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Author Topic: The Shakenator9000 - A cautionary tale  (Read 2195 times)

Offline jthomlin

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The Shakenator9000 - A cautionary tale
« on: June 12, 2018, 01:00:41 PM »
After a long, long hiatus, I have finally gotten my painting mojo back. I installed new workbenches in my cave and got down to the serious business of applying acrylic polymer to lead.

However there was a problem ...

All my paints had settled to the point I couldn't hear the stainless steel ball bearings I had inside the pots until I had literally shaken my arms off.

There had to be a better way ...

A quick check of the web showed there were no shortage of devices that purported to do the job, however the good looking ones were not cheap and I needed the ability to handle 50ml and larger pots (not to mention they would be days or weeks away by mail order). I then remembered I had seen some YouTube videos where folks had modified jigsaws to do the job, and a few tests with duct tape later I was sold on the idea.

I didn't want to sacrifice my expensive 18V Makita to the task, but a quick check on the local hardware store showed a likely candidate at only AU$23 and it even had a clunky screw-on fitting for the blade, perfect!

... and so the Shakenator9000 was born ...



I fabricobbled the aluminum bar, pop-riveted on the velcro straps and proceeded to fire up my creation for a test run ...

Now, the observant of you may have noticed a few spots of paint on the otherwise spotless finish of my magnificent machine, and this is where the cautionary bit comes in ...

The damn thing is single speed and so powerful, that even though the bottle was firmly attached it moved just enough that rubbing on the aluminum bar caused it to rupture it and spew primer* all over the place, including my son's computer screen and a number of items of furniture.

The offending bottle ....


* I had to load up primer didn't I? After a litre of isopropyl alcohol and 45 minutes of hard scrubbing there is a chance that management may not discover my crimes, but there are still traces ... so if I never post again, it was a good life ...

Addendum: I wasn't quite willing to give up on the idea, as the proof of concept tests had worked fine. The boy hadn't squealed and management was still none the wiser, so packing another test bottle in copious amounts of foam and relocating to a location where collateral damage was of no concern, I tried again ...

It wasn't as spectacular a failure as the first run, after a while the bottle just vibrated out of it's 'secure' holding and fell harmlessly on the floor. A close examination however showed signs of fatigue and I think it was only a matter of time before I redecorated the garage.



Seems there is something as too much power, I may just have to plump for a purpose built job ...  ::)

Cheers!
Joe Thomlinson
"There is a pleasure sure In being mad which none but madmen know."

~John Dryden, The Spanish Friar, 1681

Offline Cherno

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Re: The Shakenator9000 - A cautionary tale
« Reply #1 on: June 12, 2018, 01:08:44 PM »

* I had to load up primer didn't I? After a litre of isopropyl alcohol and 45 minutes of hard scrubbing there is a chance that management may not discover my crimes, but there are still traces ... so if I never post again, it was a good life ...


I had to laugh at that bit  lol

Online Daeothar

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Re: The Shakenator9000 - A cautionary tale
« Reply #2 on: June 13, 2018, 07:25:09 AM »
So had I lol

Even though I never went so far as to use power tools to shake my bottles, I do remember the same thing happening to me when shaking a Vallejo bottle by hand.

Apparently, I had twisted the cap on too tight, and it had split almost completely through right where the screw thread ended. And vigorous shaking the bottle between my thumb and index finger, holding it on the (nearly loose) top of the cap and the bottom of the bottle made the top come off, with the bottle launching in a spin across the room, squirting paint all through its parabolic journey, ending its flight in a full laundry basket (it was a dark green btw).

Victims included the clothes I was wearing, several WIP minis on my desk, the backs of at least 10 (vintage) rulebooks in my book case, the floor, the all-in-one printer and of course the clean laundry in the basket. Luckily the top piece of textile was an old shirt of mine, which shielded my management's garments.

Unluckily though, she happened to be on the same floor when I yelped out in dismay, so she was there for the entire taking in of the damage ::) On the plus side; it did accelerate the process of creating my own separate hobby/gaming room...  ;D

But yes; goes to show that there basically is no safe way of shaking paint pots. I suppose the only remedy is painting so regularly and prodigiously that paint pots have no chance of drying out or settling their pigments... ;)
« Last Edit: June 13, 2018, 07:27:23 AM by Daeothar »
Miniatures you say? Well I too, like to live dangerously...
Find a Way, or make one!

Offline Cherno

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Re: The Shakenator9000 - A cautionary tale
« Reply #3 on: June 13, 2018, 10:19:58 AM »
I really have to wonder what a spouse would think in that moment when seeing such a disaster... Eyes rolling and all   ::)

Offline blacksoilbill

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Re: The Shakenator9000 - A cautionary tale
« Reply #4 on: June 14, 2018, 03:34:01 PM »
Great stories gentlemen, and well told!

Offline Vanvlak

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Re: The Shakenator9000 - A cautionary tale
« Reply #5 on: June 14, 2018, 04:49:09 PM »
Hope you live to shake another day  :D
Good story, that, and well told.

Offline jthomlin

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Re: The Shakenator9000 - A cautionary tale
« Reply #6 on: June 17, 2018, 01:47:35 PM »
Daeothar  said:
Quote
But yes; goes to show that there basically is no safe way of shaking paint pots. I suppose the only remedy is painting so regularly and prodigiously that paint pots have no chance of drying out or settling their pigments... ;)
So what you are saying is: 'Paint pots dry out, or settle their pigments' ... lol

blacksoilbill said:
Quote
Great stories gentlemen, and well told!

Cherno said:
Quote
I had to laugh at that bit  lol

Vanvlak said:
Quote
Hope you live to shake another day  :D
Good story, that, and well told.

Thank you good Sirs! But wait! There is more of our tale yet to tell ...  ;)

Cheers!
Joe Thomlinson

Offline jthomlin

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The Shakenator9000 - A step to world domination!
« Reply #7 on: June 17, 2018, 01:56:52 PM »
Now that Agent Hammers has spilled the beans:

https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=1997.msg1376349#msg1376349

We here at Spectre Labs® were despondent, our lair exposed, or latest WMD* an abject failure ...

I mean don't get me wrong, we're used to failure, we do it all the time! We get so close, but then that one bloody agent or some meddling kids come along and BAM! time to check Dark Web Real Estate for a new Island and start the nefarious activities from scratch all over again ...

But not this time! Oh no! No starting again, we were going to be efficient and re-use or previous failure to cut out all that start at the beginning type nonsense! Our mean time to failure will be drastically reduced! (Oh! and the company we wrote to regarding an off the shelf WMD didn't reply ...  >:( )

So, having rounded up all the crew that worked on the original Shakenator project and let them go via our usual carnivorous piscine based HR processes, we set about the task with a fresh set of kidnapped scientists and for once ... and I have no idea why ... they delivered! No last moment expose or explosions, just the usual agonising deaths of a few test subjects and BAM!

It VIRKS!!!!

Behold! In awe and in terror! The new and vastly improved Shakenator9000 (Rev C)



I was going to clean off the splattered primer, but then I thought 'splatter'? Why not? and the label was just 'in for a penny ...'  :D

The secret was compressing foam around the bottle inside a container, if you apply enough pressure the bottle simply doesn't move, so no chance of impact damage and the new holding mechanism makes for a quick and easy change to the next victim ... er ... bottle. The MDF 'spatter shields' are just in case things go pear shaped, which since I have them they of course won't, but if I didn't it almost certainly would have, so they actually prevent splatter by just existing, not stopping actual spatter which as I said won't happen because ...  ::)



I'm a happy camper, all it takes is about 5-10 seconds of 'persuasion' and it's done!

Cheers!
Joe Thomlinson

What do you mean we don't have a cat?
And what is that woman doing here?
When I said I needed ...
I mean, look at the SoP,  it's standard practice man! ...

Online Daeothar

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Re: The Shakenator9000 - A cautionary tale
« Reply #8 on: June 18, 2018, 02:32:29 PM »
Quote
All I wanted was a frickin' Shakenator, with frickin' bloodstains on it, is that too much to ask?
lol

Great refinement of a good concept (and risky execution); I like the addition of the label (gotta know what it is of course), and the paintwork obviously showcases its violent potential.

Here's to hoping your doomsday machine does not get out of control (again) :D

Offline jmilesr01

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Re: The Shakenator9000 - A cautionary tale
« Reply #9 on: June 20, 2018, 09:30:14 PM »
Very funny and creative

I look forward to seeing the product announcement of the “Shakenator 10,000”

You know the secret protype based on a Jack Hammer!
Miles
http://lairoftheubergeek.blogspot.com

Offline anton ryzbak

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Re: The Shakenator9000 - A cautionary tale
« Reply #10 on: June 22, 2018, 05:42:23 PM »
I use a buckshot instead of ball bearings, they are smaller and a tad lighter, and cheap as well, I used a cheap saber-saw that I got at a garage sale, variable speed, but it plugs in the wall (only cost $5.00US)

Offline Ragsta

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Re: The Shakenator9000 - A cautionary tale
« Reply #11 on: June 25, 2018, 11:53:45 AM »

I only ever managed to spill a single bottle of black enamel on my old carpet but yes it was black...

On the subject of paint shaking, what do you mighty fellows make of this - possibly useful or laughable?  ???

https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Electric-Nail-Lacquer-Shaker-Operate-Nail-Polish-Paint-Gel-Shaker-Machine-Bottle-/122850146971

Online zemjw

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Re: The Shakenator9000 - A cautionary tale
« Reply #12 on: June 25, 2018, 01:40:58 PM »
There are a couple of those nail shakers available on Amazon as well.

However, I've just ordered some lava and glass beads instead. I am more than capable of spilling paint on things without adding electricity to the party and I suspect my room would end up looking like a Jackson Pollock painting if I tried  o_o