Cement mixer recovery and mod

[Frank S]

About a year ago I came across an old Craftsman cement mixer. No motor or engine just the drum, yoke pinion frame and a 14 inch pulley.
the 14 Inch pulley was the first indication of how it had previously been powered which I figure was a 1 or possibly 2 hp 1700 ish RPM electric motor
I also had a 5.5 hp gasoline engine I traded for as a basket case. the guy claimed it only had a couple of hours on it since new but had pulled the cover and flywheel off to see if an electric start could be installed he was going to use it as a poney start engine for a9 hp listeroid diesel also now mine.
the mixer was partially froze up I could barely rotate it Just for C-bag some of the photos have a tape measure

I started off by making a jack shaft and mount for the chain drive and belt drive reduction system.
The jack shaft was needed because I wanted to have a centrifugal clutch on the engine which would allow for stopping the drum by idling down
I chose a 30 tooth sprocket mated to the 12 tooth sprocket to give a 2.5 to 1 initial reduction followed by a 4 inch pulley mated to the 14 inch pulley making the reduction at 3.5 to 1 or a total reduction of 8.75 to the pinion the pinion has 8 teeth while the drum has 98 or 12.25 to 1
if the targeted drum rotational speed is 30 then the engine RPM would be around 3215 This engine happens to be governed at 3600 max RPM so the 3215 is well withing the range
the jack shaft was made from .875" cold roll turned down and keyed on both ends to fit the bearings pulley and sprocket
the housing was just a piece of rond stock I found laying around bored and counter bored to accept the bearings


the jack shaft mounting plates were made from 4 by 6 by 1/4" plate slots were milled on a 3" square pattern 1 inch long

after the slots were milled the mating plate was clamped below and the 4 bolt holes were match drilled to the slots

bolts were tack welded in the 4 holes to allow the use of a single wrench for adjusting.

The assembled jack shaft ready for installing on the mixer

[Frank S]

engine fully installed ready to test



a little more oil added to the drum everything fully greased it runs perfectly
I have a short video which will be up loaded if I can find it in my phone again

now that the mixer runs it is time to make it portable first I made the axle beam out of a length of 1 1/2" sch 40 black pipe the stubs welded in the ends are made from 1 " cold roll slipped inside of a 1" pipe with a 1 1/4 inch pipe over that then welded and turned down to a tap in fit of the axle tube. then welded in place. the wheels are my favorite doughnut tires with a 5 inch long piece of 2 3/8" oilfield pipe welded in the center to be the hubs the bearings are 1" by 2" flanged which will often press fit into the oilfield pipe without machining the bore.

next I needed stop collars so I made these from a length of 1 3/4 round by boring it to 1" then making a clean up cut to the OD. then I drilled and tapped to 3/8 16 for the set screws. then simply sawed them off

Then I welded a frame together and inserted the axle through the frame


checking the height and pour angle with the wheel barrow




to finish the build I added grating to the frame for a place to stand and to have a platform to set a small pallet of ready mix

[Frank S]

I don't normally care if many of my tools get painted or not but this one I decided to grab a can from my mystery color stock that no longer have the color tag on the lid and spray what ever it turned out to be on the machine


I have a case of KBS paint that my friend who I buy my paint from gave me all of the color tags had been ripped or rubbed off and he couldn't sell them

At least one thin gis for sure the machine will never rust

[Frank S]

Just when you think you are almost finished with a project, the other half of my equation says if I want her to help run the thing I need to make a belt guard for it. I learned a long time ago that there are 2 species of humans I never argue with the wife or that of the sub species rookie cops. Rookie cops are just too low on the the human scale to have time to learn what they are allowed to do under the law and if you try to explain it to them they go Barney Fife on you, Wives on the ohter hand have usually been around long enough to know they are right even if they don't know why.
So I made a belt guard for the thing.
First I cut a piece of 1x9 expanded metal that it 1 inch expansions in 9 ga metal, to a near shape of what I needed then I located a 15 gallon drum to use as a forming die for the major diameter.

After forming the large diameter I selected another much smaller cylinder for the minor die

This lead to the need for a straight line die I picked up a piece o formed channel that just happened to be the right length


Next I needed to form a dimple or a protrusion in the center to allow clearance for the pulley hub

and finally fitting the guard in place before making a mount for it

[Pa1963]

Good that you married a woman that could spot the need for a guard. Few enough like that in the world.

[Frank S]

the business part of any cement mixer is on the front and back or the opposite side there is no reason to ever be near a pulley where it is located. I had planned on making one for it anyway but it just struck me as funny the way she said it when I asked her if she could start it.

[DIYer]

Thanks Frank S! We've added your Jackshaft to our Miscellaneous category,
as well as to your builder page: Frank S's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Jackshaft by Frank S

tags: jack shaft

[DIYer]

Thanks Frank S! We've added your Cement Mixer Modification to our Miscellaneous category,
as well as to your builder page: Frank S's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Cement Mixer Modification by Frank S

tags: modification, mixer, cement

[DIYer]

Thanks Frank S! We've added your Cement Mixer Trailer to our Trailers and Towing category,
as well as to your builder page: Frank S's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Cement Mixer Trailer by Frank S

tags: trailer, mixer, cement

[DIYer]

Thanks Frank S! We've added your Cement Mixer Guard to our Miscellaneous category,
as well as to your builder page: Frank S's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Cement Mixer Guard by Frank S

tags: safety, guard, mixer