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Thread Number: 62043
/ Tag: Vintage Dryers
Build this 110-Volt Automatic Clothes Dryer! |
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| Post# 846633 10/19/2015 at 20:54 (3,104 days old) by classiccaprice (Hampton, Virginia) | ||
I picked up some old magazines today and inside the October 1955 issue of Science and Mechanics I found this article about building your own dryer. I can't imagine it was great, but has anyone ever seen such a thing? Who's up for a woodworking project to make their own? Forgive the cell phone pictures.
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| Post# 846635 , Reply# 1 10/19/2015 at 20:58 (3,104 days old) by Classiccaprice (Hampton, Virginia) | ||
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Post# 846703 , Reply# 3 10/20/2015 at 08:30 (3,103 days old) by turquoisedude  (.) |
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 Good heavens! Were folks that much 'handier' in the good ol' days or what?? I can just imagine the shades of crimson an insurance agent would turn today when you explained to them that you built your own dryer... LOL
I've got some mid-50s Popular Mechanics books that detail how to build a chest freezer - I'll have to dig that out and have a look at how they suggested hooking up the cooling coils and refrigeration system.... | ||
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Post# 846709 , Reply# 4 10/20/2015 at 09:22 (3,103 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD) |
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The neatest project was a dining bar with the dishes attached and hoops that held the glasses and silverware. The whole thing flipped over to form the cover of a tank that was a dishwasher for the 4 place settings. I imagine that the man who built it was either the blessing or the bane of his neighbors. | ||
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Post# 846862 , Reply# 5 10/21/2015 at 00:58 (3,103 days old) by tolivac (greenville nc) |
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Those magazines-so much "DIY" things in those days-and building your own radios and TVs,Hi-Fi gear from scratch or kits.Daring in those days-but made it interesting.Wonder about the cost of the DIY dryer vs a store bought one. | ||
| Post# 846877 , Reply# 6 10/21/2015 at 04:08 (3,103 days old) by toploader55 (Massachusetts Sand Bar, Cape Cod) | ||
 "Building your own Radios,TVs, HiFi gear from scratch or kits"...
Heath Kit comes to mind.
My Grandfather was a Big Heath Kit guy. He had his own repair business back in the 50s and 60s repairing Vacuum Tube TVs and Radios just before the advent of the Transistor and "Solid State".
I had forgotten all about this stuff. Radio shack had the "Realistic" Brand Kits.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heathkit... | ||
| Post# 846890 , Reply# 8 10/21/2015 at 06:40 (3,103 days old) by arbilab (Ft Worth TX (Ridglea)) | ||
Built an EICO ST-70 for a friend roundabout 1964. Charged him a case of Dr Pepper. About how much Dr Pepper it took to make it. Gave the empty bottles back for the deposit. Technically makes me a professional kitter.
Built several ST-40s, HF-81, HF-12, HFT-90, MX-99, several Knights, Dyna PAT-4 and ST-120, EICO instrumentation. Still have the PAT and only power amp I did NOT build, Mitsubishi DA-10DC. Like, I had to do SOMEthing in between rebuilding the slant Westy drive train. Those went years between rebuilds. Yeh, I can build you a 120V dryer. A shower curtain rod and one of these: 
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Post# 847020 , Reply# 10 10/22/2015 at 01:18 (3,102 days old) by jetcone (Schenectady-Home of Calrods,Monitor Tops,Toroid Transformers) |
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OMG a  | ||
| Post# 847071 , Reply# 12 10/22/2015 at 12:05 (3,101 days old) by scoots (Chattanooga TN) | ||
I'd LOVE to see these at full resolution | ||
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Post# 847174 , Reply# 13 10/23/2015 at 08:21 (3,100 days old) by Volvoguy87 (Cincinnati, OH) |
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Performance?
I'd line the cabinet with sheet-metal!
I wonder how well, or poorly, it performed. Being 110 volts, it was at a significant disadvantage, but I'd imagine that the air leaks and loose tolerances in the average home-build, as opposed to a factory built unit, would render the dryer's performance pretty terrible. Dave | ||
| Post# 847221 , Reply# 14 10/23/2015 at 17:30 (3,100 days old) by LordKenmore (The Laundry Room) | ||
I wonder how well, or poorly, it performed.
Only one way to find out! Someone here needs to volunteer to build one of these.
Although, yes, I do suppose it probably wouldn't be the greatest dryer ever. If poorly built, it might make WCI products look like Miele. Still...I can imagine people of that era interested in these plans. "We can have an electric dryer! Just like the Jones!" | ||
| Post# 847222 , Reply# 15 10/23/2015 at 17:32 (3,100 days old) by LordKenmore (The Laundry Room) | ||
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| Post# 847223 , Reply# 16 10/23/2015 at 17:38 (3,100 days old) by LordKenmore (The Laundry Room) | ||
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Electronic kits
I still see kits available, although I suppose the variety is nothing like it once was.
I think it would be interesting to try building something. That said...one concern is the cost. My main interest would be audio equipment, and it would be hard to hear the finished item before building it oneself. Resale is an issue. And getting used equipment (not from a kit) would be faster, and have a more guaranteed resale value. | ||
| Post# 847224 , Reply# 17 10/23/2015 at 17:40 (3,100 days old) by LordKenmore (The Laundry Room) | ||
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Tube testers | ||
| Post# 847434 , Reply# 21 10/24/2015 at 20:09 (3,099 days old) by dartman (Portland Oregon) | ||
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must be another Dartman Wow, wish it was me but its not :( I fix my own stuff as much as I can, cars, TVs, stereos, etc. Post a link if You haven't, I'd like to see his stuff too. There are quite a few folks about that are into old stuff and sounds like he ran with it. | ||
| Post# 847477 , Reply# 22 10/25/2015 at 00:03 (3,099 days old) by classiccaprice (Hampton, Virginia) | ||
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Since I can't seem to get a decent picture, I'm going to type up the original article. I'll try to get better pictures of the figures with a good close up.
Build this 110-Volt Automatic Clothes Dryer by Earl Hills Craft Print Project No. 229 (Science and Mechanics Magazine, October 1955, pgs 114-119) Featuring an ultraviolet light unit that helps to simulate sunshine and destroy odors and bacteria, this clothes dryer operating on 110-volt current can be built for approximately $80. It will take about 9 lbs. of clothes and dry them in 45 minutes to 1 ½ hours depending upon the type and weight of clothing material. Basically the dryer consists of a rotating drum enclosed in a cabinet through which warm air is circulated. The unit is made of plywood and sheet metal and with the exception of a few pieces which you can have made at your local sheet-metal shop, the entire dryer can be made in the home workshop. Begin by making the laminated cabinet frames (Fig. 2). Cut 12 pieces of ¼-in. plywood for each frame; glue and stack carefully so that the edges will be flush with another and square. Then clamp until dry. Bolt the back cross member into groves cut into the frames as in the enlarged detail (Fig. 2) Now, saw the ¾-in. Plywood cabinet back and bottom pieces to size and assemble to the frames with #10x1 ¾ fh screws. Each piece is centered on the frame, projecting 3 ¼ in. beyond the frame on both sides. Lay out the saw the 4 ½ x 5 ½-in. opening for the adjustable bearing mount in the back piece and bolt the inside bearing support to the back with two 7/16 x 6 ½ in. bolts extending through the cross member. The top surface of the inside support must be even with the top surface of the back cross member. Cut the two bearing support pieces to size as shown in Fig. 2, groove ¼-in. deep for the inside bearing support and fasten to the back, bottom and support with #10 x 1 ¾-in. fh screws driven through from the outside. The two 1 3/16-in. bore, pillow-block bearings that will support the rotating clothes drum (Fig. 4) can be installed now. Center and bolt one to the back cross member first. Then, using the bearing as a guide, mark and bore a 1 ¼-in. dia. Hole through the ¾-in. plywood back. Place the other bearing on the inside bearing support, insert a 1 3/16-in. dia. steel shaft 8 in. long through both bearings to align them and bolt the bearing to the inside support. The clothes drum will later be mounted on a 12-in. dia. heavy cast-iron, V-belt pulley fastened to the 1 3/16-in. dia. shaft. Drill each spoke as in Fig. 3. For preliminary fitup purposes, key and fasten the pulley to the shaft at the time. Make the adjustable bearing mount (Fig. 2) and bolt two 1/2-in bore, pillow block bearings to the bearing mount using a ½-in. steel shaft to align them as you did for the large bearings. The assemble the adjustable mount to the cabinet back with four 5/16 x 2 ½-in. carriage bolts as in Fig. 4. Place a 12-in. dia. V-belt pulley and a rpm electric motor as in Fig. 3. The 1-in. Dia. bored holes in the adjustable bearing mount will allow enough movement to get proper tension on the V-belts. Use shaft collars on the outside ens of the shafts to keep them in place. Because considerably lint fills the air inside the cabinet, it is necessary to protect the air intake vent on the motor. Before bolting the motor permanently to the cabinet bottom, make the air intake manifold (Fig. 5) from the end of a tin can large enough to cover the air vents in the end of the motor and a short length of 1-in. Tubing. Bore the manifold for the 1/2-in. Dia. motor shaft. Remove two of the screws that hold the motor bearing plate and replace with 1 ½-in. long studs of the same thread size. Use two nuts on these studs to again hold the bearing plate and drill the tin can manifold so that it can be bolted to the end of the motor with the studs. Drill a 1-in. hole in the cabinet back for the manifold tube. To circulate heated air through the cabinet for drying the clothes, make up the blower housing as in Fig. 6 and fasten a 5-in. dia. blower-type fan (from an oil burner) to the shaft at the other end of the motor (Fig. 7). The fan must be the type that operates when turned in a clockwise direction. Cut an opening in the bottom of the cabinet for the exhaust end of the blower housing and fasten the housing to the bottom (Fig. 8). To remove most of the lint from the air before it reaches the fan, make the air-filter box (Fig. 4) and fasten to the cabinet bottom in front of the fan housing (Fig. 9). The filter screen, which is mounted on a sliding panel of the filter box, must be removed occasionally and cleaned with a whisk broom. Make the rotating clothes drum (Fig. 10) next. Cut the rear of the drum from a 5/8-in. Exterior plywood and the front from ½-in. exterior plywood. Remove the 12-in. dia. cast -iron pulley, center it exactly on the rear of the drum and using the 9/32-in. Drilled holes in the spokes as a guide, drill and bolt the pulley to the plywood rear piece. Have the two flanged sheet-metal drum liner discs made up at your local sheet metal shop and fasten them to their respective plywood ends with #4 x ½-in. rh screws, spaced every 6 inches through the 3/8-in. Outer seam. The front and rear pieces of the drum are held together with ten metal rods (Fig. 11). Layout and mark the plywood ends at five equally spaced points and drill two holes at each point for the metal rods (Fig. 4). Assemble the ends of the drum with the ten rods using a metal plate and ¼-in. nuts at each side of the plywood. Mount the drum on the shaft and rotate to see if the drum runs true. If not, adjust the nuts on the ends of the metal rods as you would adjust the spokes on a bicycle wheel until the drum runs true. Measure the inside distance between the sheet metal discs and cut a piece of 1/4-in. hardware cloth 90 in. long and of a width to fit inside the drum. Roll up the hardware cloth and place inside through the opening in the front end and unroll inside the drum. Soldier to the 2-in. Sheet metal flanges and where the two ends lap. Bend so that clothing will not get caught on them. A 1000-watt electrical fireplace heating element is used to supply the heat to dry the clothes. Place a ¼ x 24-in. Threaded steel rod through the element (Fig. 4), center the rod so that it projects an equal amount on each end and fasten in place with two 1/4-in. nuts. Use two 4 ¼-in. dia. fruit juice tin cans 7 in. long drilled to slide over the 1/4-in. rod to cover the element (Figs. 4 and 12). Also drill and fasten one armor cable connector to each tin can. Wire the element with 312 asbestos-covered electric stove wire run through 3/8-in. Greenfield flexible conduit. While you are having the sheet metal drum liners made up, also have the heater reflector and outside cover (Fig. 4) made of 24-gage galv. Sheet metal. Assemble the heating element, reflector and outside cover and connect armored cables to a 4-in octagon outlet box as in Fig. 13. Cut and install the 3/8-in. Plywood left side panel (Fig. 2) next. Fasten ¾ x ¾- in. wooden strip to the top and front edges for fastening front and top panels to them later. Measure the cut three pieces of 1/4-in. asbestos board to place between the bottom, back and side of the heater reflector and cabinet (Fig. 2). Cut them about 2 in. longer and wider than rhe reflector and place the asbestos in the cabinet to mark for cutting the opening in the cabinet bottom. The air is drawn through the opening into the cabinet. Line this opening with sheet metal and assemble the asbestos and reflector to the cabinet bottom and side with #6 x 3/4-in. Rh screws. The incoming and outgoing air circulated through the cabinet is filtered through windows screening set on the angle in the drawer provides about 40 sq. in. of filtering surface. Leave the back of the drawer open so that air may enter through the left drawer and be expelled through the right drawer. Nail two ¼ x ¼-in. drawer-guide strips to the frame and underside of the cabinet bottom as in sex. A-A in Fig. 5 for the drawer to slide on. Install a purchased ultraviolet light unit to the upper right corner of the cabinet back (Fig. 4). This unit uses a Westinghouse Odoront 794 H bulb. Cut an opening in the box of the unit and install and wire a porcelain light socket for a 15-watt light bulb to illuminate the inside of the dryer cabinet. The entire unit including the 15 watt bulb is then covered with window screening as in Fig. 14 to keep lint away from the unit. Also install a 4-in. Octagon outlet box to the cabinet back and a #12 three-wire rubber covered cable to the box with a cable connector. Run the cable through a hole drilled in the cabinet back. Insert a short length of garden hose through the hole for the cable to pass through so as to prevent the edges of the plywood from cutting into the rubber cover on the cable. Fasten the ground wire of cable to the outlet box. Connect two 3-ft. Lengths of #12 asbestos covered wire pulled through 3/8 in. Greenfield flexible conduit to the outlet box for future connection to toggle switches on the front of the cabinet. Wire the ultra violet light unit to the box as in Fig. 16. Permanently assemble the drum to the pillow block bearings connecting the belts to the idle shaft pulleys and motor pulley. Then cut the top, right side and two front cabinet panels to size (Fig. 15) and install. Glue and screw the ¾ x ¾-in. Strips to all corner joints except the two front panels. Paint the inside of the cabinet with aluminum asphalt paint during construction when the surfaces are accessible. Inasmuch as the front panels must now be temporarily removed to complete the wiring, the inside surfaces of these panels can be painted later. Measure and cut out an opening in the upper right front panel for a 3-gang switch box and install the box from the inside. Then wire the heater ultraviolet light and motor to three toggle switches in a three-gang outlet box as in Fig. 16. Although this dryer has been operated on a two wire 15 amp circuit, it is far better and safer to use a three-prong plug on the appliance cord and connect to a 3-pole wall receptacle of a #12 three-wire appliance circuit fused for 20 amp. In use, the left toggle switch is turned on first, then the middle one and finally the right one. To turn off the dryer, follow the reverse order. An automatic timing switch wired into the circuit as in Fig. 16 will enable you to set the dryer run when the clothes are placed in and have it shut off automatically at any timing from 15 minutes to an hour or two. With the wiring completed and tested, fasten the two front panels permanently in place. Cover the countersunk fh screws on the front with 1-in. half-round molding as in Fig. 15. Make the door as in Fig. 15 setting the glass in putty for a tight seal. Center and fasten the door to the front with two surface-type cabinet hinges and one refrigerator-type cabinet door latch. Give the exterior two coats of enamel undercoat followed by one coat of gloss enamel of the color desired. Craft Prints in enlarged size for building electrical appliances are available at $1.00 each. Order by print number, enclosing remittance (no C.O.D.'s or stamps) from Craft Print Dept., Science and Mechanics, 450 East Ohio Street, Chicago 11, Illinois | ||
| Post# 847479 , Reply# 23 10/25/2015 at 00:18 (3,099 days old) by classiccaprice (Hampton, Virginia) | ||
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| Post# 847480 , Reply# 24 10/25/2015 at 00:31 (3,099 days old) by classiccaprice (Hampton, Virginia) | ||
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Here are the figures. There also is a parts list if anyone is serious on making one I'll send you a xerox of the pages.
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| Post# 847482 , Reply# 25 10/25/2015 at 00:33 (3,099 days old) by classiccaprice (Hampton, Virginia) | ||
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