Louis Luu Posted December 11, 2021 Share Posted December 11, 2021 Porting over from old website. Project is still on. Just taking a slight detour with the DeMott Motor Fan Project. Only left on the mini-lollipop project is the badge and struts. Badge will commence end of next month. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Smalley Posted December 11, 2021 Share Posted December 11, 2021 Looking good Louis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Luu Posted December 11, 2021 Author Share Posted December 11, 2021 14 minutes ago, John Smalley said: Looking good Louis Thanks John. The struts will be done sometime during Spring break when I am off from work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Luu Posted January 28, 2022 Author Share Posted January 28, 2022 (edited) Got these done during my downtime. Still need a little tweaking to clean it up. Edited January 29, 2022 by Louis Luu 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Luu Posted January 28, 2022 Author Share Posted January 28, 2022 These are modeled after the 12 inch. Need to scale it down for the 8 0r 9 inch cage depending which one looks better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Luu Posted January 28, 2022 Author Share Posted January 28, 2022 These were drawn with a mixture of CAD software. Fusion 360 was used to get the rough shape and Meshmixer was used to sculp the edges. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Sturgeon Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 I can hardly wait to see this thing completed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Luu Posted January 29, 2022 Author Share Posted January 29, 2022 1 hour ago, Michael Sturgeon said: I can hardly wait to see this thing completed... It is almost done. The struts took some figuring out to draw. I finally had to use a sculpting tool to get it correct. Only thing missing is the 8" R&M Flag. The same flag emblem will be used to make the cover plate for the commutator on the motor stem. Both the Vane and Lollipop had the same stem setup pretty much. I will most likely make around 20-30 kits and keep four myself. Two brass/bronze and two steel vane and mini-lollipop. For the vane setup, the regular strut will be used in place of the "bracket strut". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Luu Posted January 29, 2022 Author Share Posted January 29, 2022 On 12/11/2021 at 7:15 AM, Louis Luu said: Thanks John. The struts will be done sometime during Spring break when I am off from work. Got it done sooner. Meshmixer is a great tool and it is free. I used the sculpting tool to help with the curvatures. Will probably apply this technique to the Novall dolphin/fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Luu Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Luu Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 (edited) There is at least three distinct strut styles for the clip area. There might be a fourth one but I can not confirm. I cast the most commonly one used and can be ground or braze clip area if needed for other styles. Edited February 2, 2022 by Louis Luu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel OToole Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 Very cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Chew Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 Awesome work Louis!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Luu Posted February 3, 2022 Author Share Posted February 3, 2022 Thanks Daniel and Stephen. I do plan on casting several sets of 12 inch struts for personal use. Now, for the strut adjustments, a virtual cage will need to be drawn up and paired with the mini-lollipop stem and motor. The struts will be adjusted to fit around the virtual cage. Once this is done, I will need to calculate the amount of proportional shrinkage needed and it will go through a reduction (negative extrusion process) The pendulum will simply need to go through a reduction (negative extrusion process)...proportional shrinkage. Doing this will maintain the look and curvature of the original struts but will ensure it fits the new cage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Luu Posted February 5, 2022 Author Share Posted February 5, 2022 (edited) That is it for today. Checking the fit for the 12 inch struts. All good. I need to size the cage and adjust the struts. Here is a preview. Edited February 5, 2022 by Louis Luu 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Luu Posted February 6, 2022 Author Share Posted February 6, 2022 (edited) Did a rough calculation and fit. All checked. The struts fits and cleared the stem allowing for swivel. The pin will be situated within the base just like the original for the pendulum. I still need to draw up the badge and spider and make minor adjustments. Will finish this during spring break. Project is a go. I might draw up a WE Victor badge for it. Here is a picture of the 12 inch cage and strut and shrunken 9 inch cage. Edited February 6, 2022 by Louis Luu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Luu Posted February 6, 2022 Author Share Posted February 6, 2022 I had numerous people inquiring on the cost. The parts will be printed in plastic accounting for shrinkage. Once I get the plastic parts, I will make the lost wax mold and cast in both bronze/brass and steel. I will try to keep the cost as low as possible. You will need to supply your own motor from an 8" R&M open commutator. The majority of the cost for the project is the mold...which I am undertaking by making them myself. This will save a lot. The majority of the cost is simply the casting....which isn't terribly expensive. Then there is machining of the casted parts. Luckily, there are members willing to help me out on this as well as fabricating the cage and putting on the wings. It is a group project. I have borrowed ideas from numerous people who have made their own mini and noted that the work was too laborious due to stem/motor housing differences used. Hence, not too many of these were made. My hats off to those who did this one a time....must have been a painful ordeal. My goal is to have fun and make this a hobby. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Luu Posted February 9, 2022 Author Share Posted February 9, 2022 (edited) I've been studying the lower strut position and noticed on some fans, the bottom strut sits behind the back cage and on some fans, the strut goes in front of the back cage. Does anyone know which is the correct position? Edited February 10, 2022 by Louis Luu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Luu Posted February 10, 2022 Author Share Posted February 10, 2022 This area of the cage. Which one is correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron May Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 I've restored two 12" and one 16". They all had square rear rings and they fit behind the mechanism. I noticed that the blue fan you pictured has a round rear ring. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron May Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 I did put the cage in front of the struts on the mini pop that I built, but I wasn't going for a factory look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Luu Posted February 10, 2022 Author Share Posted February 10, 2022 11 minutes ago, Ron May said: I've restored two 12" and one 16". They all had square rear rings and they fit behind the mechanism. I noticed that the blue fan you pictured has a round rear ring. The DC ones have the round back cage. The holder struts have the round indentation to match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Luu Posted February 13, 2022 Author Share Posted February 13, 2022 I adjusted the struts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Luu Posted February 14, 2022 Author Share Posted February 14, 2022 Got the struts adjusted and the pendulum/lollipop clears the cage. I will need to re-position the commutator door on the base to face the front of the cage. Only thing left is the WE victor badge and spider. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Luu Posted February 20, 2022 Author Share Posted February 20, 2022 Mini-Lollipop struts is finalized. I enlarged the cage holder section to accommodate the cage. This was necessary due to shrinking down the the original. I also put in pre-drill holes. This will help facilitate the machining process once it is casted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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