Easy Candy Floss Cotton Candy Machine From Junk

7/28/2019 Easy Candy Floss Cotton Candy Machine From Junk

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http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-Candy-Floss-Cotton-Candy-Machine-from-Junk/

Food Living Outside Play Technology Workshop

Easy Candy Floss (Cotton Candy) Machine from Junkby Ugifer on October 7, 2011

Table of Contents

Easy Candy Floss (Cotton Candy) Machine from Junk ..................................................................................

Intro: Easy Candy Floss (Cotton Candy) Machine from Junk ..........................................................................

Step 1: Things you need: .....................................................................................................

Step 2: Stabilise the lighter ...................................................................................................

Step 3: Mount the motor & rod .................................................................................................

Step 4: Mount the can .......................................................................................................

Step 5: Mount the can .......................................................................................................

Step 6: Make some candy-floss! ...............................................................................................

Related Instructables ........................................................................................................

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Author:Ugifer

Call me Ugi

Intro: Easy Candy Floss (Cotton Candy) Machine from Junk

Candy floss (or cotton candy) is great, but expensive to buy and hardly worth investing in a dedicated machine.

This is a quick project using an existing kitchen pot (unharmed) and a handful of junk that you probably have lying around to make your own candy floss from ordinarytable sugar.

Essentially all you need for a candyfloss machine is a container of sugar with tiny holes in that you can heat (to melt the sugar) and spin around (to throw out the littlethreads of sweetness). We'll put this inside a big pot because you don't necessarily want strands of re-solidified sugar all over your kitchen.

I'm entering this instructable in the Jury-Rig It contest 'cos it's a treat-machine rigged up from junk bits I had lying around.

Step 1:Things you need:You will need:

Construction items:

A jet-lighter (3 off ebay). These are lighters that burn with a blue flame. They are hotter than normal lighters and don't cover everything in soot. Get one that locks "onbecause you don't want your arm covered in candy-floss from holding it.

Small DC motor (e.g. 9V - 1 or so again off ebay)Battery for motor (pp3 in my case)Battery connectorSmall tin of food. Mine was around 6cm high and had kidney beans in. Tuna tins would be the right size but might give you fish-flavoured candy-floss.Small lid in which your lighter will stand (miik bottle lid in my case)Deep pot or bucket - the one in the first picture was much too small. I used a stockpot in the end but a clean bucket would be fine.Long baton - longer than your pot is wide. I used the runner from an old dishwasher drawer but anything wood or thin metal would work.Long bar or tube as a stand-off (about 6"). I used a brass bar because I had it to hand and brass is nice and soft. A wooden dowel would probably work too.Small nut, bolt and washer. I used steel so that it would tap itself into my brass standoff.

Consumables:

SugarBamboo skewers5-minute epoxy

supergluecling-film

Tools:

Drill with bits including a very small (1mm or less) bit.Soldering station.FilesTin snips or Can-opener
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Image Notes1. This pot is much too small - see next picture2. Lid that your lighter will stand in.3. Jet lighter with a locking action so it stay on.4. Small can of food. I'm not sure tuna is a great plan but beans worked well.5. 9V DC Motor6. PP3 Battery7. Bettery connector and flex.

8. Standoff - longer than you tin is high. This is about 10cm and brass.9. Support for motor. Needs to be longer than your pot is wide. Metal or woodwould work. This is stainless from an old dishwasher.

Image Notes1. This is the type of massive pot you want. Actually this may be a bit too deepbut it works. A bucket would work well too.

Step 2:Stabilise the lighter

My jet-lighter stood up but was pretty unstable. However, I couldn't just mount it in epoxy 'cos it fills from the bottom.

So, to make a base you can wrap the lighter in at least two layers of cling-film, mix up some quick-setting epoxy, fill a small lid with it and stand the lighter inside. Afterfew minutes, take out the lighter and peel away the cling and you have a removable base for your lighter.

Image Notes1. The base of this is pretty small2. Nice blue flame is good and hot and won't cover things in soot.


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Image Notes1. 5-minute epoxy2. Two layers of cling-film around lighter3. Lid filled with mixed epoxy and wrapped-up lighter inserted.

Image Notes1. Undamaged filler on lighter.

2. Castom base.

Step 3:Mount the motor & rod

The motor is attached to the can by a standoff so we need to drill a hole in one end of the standoff just large enough to take the motor shaft. A pillar drill would make tha great deal easier but I managed reasonably by eye. Once drilled, put the rod on the motor and spin it to check that it's reasonably true.

While you are drilling the rod, add a hole at the other end just smaller than your steel machine screw/bolt ready for the next step.

A little super-glue is enough to fix the motor to the rod. I was going to use a grub-screw so that it could be removed but for the price of a little DC motor I decided not tobother.

The next thing is to attach your motor to the supporting baton. My stainless drawer runner had a large hole that just needed expanding slightly with a file. Two smallmounting holes for screws and the motor is ready to mount.

Image Notes1. Mounting hole the size of the motor shaft.

Image Notes1. motor attched to the rod with a little superglue.


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Image Notes1. MOtor mounting holes

Image Notes1. Motor attched.

Step 4:Mount the canThe can will be our sugar melting vessel so we need to get sugar in, suspend it over the heat and spin it to fling the strands of molten goodness out of the sides.

First-up we cut a hole in the top. I did this with tin-snips and a file to leave a lip so the sugar could not get out the top. In practice that seems to have been unnecessar

so a can opener to cut to top out would be fine. Either way, smooth off the sharp edges to avoid injury.Next, we want to drill a series of little holes around the bottom. The smallest bit I had was 1mm, which was slightly too large and some sugar crystals tended to get fluout. Use the smallest you have and drill a ring of holes just above the bottom seam. Mine were about 1cm apart, but only by eye.

Image Notes1. Top cut out of can. I left a lip but you don't need to.2. File the sharp edges smooth3. Smallest drill bit you have.

Image Notes1. Drill all around, just above the seam.


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Image Notes1. You can see the holes better here. These are around 1cm (1/2") apart but nonead to measure.

Step 5:Mount the canNext, cut a thread into the brass rod by screwing a steel machine screw into the pilot hole that you drilled earlier. If you have a tap to do this properly then great, but bris soft and it works well enough without.

Drill a hole in the can and mount it on the shaft. The nut on the inside ensures that the can spins when the shaft spins.

We could glue or solder the can on but it's likely that you will want to remove it to clean or replace the can so the nut & bolt solution works well.

The can attached to the shaft should hang comfortably above the lighter when placed over your stock-pot.


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Step 6:Make some candy-floss!All that's left to do now is fire up the lighter, add a teaspoon or two of sugar to the can and start the motor.

Try to position the lighter under the side of the can. As the can heats the sugar will melt and be flung out of the holes to make you a tasty candy-floss treat. Once a littlhas accumulated, scoop it up with a bamboo skewer or similar and enjoy!

Ugi

Image Notes1. Heating & Spinning

Image Notes1. Starting to form threads


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Comments

1 comments Add Comment

Penolopy Bulnicksays: Apr 16, 2013. 4:39 PM REP

Sooo cool! I just love cotton candy :D
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Easy Candy Floss Cotton Candy Machine From Junk