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Screens for Mixing and Corning
| Conventional wood framed screen
boxes are usually about 1 ft. square and 3 or 4 inches deep. I find this much screen area to be more
than is necessary. Cleaning them is difficult because of all the corners. Stacking
them for multiple grain separations is awkward unless extra rails are added around the tops of the frames.
Then you have more corners to clean. All these problems can be solved by using plastic
storage containers as frames. |
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| This is a
typical shoe box size plastic storage container. They have very smooth, water-proof surfaces and rounded
corners for easy cleaning. They should have stop tabs on the exterior which allow
you to stack one inside another with about an inch of clearance between the bottom surfaces. They seal
fairly well when stacked to control dust nicely.
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First, get a
sharp utility knife and cut out the bottom of the container, leaving about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of a lip
around the edges. Usually the container will have a raised ledge molded into the
bottom which makes a good guide for cutting.
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Now cut your screens
to size so that the screen is larger than the hole in the bottom of the container. You should be
able to get 2 screens from a square foot of screen cloth. Two for the price of one!! Now,
you will need some good tape (duct or strong masking tape) and some good quality epoxy
glue.
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Before applying the epoxy,
you should rough up the gluing surface of the plastic with some coarse sand
paper.
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Then mix up the epoxy,
apply along one edge, put the screen in place and apply the tape over the screen where the
epoxy is. The tape should hold the screen tightly against the container frame while the epoxy
sets. Now repeat the procedure for the remaining three sides. If you have a well behaved screen
that lies nice and flat, you might be able to get away without using epoxy at all and only use
the tape. This is much less trouble, but also much less durable, as you can imagine.
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Voila!! The finished result is
a compact, stackable, light weight set of screens with a convenient catch box which is
merely another unmodified container. I'm so pleased with them that I seldom ever use my original,
wooden box screens any more.
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Your feedback is welcome. Please offer suggestions, refinements, critiques or cudos in the submission form below.
You must be a registered pyro enthusiast (or at least a wannabe) to contribute.
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| fogoforumadmin | Feedback from Randy Norton - 03 Sep 1998 | October 25, 2007 | | Your screen idea is neat. Mine are nearly the same, except:
a. I put my screens on the inside.
b. I fasten them down with automotive "blue goo" so they are very easy to take off and replace. |
| elmo1 | Screens for Mixing and Corning | October 3, 2008 | | I found the idea very good and great for those on a budget. The idea of a final unmodified container for storage is a bonus, that adds protection and organization for your screens. My only question being new to pyrotechnics is screen size choices, and materials i.e. stainless steel?
Elmo |
| jeffrocket55 | great idea for screens | January 27, 2009 | | thanks for the idea making some today.Looks like they will perform well.Jeff |
| eaglesnester | screen material | October 24, 2009 | | Have never seen the screen material for sale before. What type of store should I look for the screen?
Thanks: Glenn |
| ggriffith3 | black powder sifting screens | January 10, 2012 | | im new to this. what screens should i get if i want to produce ffg, fffg, ffffg black powder? |
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