Homemade turntable..

[daan]

Hi everyone.

This thread I would like to use to "show off" my new turntable. It's made from 3/4" plywood, a metal welded bridge and a heavy bosch windscreen wiper motor. The indexing will be made with screws on the drivedisk and a sensor which detects metal. That should in turn switch the motor off via a relais.

This is a sideview. I used a router and a guide pivotting on the centre of the turntable to cut the 2 circles: one for the drivedisk, one for the ridge to support the wheels of the bridge. The centre axle is a 16mm bolt which I drilled with 10mm to wire the track on the bridge.

Some details of the driving system. The disk is mounted on the underside of the pit, mounted on the pivotaxle of the bridge. The motor has a wormgear mounted to it, which drives a rubber wheel. With a spring system, this drive is pressed onto the disk mounted on the axle, and so driving the bridge of the turntable.

The track is still loose on top, you can see a bit more detail on this picture.

And a video of the turntable doing it's job: http://www.zeelandnet.nl/video/bekijk/video/2681

[jefelectric]

Nice Job Dann, that is a real piece of workmanship.  How long is the turntable?  It looks like it operates very smoothly in the video.

[daan]

Hey Jef,

The turntable is 50cm (about 1 1/2 ft) and it really operates smooth. The clicketyclack sounds in the video are from the autofocus of the camera I used, the turntable itself is only buzzing.

[rtraincollector]

That is really cool looking it'll be great once you get it in with your layout.

[Blueberryhill RR]

That's a great looking turntable, Daan.  You did a good job.

Chuck

[Brutus]

Very cool, Daan!  Good work

[wrmcclellan]

Daan - Sweet! Nice job!

[Boyd]

Now if someone was really short of space and very creative start with a record player and put a bridge on top of it to turn the engines. When your done running the trains,, remove the bridge,, put on a Billy Joel record and crank it up.

[cnw1995]

Boyd, that's something I thought of ... but as I can't go 'under' my layout (it sits on rock fill), I used a plastic lazy-susan that's just right for a piece of 027 track (hence it's good only for short engines / trolleys, etc.

Great work, Daan!

[RockIsland52]

Now if someone was really short of space and very creative start with a record player and put a bridge on top of it to turn the engines. When your done running the trains,, remove the bridge,, put on a Billy Joel record and crank it up.

daan......that's quite impressive.  Boyd, you are dating yourself ("record player").  It's a "turntable".  Now we have to tell everyone born in the last 20 years what a turntable is and what a record is.

Jack

[Boyd]

I have one plastic lazy susan I was going to use for a turntable but it still sits with the rest of the O scale inventory. 

Well I was born in late 66 so I remember my brothers getting mad at me for walking hard on the floor and making a record skip. I have a Ronald Reagan record of some of his speeches but don't have a player and have yet to hear the record.

 

[perry1060]

Daan,

Fantastic job. From the video, that turntable runs smooth as glass!

[Roger Bielen]

Daan,

Welcome back, we haven't heard from you in quite a while. 

Great looking job on the turn table.  A hint for others that might get into building one, an old battery powered screw driver makes a good drive motor.  Stip it, add the gearing, and wire it to a controllable low voltage source.  I know someone who has built several with this type of motor.

[cnw1995]

This is a great idea, Roger!

[Deputy]

Wow Daan!!! I envy your construction skills and ingenuity!! Looks and works great.

[Saq]

Now if someone was really short of space and very creative start with a record player and put a bridge on top of it to turn the engines. When your done running the trains,, remove the bridge,, put on a Billy Joel record and crank it up.

A record turntable is a good idea. I was thinking along the lines of using a "Microwave Oven" carousel. Just a little brain "fart" that hit me.  Saq

[Railroader_Sailor_SSN-760]

I have actually given thought to using a record player for a turntable. I have a very large combination radio/8-track/record player that the record player part of it is now broken (the arm got snapped off, the motor works fine.)

 Until the record player arm died, we used it a lot to play various railroad sound albums.

After I replace the record player unit, the old one will most likely find it's way onto the layout.

I just need to figure out some method for indexing the turntable.

By the way, I am 25, and I have more 8 tracks than I have CDs.

[J. Daddy]

Dan,

This is great! Do you have any drawings/part list so I could build one too? Sounds like a great CTT article!