| ===================== Fringe Twister Heavy Duty - Home Made ===================== > I have used the hair-braider for fringe and love it. > However it really isn't very sturdy and I wish some > genius would come up with one that is. Hmm...No genius here but I agree that the plastic braider is lightweight and if they go on sale it's a good idea to get a spare because it works well and you won't want to go back to the old way ! Now to dream about a heavy duty model - Take two identical low cost ( about $ 30. each ) variable speed drills, put an alligator clip into the chuck of each drill. The clips need a short piece of nail in the ferrel end for the chucks jaws to clamp around tightly. Lay the drills down on a board with the chucks close together and the clips pointing the same way. Secure with duct tape or pipe straps or whatever, so they cannot move around. Don't cover the air slots of the drills, they need lots of air. Plug the drills into a power strip that has a switch at one end. Now make the speed adjustments by going around each drill trigger with a piece of smooth wire and twist it, to snug up the wire loop, increasing the chuck speed a little at a time. It doesn't have to spin very fast. Try to get each drill running at the same slow speed or close to it. If the drills are the same make and model, you can go by the sound, testing each in turn. Both chucks should turn in the same direction. Use the power strip as the off & on switch, so both drills start at the same time. One upgrade is an improved switch wire, I made a wire loop with little loops at each end. When the center big loop was flattened it would go around the drill's handle about 3/4 of the way, then I slid a 2 inch long thin bolt through the little loops and put on a wingnut, upside down ! If done correctly ( or luckily ) you can use a screwdriver to adjust the drill's speed to whatever you like by turning the bolt, which shortens the loop, which pulls in the drill's trigger. Use eye protection when using a drill or when cutting wire ! These motors are powerful so don't allow children to play near them or clothing to get close, because they'll snatch cloth or hair or fingers ! Bill Koepp |
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| "Now to dream about a heavy duty model..." |