D.I.Y. Concrete Vibration Table

Making your own vibration table for your concrete projects can be cost effective and fairly simple to make. The benefit of using a vibration table for your concrete projects is huge. Vibrating or consolidating concrete makes for a better finished products with less voids, honeycombing and visible flaws.
Follow along with this video to see an easy-to-make benchtop sized concrete vibrating table for small forms and projects. The nice thing about this construction method is that parts and pieces can be switched to also accommodate larger forms.
For this particular concrete vibration table, two 2-amp palm sanders are used as the vibrating power. They are secured to a piece of plywood that is roughly 30" long and 12 " wide, and a piece of foam roll is stapled in place to help the form being vibrated move around less and decrease a bit of the noise. Using screws and springs, the top of the vibration table is placed on the base so the table top is free to move on the springs for the vibrating effect.
There are a number of different ways that a concrete vibration table could be built at home as a do-it-yourself project along with a host of varying materials that could be used to make it. The vibration table in this video was designed trying to use the cheapest and on-hand materials, such as low-end palm sanders and scraps of wood left from other projects.
A concrete vibrating table can be a highly effective tool for better finished concrete products and is relatively cheap and easy to make at home.
00:00 - Introduction
01:09 - Materials and beginning assembly
03:05 - How to attach the vibrating platform the the base
05:13 - Attaching base and vibrating table top
06:03 - First test run of concrete vibration table (screws fail)
06:30 - First hardware upgrade - screws
08:46 - Making a concrete casting to test
10:00 - Using this concrete vibrating table
10:30 -Variations for building your own vibration table
12:23 - How long to vibrate
13:02 - First test of a concrete casting
13:42 - Screws fail (again) during a test
14:42 - Second hardware upgrade - bolts replace screws
15:34 - Test run and conclusion of making vibration table
16:44 - Demolding first vibration table concrete casting test piece
17:28 - Reveal and conclusion
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#CreatingConcrete #concrete #cement #concreteart

[@franciscovital8818]

Thanks for taking the time to share your expertise, very helpful.

[@datcolsol]

I built a similar vibration table a few years ago. I didn't think about using springs, which is an interesting idea. Instead I suspended the vibration platform by ropes from a frame that surrounded its perimeter. This design allowed me to adjust the ropes so the platform was flat no matter where I setup. For vibration I cut some wood blockt that contured to the shape of a variable speed drill motor. Attached the blocks to the bottom of the platform. Use plumber's strap to attach the drill to the blocks. And pt a shot length of chain in the drills chuck as an eccentric weight. The platform works well. I didn't do a lot of testing to look at honeycombing but the surfaces were air pocket free, even with high detail molds. I like your design. It's much more professional than mine. But thought I'd share a different idea to solve the same problem.

[@creatingconcrete]

thank you for sharing. There really are quite a few ways you could approach making a DIY / tabletop sized concrete vibration table. I wish I had gone with a variable speed sander as that would have made a huge difference in the quality and control of the table.

[@bobtee2845]

Could you put a dimmer switch inline which would enable you to operate how you want it to and turn off and on.

[@maryobrienbarcoe2639]

Love love your videos, could sit all night looking at them. 😂 I was wondering what i can add to my sand and cement to make it pour like Cementall. Im trying to make swirl effects on my candle candle vessels. I use only sand and cement as i've no access to Cementall. I use 1 part white Portland cement and 2 parts builders sand. I have to spoon my mix into my molds which i dont mind, i do have very strong vessels when left to dry for a whole week. But would love to pour like Cementall for swirls. Thankyou sooooo much again for your brilliant videos. 💙

[@creatingconcrete]

This video should help you with that kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZ6qoGZtidCga8U&ab_channel=CreatingConcrete

[@JessFO]

Thank you for posting this! You mentioned that you wouldn't normally let it vibrate for so long, for a professional casting how long would you let it run if you were using something like cement all?

[@creatingconcrete]

I would let it run into the air stops bubbling to the surface. At that point it is either too wet, or not, on the surface. If too wet, add a sprinkle of dry mixture, or just some more mix on top to displace . offfset that wetness that gets raised. Total time 5 to 10 minutes.

[@PineView80]

How long would you say to let something like that vibrate? Its hard to tell due to the timelapse. And what if you vibrate it by hand? I did about 2 minutes on my last project (similar size to the one in this video) and it got a lot of cracks on the top surface. The mix was a bit too watery too I think though, so could have been that. I'd love to hear more about resonant frequency, its super interesting and I never thought about actually tuning the vibrations for optimal results, kind of obvious now that I think of it. Great info!

[@creatingconcrete]

This was 7 minutes on the vibration table. After this I usually add some fresh mix to the top to help get rid of the water that has all pooled to the surface.

[@cchemmes-seeseeart3948]

Interesting. I've never seen such s thing. What do you think of putting the sander vibe board into a close fitting sand box in lieu of the spring setup? to allow free movement... Or maybe ball bearings, bb-s or glass marbles instead of sand?

[@cchemmes-seeseeart3948]

& maybe attach the ssnders to the bsll bearing box, making slots they slide in to hold them

[@cchemmes-seeseeart3948]

& cover with a plastic bag to hold wet concrete project

[@creatingconcrete]

Really there are loads of different ways you could build something like this. I kind of just picked one and ran with it.

[@cchemmes-seeseeart3948]

I immensely appreciate your input! I value your experienced viewpoint. Have a blessed day. @@creatingconcrete

[@dudleygraham7178]

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