Can someone suggest where I can get a used ball spinner or plans on how to build one yourself?

Also what to look for when you are in the market to buy, I don't want to buy a cheap imitation that will break after a few uses?

A couple of months ago, I was in the market for a spinner. After reading several positive comments about the Vertex spinner on the ASB newsgroup and the "coverstock preparation forum" of [Banned-SpamURL].com, I went ahead a bought one (although I was worried that I was buying a "cheap imitation" as you mentioned).

The Vertex spinner has been great! It has a sturdy metal base and does not wobble while the ball is spinning. It spins at 450 RPM, which seems to be "just enough" for my purposes.

In addition to routine cleaning and polishing, I was able to sand out all of the Track scratches from a couple of balls, and they came out "like new."

Anyway, I've only had the spinner a couple of months, so I don't know about how well it will do over the long haul, but it certainly seems to be well built; I expect it to last a good long time.

Hello "old",

I have a spinner from Donkee in my house and it does quite well for my purposes. It does wobble a little bit on high RPM's. I have the biggest one they have, and have done a lot of full resurfaces, to mine, my wifes, and teammates equipment. I've had it now for six months, and I've definately got my moneys worth. It has worked very well, and with the large one, the splash guard was free. I don't recall if it still is. Innovativebowling also has one out that works quite well, but is a little more expensive.

Hello,

I got the plans for mine off ebay. It took me a couple of months to acquire everything needed (working on it part time), but the assembly only took me two evenings in my garage. It works great, variable in speed from about 400-900 rpm. It cost me about sixty bucks to get all the stuff necessary to build it. A friend of mine has the vertex model, and I like mine much better.

take care,

Jim

I built one from scratch. I had used a donkee for a while but wanted something more heavy duty.

I used a dryer motor, ordered a conical bearing and a needle bearing and a couple of other little pieces from McMaster Carr and used some square-stock metal (and a friend who is a welder) and built it.

I like it far better than the donkee. It doesn't wobble PERIOD. I've put the most non-round-core ball in the worst possible orientation in order to try to get it to wobble. Nada.

Does anyone have plans for a spinner that they'd like to share? I'm interested in building one, but I don't have a lot of confidence in my ability to judge how strong it needs to be.

When I was looking into it, I compared the prices of all the components to build one, and it was more expensive to build a good one, than buy one.

You could scrounge around and get lucky finding materials to build with. But for the price of a new ball you can buy one. For about 1 1/2 times the price of a new ball you can get a really good, two speed, heavy duty spinner.

I can get a free used motor no problem, and I know a guy who has two(2) CNC machines in his basement, so I think I'd be able to do this fairly cheaply..

No real need for a CNC machine....

You need a heavy steel plate for the base, have it bent on all four sides so you have a recess to house the pulleys & belt, have the corners welded so it wont spring. Put some heavy duty shock mount feet on it. Drill it so the motor can be mounted shaft down, you'll need a totally enclosed motor. You'll will need a mandrel with the bearings loaded to take heavy end thrust and side load. Calculate the pully sizes to give you about 480 RPM on the bowl. Devise a belt tensioning device. Build or buy a metal or heavy plastic bowl to hold the ball. Treat the lip with some type of soft yet durable material so it wont mar the ball. Build a splash shield kind of in the shape of a fruit basket to catch the waste product slung off with the water. Oh and make sure the motor and all electrical components are waterproof. As well as all lubricated shafts and bearings.

Or order one online for around $150, and just plug it in....

I'm also in the market, my Pro Shop is now charging $4 a ball to clean them. OK plus I like to tinker with surface finishes.Has anyone seen one for under $160?