DIY Bench Capper

Ever since the aluminum bottle discussion, I've been itching for a bench capper.

Well...I was at Sear's yesterday, and I had a brainstorm...





Can anyone see where I'm going with this?

More pictures/how-to to follow...

Looks like a good idea...did you just steal the bell shaped part off an existing capper?

alemonkey said:

Looks like a good idea...did you just steal the bell shaped part off an existing capper?

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Yup - it unscrewed right off of my wing/Emily style capper. No harm done if I want to use the old one.

Is there anything you can't make?! Could you help me build a Flux Capacitor?

Yuri, I'm waiting for you to start smelting your own iron...

Thats cool man!

I just bought an antique capper from ebay....87 yrs old!

only $23 though....should be here in a couple of days

greenhornet said:

Thats cool man!

I just bought an antique capper from ebay....87 yrs old!

only $23 though....should be here in a couple of days

Click to expand...

Awesome - I was looking at those as well! Most of the ones I saw would probably clean up quite nicely.

I think the grand total cost for this project is going to be about $15. I plan on welding most of it together, but I bet you could easily bolt one together as well. More to follow - I need to run to the hardware store for the weird metric bolt that will screw into the capper bell. When I get back, I don't think it'll be more than an hour before I have something working.

Sweet Yuri! Where are you going to put the Dilithium Crystals?

You ARE Tim the Tool Man's brother.

When I saw the title of this post I was hoping to see an air cylinder and a robot automatically capping bottles...

LOL...you da man!!!!!

brewman ! said:

When I saw the title of this post I was hoping to see an air cylinder and a robot automatically capping bottles...

Click to expand...

Don't think I didn't think about that...

Turns out it takes quite a bit of force to cap a bottle (100-150 lbs). When I started looking at solenoids and actuators, the ones with enough force (or extension to be multiplied with mechanical advantage) were extremely expensive.

EDIT: There was too much whining here before.

Progress so far:

Alright! It works!

I probably ought to fashion a release mechanism (pin inside the bell) - the bottles tend to stick after being capped. Otherwise, it does a fine job.

Here's an exploded view of all the pieces:



And here's the finished product, complete with a bead blasted aluminum Bud Light can.

Amazing! You can sandblast?

Wow. Speechless.

I need to learn how to weld. And sand blast.

What welder do you have Yuri?

OK THAT'S IT!

F**K THE FONZE!

YURI IS THE COOLEST CAT ON THE PLANET!


and once again we hate you!!! lol (only in an extremely healthy jealous kinda way!)


John

EdWort said:

Amazing! You can sandblast?

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Yes - and so can you! It's a really simple process. I got a blasting cabinet on eBay for around $100. Glass bead runs about $1 a pound, and it takes 25-50 lbs to fill your average shop sized cabinet. You'll also need an air compressor capable of at least 10 CFM at 45-90 psi.

Dude said:

What welder do you have Yuri?

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I have a VERY small gas set (looking to upgrade to a REAL gas rig soon).

I MIG with a Lincoln Electric MIG 140 unit. I highly recommend this one for the hobbiest. It's easy to use, you don't absolutely need shielding gas, and it runs on 120VAC.

I used the TIG machine for this project. It's a Lincoln Electric Squarewave Pro 175. I really like this machine, but most opinions I've heard lead me to believe that Miller makes a nicer machine for the price.

DIY has always been my favorite ever in teh world, nice job!

brewman ! said:

When I saw the title of this post I was hoping to see an air cylinder and a robot automatically capping bottles...

Click to expand...

Wonder if you could retrofit this thing with a capping mechanism? There'd have to be a spring to soften the blow so you wouldn't break your bottles from the shock...but hmm...

first monday morning laugh, thank you sir!

Yuri_Rage said:

Wonder if you could retrofit this thing with a capping mechanism? There'd have to be a spring to soften the blow so you wouldn't break your bottles from the shock...but hmm...

Click to expand...

WHACK!

Yuri's SWMBO: What the heck are you doing! The garage is covered in broken glass!

Yuri: I almost have it Dear! It only cracked cracked this time instead of shattering!

lol

Yuri, what are you doing messing around with bottles? Shouldn't you be building us some 7-gallon SS fermenters and some 3-gallon cornies?

Right? When's the DIY Shirron post coming, MacGuyver?

An obvious advantage I see is granular control of the height of the capper.
A pet peeve of mine is that sometimes the bottle gets stuck in the capper.

Can you incorporate a feature that address this?

olllllo said:

A pet peeve of mine is that sometimes the bottle gets stuck in the capper.

Click to expand...

I'm thinking about adding a pin/spring inside the plunger that will kick the bottle out. I'll give it some more thought before I start cutting, but I'm sure I can find something that will work.

Yuri_Rage said:

Don't think I didn't think about that...

Turns out it takes quite a bit of force to cap a bottle (100-150 lbs). When I started looking at solenoids and actuators, the ones with enough force (or extension to be multiplied with mechanical advantage) were extremely expensive.

EDIT: There was too much whining here before.

Progress so far:

Click to expand...

Come on yuri! You almost have it! all you need to think about is force amplification.

Lever & Fulcrum!

150lbs need to cap using a lever of 5" with a pivot @ 1" then the force generator @ the 5" mark, would needed to generate 37.5lbs!!

see this:

http://www.engineersedge.com/calculators/levers/page_levers_1.htm

MadWeezel said:

Come on yuri! You almost have it! all you need to think about is force amplification.

Lever & Fulcrum!

150lbs need to cap using a lever of 5" with a pivot @ 1" then the force generator @ the 5" mark, would needed to generate 37.5lbs!!

see this:

http://www.engineersedge.com/calculators/levers/page_levers_1.htm

Click to expand...

I know all about mechanical advantage...that's how I figured out how much force it takes to cap a bottle in the first place! (5/8" travel at the bell vs 3" a the handle x 40 lbs). Find me a solenoid or actuator capable of >1" of travel and >35 lbs of force for less than $50...

Cheesefood said:

Right? When's the DIY Shirron post coming, MacGuyver?

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First step, learn how to run every piece of equipment in the machine shop...

He started a reply with "Here's an exploded view of all the pieces:" I was expecting finger parts and stuff. I won't be able to walk through the tool section at Lowes again without wondering....

Yuri_Rage said:

I know all about mechanical advantage...that's how I figured out how much force it takes to cap a bottle in the first place! (5/8" travel at the bell vs 3" a the handle x 40 lbs). Find me a solenoid or actuator capable of >1" of travel and >35 lbs of force for less than $50...

Click to expand...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130098194477

Bimba 3" stroke 1.25" bore will give 48lb/si @ 40psi

all under $35 with shipping

Plus if you act now you get a second for free!!

MadWeezel said:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130098194477

Bimba 3" stroke 1.25" bore will give 48lb/si @ 40psi

all under $35 with shipping

Plus if you act now you get a second for free!!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the link! ...tempting!

Yuri, forget air and solenoids, go hydraulic. You'll get there easily.

Yuri_Rage said:

Yup - it unscrewed right off of my wing/Emily style capper. No harm done if I want to use the old one.

Click to expand...

What would you suggest for the person without an old bell?

I would like to see it as a lawnmower attachment.

..lurve yer work Yuri
:rockin: :rockin: :rockin:

dogtown brewing said:

What would you suggest for the person without an old bell?

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Buy one. You can find spare bells at most homebrew supply stores.

Yuri_Rage said:

I know all about mechanical advantage...that's how I figured out how much force it takes to cap a bottle in the first place! (5/8" travel at the bell vs 3" a the handle x 40 lbs). Find me a solenoid or actuator capable of >1" of travel and >35 lbs of force for less than $50...

Click to expand...

OMG, dood's bilingual too. <swoon>

sounds good

new idea for next thing to make Yuri your own caps! Hmmmmmm very nice work man seen all the things you have made and posted great work:rockin:

Make your own single acting cylinder from pipe and brake cylinder cup from an auto parts store, regulate air pressure to control force generated.

hah this thread got me thinking when I was in my reloading room..... I have the mechanisms all there they just need to be switched around. A rotating assembly line from my dillon progressive hah perhaps not, gun powder IPA might have alittle too much bite for me

really could see this working with an old brake/clutch master and a hydrualic slave cylinder. could have a nice floor mounted foot pedle to step on to do it. a little trial and error and you could maybe even find a "safe limit" line pressure so you could put in a bleed off of some sort so you don't crush any bottles.