
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WarrenA
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2003
Posts: 1,530
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Post by WarrenA on Jan 14, 2009 23:41:23 GMT -5
When I made mine I took the top of a mower blade balancer and turned it upside lined it with aluminum foil and filled it with melted lead wheel weights and then drilled it (big pain) fit a plastic barb fitting for the hose and it worked. not a recommended procedure if you are not familiar with safety procedures with working with melted lead
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Post by stardiamond on Jan 15, 2009 20:40:21 GMT -5
commercial bubblers are relatively cheap. They don't provide as much water as a Genie sprayer. I use two bubbler heads with a Y from the pump.
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syfun
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since January 2009
Posts: 85
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Post by syfun on Jan 20, 2009 0:04:18 GMT -5
So where does the bubbler go in comparison to the blade? I vision it just under the blade so the bubbles carry the water up to the blade. But if that is so, why not just raise the water pan up a couple inches so the blade runs through it?
I was going through my dad's barn last weekend and he gave me an antique table saw that should be pretty easy to convert to a rock saw, just move the motor and change the blade. But because of the casing, I won't be able to have the blade run through a pan of water. This could be my solution.
Thanks Steve
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Post by stardiamond on Jan 21, 2009 18:07:12 GMT -5
I don't think you could use a bubbler with a saw blade. The first trim saw I ever cut with used a wet sponge for cooling. Hold the slab with one hand and the sponge up to the side of the blade with the other hand. I didn't make the saw and replaced it with a Genie trim saw attachment pretty quickly.
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drjo
fully equipped rock polisher
Honduran Opal & DIY Nut
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,581
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Post by drjo on Jan 22, 2009 14:02:08 GMT -5
The bubbler is for a cabber,it splashes water from a tray it is partially submerged in about 1.5"-2" directly under the wheel. Works well, but it is splashing dirty water on the wheel.
Dr Joe
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