Bucket Screens!

[Swede]

Screens can be expensive. The first set I made was with wooden frames, and THAT was far more work than necessary. I decided to try the method of plastic welding the screen to an HDPE bucket, and it was not difficult at all, and the results are excellent.

 

http://www.5bears.com/firew/sb01.jpg

 

What you need... a screen, a bucket (here, an old frozen daquiri bucket) and a heat source. Many people have and use a small butane torch like this one to light visco. If so, it's a perfect size. Whatever heat sorce you use, it needs to be not too big, not too small. Experiment a bit before committing to a large bucket and screen.

 

The screen is placed on the opening of the bucket. I will save the bucket cutting for later. The first step is to "tack" weld 4 positions of the screen, to the bucket, so as to keep the whole thing stable while the bulk of the welding takes place.

 

http://www.5bears.com/firew/sb02.jpg

 

The secret to the welding process is this: there must be modest downward pressure on the screen at the location where the plastic is melting. This forces the screen into the molten plastic, which oozes up through the screen, and recoagulates on top, thus securing the screen in place.

 

If your small butane torch has a "heat gun" attachment, use it. Otherwise, turn the flame on low, and alter the O2 mix so the flame is soft, and not the hard, small blue flame normally used. Make small passes of the flame through the screen on top, downwards onto the plastic, while applying gentle pressure. The screen will sink like it's in quicksand. Remove the heat when the plastic has coagulated on top of the screen, and forms a continuous bead, like so:

 

http://www.5bears.com/firew/sb03.jpg

 

I found a great tool to apply pressure, yet keep the fingers safe - an old pair of needle nosed pliers. Open them like this, just enough to let the heat through, not too wide:

 

http://www.5bears.com/firew/sb04.jpg

 

Once you have four corners tacked, start the bead to cover the full 360 degrees of plastic. You can make more than one pass so as to increase the depth and strength of the bond. Too much heat will discolor and char the plastic... back off in this case. Go slowly and you will be rewarded with a nice bead that looks good but is very strong.

 

http://www.5bears.com/firew/sb05.jpg

 

Take your scissors or snips and cut the screen. Here I am cutting flush. In the future, I am going to leave maybe 3mm which I will then curl over the rim.

 

http://www.5bears.com/firew/sb06.jpg

 

Since I cut mine flush, it left many sharp metal ends to snag the fingers - not good. I used a dremel with a sanding drum to clean these sharp ends off flush with the plastic. This worked OK but is not as strong as curling the screen downward, and perhaps boding that to the plastic.

 

http://www.5bears.com/firew/sb07.jpg

 

Overall, this plastic welding method works very well, and is NOT hard to do. All that remains here is to cut the bucket with a box cutter or sharp knife, making an excellent screen. I did not take any more pictures, but you get the idea. This technique will work on the big "slurpee" type of cups, allowing you to make mini-sieves, as well as 2 to 5 gallon pails. The screen shown here is aluminum, but better yet would be the choice stainless screens from the better supply houses. I'd practice one or two of these using cheap aluminum screen, on junk buckets, before going to town on a 5 gallon pail with an expensive stainless screen. Have fun!

[FREAKYDUTCHMEN]

Where have I seen this before?

[Swede]

I'm sorry if it is a repeat. I searched the tutorial section and did not see anything on this. I will take it down if it is a repetition of something already here.

[FREAKYDUTCHMEN]

Well I don't find it very honest to copy passfire tutorials on unpayed forums.

If it isn't a copy then I haven't said anything

[Swede]

No, it's not a copy, and I don't care for the insinuation. I never saw that tutorial. I know that plastic welding of screens to buckets is not new, has been done for years. There's nothing original here, I simply wanted to show how I managed to do it.

[FREAKYDUTCHMEN]

..... then I haven't said anything

Very handy when the different mesh sized screens fits in eachother.

[jacob]

Awesome tutorial Swede! but the pics aren't working for me, does anyone else have this problem?

 

EDIT. odd but they work now.

[FrankRizzo]

Great tutorial Swede. I find that securing the screen into a temporary frame stretches the screen tight and also provides some weight that helps push the screen into the molten plastic. The frame is removed once the screen is securely attached.

 

For anyone having trouble viewing the images (using Firefox), right-click on the "user posted image" text and select view image from the menu.

[Mumbles]

Yes, the bucket screen idea did not originate on passfire. There are numerous other tutorials on this method. Dan William's site comes to mind. Several on the forum, including me, have screens made in a similar manner. Mine happen to be from stackable storage containers, and not 5 gallon buckets, but they technique is the same.

 

These are also sold commercially, though perhaps not all that well as they are too cheap and easy to make.

 

http://www.bucketscreen.com/

[TheSidewinder]

As reported in another thread, the pictures aren't working for some or many. In my case, the host times out before feeding the pics.

 

Swede: Might I suggest uploading those pics to our filehost, and editing the tutorial to substitute the new links? If you need assistance, PM me.

 

TS

[Swede]

It's odd that the pictures are not showing up. They are posted to my own domain and hot-linked right here. I have no restrictions on hot-linking images, and have been posting photos for years with no problems on other forums.

 

I will investigate and see what I can find out.

[KinneticEnergy]

Hmm, thats odd... I can see the pictures just fine. There are some pictures on other topics that don't show up.

[TheSidewinder]

Hiccups all over the Net yesterday, given the posts I've seen on a number of forums just this morning.

 

Europe seemed to have been hit the worst, but it all seems fine today.

 

Good pics, Swede!

[BLAST420]

I have looked everywhere and have not been able to find SS screen, and every sieve I look at starts at $100 what is the problem are there any common stores to go to for this type of screen!! huh iv just been going from hardware store to hardware store HELP! where did you get your screen?

[TheSidewinder]

Stores, no. McMaster-Carr online, yes.

 

Save up, the raw materials are pricy.

 

There's a thread here somewhere that gives more information about such raw materias. Pay attention to the search parameters, they're not intuitive and default to only a 30-day window.

[Mumbles]

I just noticed something, you melted the screen onto the top. Don't you think it would be more effective to cut the bucket first and then melt the screens on? That way you could put the screened bucket into a solid bucket to catch the material that is passing though.

 

The bottom that gets cut off might also be just perfect for girandolas.

[Arthur]

Cooperman435 in the UK sells small pieces of mesh of various useful mesh sizes for pyros http://nexusgamers.co.uk/cooperman/modules.php?name=SHOP

 

As does Inoxia http://www.inoxia.co.uk

 

I'm sure someone in the USA also does! Get a small piece and heat-weld it into the bottom of a small tub. That way you can get several screens and make the particle size cuts that you need for various comps.

 

Search Endecotts they make sieve sets in brass and stainless and have a top lid and a solid bottom container so that after a few minutes on the shaker base each sieve contains the particle cut that passes the sieve above.

Edited August 17, 2008 by Arthur

[tentacles]

Okay, I made this list and I'm going to post it, damn it all. This is part numbers for the cheapest screen mesh at mcmaster, and rather closely follows the standard screen mesh opening size. Don't be alarmed if the wire count does not match the mesh number.

 

4 - 9241T421

8 - 85385T827 - this one is actually .0043'' over standard size

12 - 85385T852

20 - 85385T878

30 - 9238T532

40 - 85385T864

60 - 9230T532

80 - 85385T869

100 - 85385T871

140 - 85385T875

200 - 85385T877

325 - 85385T883

 

I chose the best price/size I could find, a couple of these may be off size by the slightest bit, but not by far. Most, if any, are not the largest wire size either - while the larger wire size may last longer, you'll spend more time screening through them because they have less open area. I don't see how that's worth spending (often) 2-3x as much. I could just buy new screens when these wear out, after all.

 

I personally only own 4, 8, 12, 20, 30, 60, 100, 200, 325 screens. I've had great success using the 60-100 charcoal in lieu of 80 mesh, and the 30-60 as 40 mesh. The 20-30 cut is perfect for 20 mesh C as well.

Edited January 24, 2009 by tentacles

[swervedriver]

Thanks tentacles, I think some part numbers are mixed up, but I get the jist of it.

 

I want to nest some 2.5 gallon buckets together so I'll be cutting the tops off and welding the screen to the "bottom" of the bucket tops (not the cut off bucket bottom itself). Do you guys see any issues this way?

[Swede]

Thanks tentacles, I think some part numbers are mixed up, but I get the jist of it.

 

I want to nest some 2.5 gallon buckets together so I'll be cutting the tops off and welding the screen to the "bottom" of the bucket tops (not the cut off bucket bottom itself). Do you guys see any issues this way?

 

The only problem I see is that the cut portion of the bucket is MUCH thinner than the top, so there is less plastic to work with, and it may get a little thin. Here's what I'd do... cut your bucket, then from the scrapped section, cut some thin strips of plastic and use that as fill rod. Just like metal welding. If possible, practice with some scraps, as it takes some practice to do a neat job, especially if you have to add fill.

 

Idea... imagine cutting an entire ring from the bucket. The ring is only 1/8" or so tall. Place that above the screen so the screen is sandwiched between the main part of the bucket you want to use, and the ring. Apply heat to the screen near the joint, carefully, so as to melt the ring into the screen and the plastic on the other side. Use the ability of the screen to transfer heat and melt the plastic, rather than applying heat directly to the plastic itself. Might work.

[SamGurdus]

Where do you buy the screens for this project?

[dagabu]

Mcmaster Carr, https://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/topic/2533-bucket-screens/?p=44876

[SamGurdus]

Mcmaster Carr, https://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/topic/2533-bucket-screens/?p=44876

Are there any other useful screen sizes I should add to my order that might come in handy in the future? I'm new to this.

[dagabu]

I have several screens but only use a few since many of them have no practical use. I use the MESH sizes below.

 

4, 12, 20, 40 60, 100

[SamGurdus]

Okay, I made this list and I'm going to post it, damn it all. This is part numbers for the cheapest screen mesh at mcmaster, and rather closely follows the standard screen mesh opening size. Don't be alarmed if the wire count does not match the mesh number.

 

4 - 9241T421

8 - 85385T827 - this one is actually .0043'' over standard size

12 - 85385T852

20 - 85385T878

30 - 9238T532

40 - 85385T864

60 - 9230T532

80 - 85385T869

100 - 85385T871

140 - 85385T875

200 - 85385T877

325 - 85385T883

 

I chose the best price/size I could find, a couple of these may be off size by the slightest bit, but not by far. Most, if any, are not the largest wire size either - while the larger wire size may last longer, you'll spend more time screening through them because they have less open area. I don't see how that's worth spending (often) 2-3x as much. I could just buy new screens when these wear out, after all.

 

I personally only own 4, 8, 12, 20, 30, 60, 100, 200, 325 screens. I've had great success using the 60-100 charcoal in lieu of 80 mesh, and the 30-60 as 40 mesh. The 20-30 cut is perfect for 20 mesh C as well.

Is the 12 mesh part number correct? It says it is .034 inches, while it should be .083, right?