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The upper is my drawing of what needs to be 3D printed to turn this filament spool into an 8-inch turntable. The 3D printed shell fits down over the spool and the center hole is filled with plaster (the plaster exits the diamond-shaped holes to fill the inside of the axle part). I 3D printed small funnels that glued over the holes in the spool, which enabled filling the outside section with plaster (you might choose to drill those bigger for easier filling). A heavy banding wheel upper is the product - when mounted on a base it spins a long time. One mistake I made: I should have poured a little plaster into the shell and then pressed the spool down into it, that would have prevented air pockets from forming under the working surface. This project could have been done without inserting the spool, but its hub fits tightly around the bearing mount, adding strength and rigidity where needed most.
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The least expensive Shimpo banding wheel right now is $155. So I 3D printed my own as a test (this marvellous idea came from Crystal Bennett). The middle section is designed to fit inside the upper. To make it heavy, turn over the upper section, fill it to the brim with plaster, then press in the middle section until the plaster comes out of the holes (then weight it down till the plaster sets). The base is hollow, so it can be filled with plaster too. A standard 17x40x12mm roller bearing (available for $5 at the time of writing), it fits tightly into the recess in the middle section (and the base stem fits tightly inside of that). The resultant turntable turns super smoothly and rotates remarkably true. This drawing is parametric, so the dimensions can be adjusted easily. The size of the bearing that it will accommodate is also adjustable.
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