Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Any one have experiance or know a way to craft some sorta jig for putting out a large number of Strawberry Towers easaly or even somehting that i can use to acurately mark and cut a large number of towers from im makeinf 42 towers (Cause you know answer to life and all that)

I've seen two approaches on here that could potentially be jigified. I can't remember which members.

The first, if you can afford it, would be to use a heap of reducing couplings joined end to end, instead of one long length of pipe with holes cut in it. Make one or more jigs out of some appropriately sized round container with a wedge glued onto one side at the bottom. Run a large pot or barrel filled with water on the boil, dip the smaller end of the coupling in boiling water for <1min. Immediately remove the coupling and jam the softened end into your jig to create an indent in the smaller circumference. Join couplings together as normal. To speed up the process you can heat multiple couplings at a time and use multiple jigs.

The other approach would be with long lengths of PVC pipe. Use drop saw to cut evenly spaced slits in side of pipe perpendicular to flow direction. (You might have to come up with some marking jig or pipe slider jig to get the slits evenly spaced), use one or more heat guns to heat the area directly above each slit. Have a length of timber with similar wedges as above spaced out and attached same distance apart as slits. Align wedges with slits, belt the back if timber to drive all wedge in simultaneously.

The second approach is more fiddly, but you don't have to by 100s of couplings. However, it has the disadvantage that the more automated you make the jig, the more expensive it will get. I.e. you might not have a drop saw, you might need to by more than one heat gun, etc

Thats an idear Maby i can come up with something to strap on and weigh down for the wedges, now to figure a way to evenly mark and cut the PVC Pipe slits.

pics ?

I dont have anything to give pics of...cept my system in progress, well ther eis the one abomonation of a tower i made.

This is Rob's (Bigelow Brook) video:

If you've got a drop saw then it's a piece of pizz to get the slots evenly spaced...


Say you want slots every 50 cm. Attach a piece of strong thick wire to your bench so that it's 50 cm to the right of your blade, horizontal, at right angles to the pipe, and just lower than the top of your pipe.

Now cut the first slot in your pipe (adjusting the drop saw so that it always comes down a certain amount) then slide the pipe along until the wire clicks into the slot you just cut.
Cut another slot, slide along, repeat...



You can also mark 75 cm from the blade so you get the first cut on the underside to be exactly halfway between cuts on the top.


To keep the pipe from rotating around as you slide it along I'd jam a 90 degree angle fitting on the end, and let the pipe rest on this as you slide it along.

Thats the video i was useing as a guide for makeing thease, and if i had a drop saw i wouldnt be wonderong or asking for advice on a jig, Im limited to hand saws crappy(VERY RAPPY) Jig saw and a circuler saw. so please stop talking about drop saws.

You can easily make a platform/jig to slide your circular saw back and forward on at the same time as keeping it aligned/steady

Im thinking of building a few and connecting them with bends and tees at the bottom to make a multi legged octopus of strawberries

A pair of 2 X 6 X 10's would work. Just put the pipe between them with all the ends lined up and use 1 x 2's to bridge them at right angles to the pipe so that you can run the circular saw along these for the exact location of the cuts. Be aware that there will be an offset for the blade so position the 1 X 2's accordingly and also if you don't clamp the pipe end, it can spin as you take the cut and you'd wind up with 2 pieces instead of one.

Have a length of timber with similar wedges as above spaced out and attached same distance apart as slits.

I use thin wall pvc.
There are 2 wires across the bottom, above it is stiff coarse plastic mesh.
Then I layer styrofoam peanuts and fiberglass sheets.

The black buckets were made by cutting a slot and heating with a hot air gun. Press the plastic into shape and let it cool to the shape you want.
jim

I just realized my Circular Saw has Dual Plate Adjustment....Damn that made quick work of things.