Let's Build a Raffle Wheel (Part 2)

This episode on Blondihacks, I’m making a prize wheel! Exclusive videos, drawings, models & plans available on Patreon!
/ quinndunki
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[@daniel_bohrer]

Quinn: Reduced part count is good because I'm on a bit of a time crunch here… Also Quinn: I'm gonna overengineer the sh*t out of this pointer with some bushings! I love how relatable this channel is 😁

[@jus270]

I was really happy to hear that chamfers separating us from the animals line make a comeback. I missed that so much.

[@jonbruford7950]

It's alive and well over at Inheritance Machining :-)

[@ShamWerks]

@@jonbruford7950 was about to comment the same! 😉

[@longdarkrideatnight]

You could drill a hole in the kickstand so that it will lay flatter when packed. I would just have to be big enough sot the latch would fit into it when the table was folded.

[@dcsensui]

Another interesting project documentation. Thanks for sharing. Funny thing is that I made a raffle wheel (we call it a prize wheel) just a couple of months ago. Used whatever materials that was on hand. The 30" wheel is made of 3/4" plywood partly to give it some mass. It's 12 wedges glued together so that it's flat. Plywood is almost always slightly bowed and gluing pieces with alternating sides facing up eliminates the overall dishing. And the pointer is from a somewhat pliable plastic bottle that held dog vitamins. The bearing housing was machined from aluminum and the frame is TIG-welded 1" square aluminum tubing. The pins were made of wood doweling. Wood doweling isn't very precise from the store so had to run those through the lathe to get the diameters just right for a snug fit in the holes that were drilled. While I had the pins on the lathe I also rounded the ends. The wheel is laid flat, like the Wheel of Fortune (didn't realize that thing was so big and heavy), so that there's no need for critical balancing of the wheel. Otherwise it tends to favor a specific position, and we're placing the actual prize certificates on the face of the wheel which would also throw off a well-balanced wheel. In addition to two radial bearings on the 3/4" shaft there's a thrust bearing between the bearing housing and the plate holding the wheel. Spins very freely and, if there wasn't a pointer installed, it would keep going for quite a while. And, yes, if it's worth doing, it's worth being over-engineered. All that for part of a one-night event.

[@mbainrot]

I'm like "1.13 ton are you for real?!" then resumed playback and a little "yes really" jumps up on the screen 😂

[@johnmoorefilm]

By the way : bad news - I saw a caribou chamfering a 316L stainless nut the other day…he was smoking a cigarette too…so much for being separated from the animals.😮‍💨

[@akaHarvesteR]

I knew they would catch up eventually.

[@Vampier]

@@akaHarvesteR I was thinking the bever has been doing this for centuries already

[@gofastwclass]

The good news is if he's smoking, he may not be around long so the problem may resolve itself. The concerning part is what was he machining?

[@dwaynetube]

A farmers market with a thunderdome??? I really want to see that one! 🙂 Great project and as always so enjoyable to watch!

[@JaenEngineering]

My first thought for the pointer was a light torsion spring. Drill a small hole off to one side of the bushing in the back stand, and another in the pointer and have the spring wrap loosely around the bushing.

[@machooke4846]

You beat me to it, I was thinking the same thing.

[@gydo1942]

Exactly, maybe a mainspring from a watch could work too.

[@MartysRandomStuff]

That was my first thought as well, a spiral of wire would be the easiest to make.

[@rb95051]

Ditto, was thinking about that too

[@rootvalue]

This is why I love the internet. Engineering by community. ❤

[@ericwhite5655]

I made a 3 ft diameter wooden one for a bachelor party years ago. I was poor just out of college so didn't have a lot of money and I used a piece of laundry detergent jug as the pointer. Worked great. Nice clicking noise as it spun.

[@dbayboyds409]

Love the stand retention. So simple and so robust. I hope I can remember it when I have a similar need. Well done

[@markwarner5554]

I made a wooden one years ago and used a cutoff section of a 0.130ga stainless steel bass guitar string as the spring and pointer, retained into a small piece of wood protruding from the base, and held in a U shape to bounce against the pins.

[@brunoramey50]

Great Idea ! You can reverse the design : Make a fixed pointer, and several guitar strings as pins on the wheel : the thing became a music box ! 🎶

[@GeneralDesignInnovation-es4zz]

One way to make a disassemble-able hinge made from 3 parts would be to take 2 pieces of flat bar stock and bend the ends into U-shaped pieces, one of which is slightly shorter than the other so it nests with the longer one. Drill holes in the uprights of the U's. Then turn a pin that's slightly longer than the longer U-piece, with a head at one end. Diameter to fit the drilled holes, except the last 1/4" or so is left a few thousandths oversize. Slit this end about 1/2" deep. Put the 2 U's together and slide the pin through. The oversized area will compress and press through the holes but spring back to hold the pin in place. But it still can be pulled out for disassembly.

[@andrewalcock461]

"Minimum Viable Pointer" - 😂! That's really dangerous given that your material was all taken from the Garbage Collection scrap bin. Segmentation errors await. But I did love the angle of the wheel - clear demonstration of Lean principles.

[@trhosking]

You can make a hinge with three parts without a hinge pin. Just attach two barrels to one component and one to the other. The barrels have 45° conical tapers on the end to mesh them together. Such hinges can also be easily 3D printed in place.

[@plaws0]

I was yelling at the TV about the flapper-clicker - "Quinn! YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG! Turn it 90 deg!" And then you revealed that you had actually worked with the wheel that Chuck Woolery brought us (I am that old) and it all became clear. Also explains your use of slabs of steel and a huge bearing. 🙂 Loved it all and I'm sure it more than fits the bill. Next week is the custom trailer you built to haul it around, yes?

[@stevenhavener7327]

I really loved the wonkey action with the counterweights !!! sorry it had to be more traditional, great project, marvelously executed , best regards Steve

[@iain3411]

Who wouldn't enjoy that. Very nice.

[@marcfaulk]

Excellent idea using the vice- an order of magnitude cheaper than a lab tensile tester. I did a similar project for my BSc. I used ~10mm dia cylindrical samples. each end was epoxy glued into ~25mm of aluminium tube, which was then clamped in the machine.

[@lisag2771]

Great job! I love my vinyl cutter I’ve used it for cutting gaskets.

[@robertberger8642]

Very nice! It was good to hear your line about chamfers again. It has been a long time since I last heard you say it. 🙂

[@SirWeedyMoose]

Quinn. If you extend the wooden baseplate of your arbor press to be longer than the handle, you will not flip it and it is still portable.

[@azenginerd9498]

A potential modification to the vinyl sections... include a small spiral gap so viewers get hypnotized 😁🍭

[@Voidmonster]

Amazing timing! I just re-watched Thunderdome.

[@nickhenscheid369]

Having also over-engineered a raffle wheel once, I also settled on using a flexure. I used a piece of plastic shim stock, something like 0.025. Works great and makes the requisite "tick tick" noise.

[@KWGochenaur]

I enjoyed watching you figure your way through the build, and I'm glad everyone had fun with the finished product. For a simpler hinge: A rod or pair of pins welded to the bottom of the upright plate, and a pair of blocks with holes on the base plate. If you're okay with permanent assembly, the blocks can be tacked on, otherwise fasten one or both to the base plate with screws.

[@frrapp2366]

i have made a hinge with 3 components BUT it was sheet metal ,i bent the circles/ bushings on the ends of the plates and notched the center out of one side and the ends out of the other and then the pin . fun vid !!

[@4X6GP]

For a pointer spring, you might try a thin piece of shim stock as a torsion bar parallel to the axis of the pointer axle. A problem would be that it might stick out too far behind the panel. Or a spiral torsion spring like the one on the balance wheel of a clock.

[@jscancella]

@6:54 - only lower count hinge I can think of is a blacksmith half pintle hinge at just 2 components (3 if you count the welded in pintle)

[@lowlypawn]

In this episode we learn Quinn has dark humor lurking inside :)

[@johanneswerner1140]

beautiful colour! And it really sounds really good!

[@ewathoughts8476]

Bicycle brand playing cards worked on my spokes to make a motor sound as a kid. Just cut them in half to reduce the friction, and then make a nice raffle wheel sound.

[@glennwright9747]

That was my thought also!

[@johnapel2856]

Neat! And puppies. Yay! The death part, yeah, well, it has been a good run. But I do look forward to the premier episode of ZombieHacks. I need to disclose that I didn't watch this when it first came out as I always do, but I had to watch the 24 Hours of Le Mans, so... I'm sure you understand. Thanks, and Meow to Sprocket.

[@Roblecop]

I wonder if a clock-spring on a keyed shaft would be the right move for that. You could attach a tab on the outside of the clockspring to the backside of the plate and the center of that clockspring to the shaft. Although that'd make the wheel mono-directional, I think it'd be the least‐bulky way to achieve a mechanical pointer.

[@jdaly51]

One of the most entertaining episodes ever. Told my significant other that you needed to rotate pointer mount 90 degrees with a slot. She didn't understand. You did a great job showing and explaining. I am sure you have heard someone say "KISS" keep it simple s. Love Your videos

[@carlhitchon1009]

New invention, The Blondihacks Latch.

[@arnemartt]

15:04 literally holding my breath for the yatzee

[@notsonominal]

That escalated rather quickly at the end there!!

[@davidbastow5629]

Pointer mechanics: So if rubber makes a perfect deflection spring, it should be possible to attach it between the pointer axle and a front-on-style pointer in order to look like Wheel of Fortune? (So the pointer strikes the wheel but is sprung back by the rubber). Nice build though, I too enjoyed watching this more than I thought I would. And I'm glad it was a hit. I do like powder-coat - vastly better than paint!

[@chrisriley1450]

Instead of a 5 part hinge, you can do it with 4 parts. You make the middle two parts the same (round stock with a hole drilled in the middle) but you make the outside part out of double length stock. You then turn down the middle of the second part into a pin that fits inside the hole. Welding the parts in place with the barrel pieces to the middle and the pins on the outside facing towards the middle keeps the parts in place, but so long as you keep everything aligned, it'll work as a hinge with one fewer parts.

[@kkupsky6321]

Wow. That wheel is fly. As fly as a wheel. They should have a name for a wheel flying.

[@protocol6]

I'd probably just let the pointer spin freely so the screw just retains it on its axle and won't be unscrewed by the impact. Then use a tortion spring or hairspring of some sort to fix the pointer to the axle pin.

[@MaxC925]

"bust a deal, face the wheel" distracted me enough had to pause and watch the first two of that series before closing that tab and remembering whee i was after finishing this 3 hours later. ill get to that one tomorrow, some how it got super late on me XD

[@jclark2752]

Some circles refer to this apparatus as a “Big Six Wheel", after it’s common casino variant. The "Wheel of Fortune" was also very popular before it was 'commandeered'… And the Super Awesome Word you were struggling for is CLASTIC! 🤓😁

[@ThePaulv12]

These 'side' projects to the locomotive have me hooked. I was mildly affronted when Part 2 of the Raffle Wheel was missing last week. Flywheels in motion are mesmerizing no?

[@Ben-ht5yf]

When welding barrel hinges, I usually use a piece of .6 mig wire bent in the shape of a 'V' (to get two points of contact) as spacer, so there is a small gap for smooth rotation. Especially if it is going to be painted.

[@arose62]

Those dry-erase surfaces are quite… re-markable 😂

[@robertoswalt319]

If your vinyl cutter can handle thick materials, it can cut precision gaskets.

[@componenx]

Wheel of Fortune- that explains the initial pointer designs! I was yelling at my screen- No, No, No -that isn't how those are made!

[@paulmorrey4298]

Thanks Quinn

[@peterspencer8135]

I think Quinn's lever-with-spring-straight-down idea would have worked if the lever was much shorter than the pointer (give the pointer mechanical advantage over the lever instead of the other way around)

[@skwerlz]

Awesome job, looks amazing and your fabricobbling process was impeccable. I've made a couple of these, one absolutely had to look like the Wheel of Fortune setup so I used a torsion spring (think clothespin) embedded in the back of a free-moving pointer. Every other time I've used a playing card. If they worked in our bike spokes they'll work for this.

[@joshclark44]

"That looks like a result" -Quin Dunki 2024

[@CKOD]

I mean for a lower part count hinge, you can always form a piano-hinge. Thin the edge of the plate, form that into one half of the hinge, then use another piece of material as your other hinge, add the pin (mush one end down and then tap it if you want to keep the screw retention. 2 additional components. ( Pask makes, 'How to easily make Hinges - including the Jig' video of him making a die to do this) Simpler to do than what you did? Probably not. But you asked for lower part count, not more simple to do. So enjoy the "well acktchually" response, you engagement farmer, you.

[@XXCoder]

So fun! only wonder if you could make pins screw in so its even flatter pack

[@CreaseysWorkshop]

It turned out great! I was expecting a statistical analysis on the randomness produced though. (I just know you did one!)

[@sscrounger4759]

One precision detail you left out - when to feed the cat.

[@howder1951]

A delightful project, and I especially enjoyed the " arrow" engineering. Excellentllent work again Quinn, cheers!

[@criggie]

And, now I want a vinyl cutter....

[@Scoopy2022]

When Quinn introduced the vinyl cutter a few episodes ago, I thought "Aahh, sh*t! I'm gonna hafta get me one of them!" They seem like they could do a lot of interesting things!

[@Jim-fe2xz]

I've been watching for quite a while and love your videos. As a very old retired designer I'm sorry to admit this one was the first time I felt like saying "nooooo" to the screen LOL But then I said "hey this a fun project not some for-profit venture" so sat back and enjoyed the show. Thanks for sharing, Quinn - you always make my Saturday lunch breaks fun!

[@DingleTwit]

As you were talking about retaining the kickstand I thought, I’ll bet you could use some sort of pin to hold it. And then that’s what you did. I feel like a real armchair machinist!

[@mglenadel]

And add an opening to the kickstand where the pin hits when the thing is folded close, so it can fold flush.

[@mspeir]

You're well on your way to becoming a KZbin Certified Machinist! 👍👍

[@KB-dd9xr]

Bust a deal face the wheel - that's classic! Now make a dome for that raggedy man! 🛠⚔

[@gydo1942]

I'll be using 'minimum viable pointer' from now on to the confusion of other software engineers. Thanks Quinn!

[@sammosel3300]

I was thinking maybe a light torsion spring on the back of the pointer. No need for extra counterbalance weight then. Also was a little disappointed that there was no "Cake" next to the "Death" option.

[@tasesq]

The separate us from the animals has been a long time coming!!!!! Feels like about 20 episodes.

[@MrMobii]

I made something like this as a joke during my apprenticeship, but you know massive (it ended up being bolted to our radial drill) but I used a bit of rubber for the pointer it was the simplest option. It provided us so much entertainment until we were made redundant 12 months later when the plant shut down. I also installed a small pneumatic cylinder so I could stop it where I wanted 😂 took them 3 weeks to realize I could stop it where I wanted it to stop.

[@gherkinisgreat]

You can make a hinge out of three parts but it involves a fair amount of machining

[@heighRick]

Great video, so great to hear that lots of fun was had at the market with it. Thanks Quinn, helps a lot!

[@firebird8600]

Yay!! It's Blondihacks time!!!

[@simplersearchproductions]

Bartertown Crowd: "Two men enter, one man leave!"

[@azyfloof]

I'm surprised one of the spin-the-wheel segments wasn't "Yatzee!" :P Stil, at least you became a puppy! That's goals I guess :D

[@MorrisonManor]

I've always called them the "Wheel of Fortune".

[@ryebis]

Sounds like you're making this for Bar Z Bash, have fun!

[@notgonnatellyou8716]

4:50 I had to rewatch the section where you weld the hinge, I was too focused on the grinding-wheel slowly coming to a stop 😏

[@Campus_with_an_H]

Replace the rubber with a tension spring and use a plastic or wooded tip that interacts with the rods. You could hide it behind a fixed arrow.

[@nicole_local]

Important: "Vinyl Whiteboard Contact Paper" can be sung to the TMNT theme

[@jameshodgson1609]

This looks and works great ! Does make you think how clever the clock makers were to come up with escapement mechanisms to control the speed of the clock running train

[@manythingslefttobuild]

Great little project Quinn.

[@alextopfer1068]

Lowest part count hinge i've seen is a forged one. Blackbear forge has some videos. They might be more work though

[@jonnybellman]

If this was "this old tony" it would have 100% landed on "Subscribe" 😂

[@tweake7175]

Nicely done. Only thing I would do differently would be to use brass rod for the hinge pins. Also, time you learned how to tig weld and make pretty welds. Always need to over engineer it. 😊

[@recklessroges]

I would have made a hold in the kick-stand so that when folded the kick-stand locking pin part would not be pressed by the folded device.

[@patrik3623]

Nice job! In addition, without a 3d printer on top of that😀

[@pressokaytocancel]

Quenua's Rafflewheel for the creepy win!

[@OGTtom]

Design as you go , good job Quinn .

[@BrianFullerton]

After studying some carnival and boardwalk wheels in my distant youthful memory banks, it seems that metal banding is a nice, thin, and cheap spring material that I have noticed a few times. Spring needs to be long enough. Pointers clamp the spring down the center in a slit. And just the tip touches, but probably need to see how it feels. I did notice that yours omits the little removable magnetic weight on the back of the wheel to "make it fair". It seems to be an important part of the process, but you can hardly ever see the operator move it...almost like they don't want you to see it.

[@GilgaFrank]

My low-effort solution is to make a raffle wheel in Javascript on a HTML canvas. Not as much fun but it does raise the possibility of rigging the outcome!

[@zerofox975]

All hail Metalicor!

[@billd.akaevylaz754]

Great looking wheel! One small suggestion, if you machined a slotted hole in the kickstand to allow the safety pin to recess into it, it might fold up a little tighter.

[@mrsansen8619]

Max R would love your little homage to him, Great video, as usual. I love how it shows any time you got distracted away from the goal and how you got back. This truly IS a learning experience.

[@LightBranches]

I would have thought that the pointer would be parallel to the pins, and use the plastic’s natural sproinginess to act as the spring...

[@skunkjobb]

"Something terrible happened to Smurf village" 🤣

[@Craftlngo]

Just the usual grind 😁

[@niranjannidhi]

RIP Quinn

[@KarlBunker]

Who's going to take care of the puppy? 😢

[@Craftlngo]

@@KarlBunker Sprocket

[@TonyGoacher]

There was me thinking do Mad Max..please, do Mad Max......was not disappointed!!!

[@adamthethird4753]

Because I’m a masochist i would have made a multi-way pointer that was geared and cammed to the wheel so one pointer is always pointing into the selection. A separate piece would make the clicking sound.

[@SamJantz]

I'm pretty sure that to be a true minimum viable pointer, you needed to slice the ABS vertically.

[@29chevbolenschannel40]

Great finished project. I wonder how a 1/2" or 3/4" wide strip of "Snow Carpet" or a short piece of a rubber snap strap would work for the pointer?

[@johnmoorefilm]

Thank you Quinn…if we could harness the sense of love and community you engender, we’d be in a happier world❤

[@paulputnam2305]

That was extremely fun! Right up to pointer of …death…

[@mattomon1045]

Puppies' ? what did Sprocket say ? Quinn great project!

[@milos_radovanovic]

Those pins need some safety cap-nuts