Extruder

I've often thought that you could make an extruder out of a decent quality caulking gun. Not the $1.99 jobs at the cheapo hardware store, but the professional types that are made of much heavier stuff.

It ought to be cheap to do. The limitation, obviously, would be that you'd only be able to extrude fairly small shape and your reservoir of clay would also be pretty small.

But it might be worth a shot.

I found a metal cake-decorating gun with tons of attachments. It is kind of like a mini caulking gun, but with the attachments already in place, it should work pretty good. I haven't used it yet, though, but I think it should work pretty well.

If you want a big extruder - to use for example instead of rolling coils to extrude them (though remember they won't be as strong), you could look at just a solid plastic or metal pipe from a plumber with a screw-on bit on the bottom. Get some leverage for the handle and it might work. Ask your best handy-man for ideas :-)

Marianne

think about the basics needed - barrel, ram head, wall attachment. arm to provide extra force.

hit up the professional plumbing stores for large diameter pipe.

some areas have odd junk yards. i know one in Bellflower, CA (usa) (Nick's JunkYard) that has EVERYTHING except car parts! they even have a 14 foot diameter simulated satellite. i think you could go there with an extrude in mind and find the right parts.

the workers there are also pretty creative & know their junk yard inventory. speak with them and they may help you pull together what you want.

air compressor driven rams are also available here & there.

draw up some plans for yourself to understand what you might need.

see ya

steve

steve graber

Tony,

That's very close to how I make my guns. The difference is I use 55mm rainwater pipe, and pop-rivet a disc of plastic cut to fit onto the plunger. The dies are made by using one of those cheap hole-cutter kits you get in hardware stores; the hole it drills in the middle is a good start for a die shape.

Steve Bath UK

In article , Tony writes

Steve, I've also used the old plastic 'switch plates' the thing that goes over the light switch on the wall. I use a dremell tool to shape them. Haven't made any hollow dies yet though. The tube I used is PVC drain pipe as under a sink etc. It's inside diameter was larger (but only slightly) that the plunger on the caulk gun. Take care.. Tony

For a hollow die to make fine tubes I use a 2 X 3/16 inch round head bolt bent into a U shape and secured with 2 nuts to one side of the die. Works a treat!

Steve Bath UK

In article , Tony writes