Homemade Fluid Bed

[basscatcher8]

This forum got me into tacklemaking about 5 years ago and I've been doing mostly jigs since. One project I had never got to turn out right was a fluid bed for painting jigs. This past weekend I was bored and figured I'd give it the old college try again. This forum has given me so many ideas over the years I figured I'd pay it forward and show you guys what I did. I apologize for the horrid pictures I did them with my DROID in horrible lighting but its what I had available.

 

So here is the basics of what I did and I will post the pictures after. The parts you will need to build the one I am showing are:

• 2 PVC threaded unions (size is your choice, but I went with a 2 inch) 
• 2 PVC Caps or Plugs that will fit your union
• A dual feed aquarium pump (available at walmart for 10 bucks) 
• Some airline tubing (sold right next to the pump)
• Paper sandwich bags
• Glue 
• 5/8 Drill Bit

I took two PVC threaded unions and found a cap that would fit into one end of the union. I could not find an exact fit when at Menards so I bought one that was close and sealed all the way around the cap with Devcon 2 ton. Super glue will work as well but I had a bunch of devcon sitting around and figured why not it would look good atleast. Next I drilled a 5/8's hole into the side of the union that the cap was glued to. The aquarium pump comes with two check valves that are about 5/8's in diameter and this hole allows you to get your air into the bottom piece of the union. Coat one of the check valves in epoxy and place it into the hole that was just drilled. Allow it to setup for awhile. The epoxy will form an airtight seal and not allow your air to seep out around it. Next you will need to make a filter for the powder coat to sit on. This is where the sandwich bag comes in. Take the bottom half of the union and trace a circle on the sandwich bag using the union as your template. Carefully cut out the piece from the bag and test fit the piece over the bottom half of the union. The filter piece should over lap the O ring that is in the bottom half of the union. The o ring is essential for sealing the airflow and directing it to your powder coat. Next place the top piece of the union on top of the filter. Slide the large nut over top and thread it onto the lower piece of the union. Now you are almost done. Cut some adequate lengths of air line to run from your aquarium pump to your pvc union. Once connected go ahead and plug in the pump. If you got a good seal you will here the air pushing against the filter. Your next step is to drop your powder coat in and begin painting. Only thing I havent added yet is a control valve to control the airflow. That will be my next thing but for now this will do. I made this a two cup system so I can have two colors going at once. I will follow the pictures with further explanation. I hope this helps anybody who has been looking to buy or build one.

 

 

 

Here is a view of the setup that I have built for myself. This is a two cup system so I can run two colors at once. Again I apologize for the picture quality.

 

 

 

 

This is a picture of the aquarium pump sold at Walmart.

 

 

 

Here is the cap glued onto the bottom end of the union. This has been epoxied with devcon 2 ton to get an air tight seal.

 

 

Here is a close up of the air check valve glued into the bottom piece of the union. A 5/8's hole is required to fit the check valve into the bottom piece. Coat the check valve in epoxy before inserting it into the union. Be careful that no epoxy runs down and blocks the air flow of the valve.

 

 

This is a view of the bottom piece without filter and with air fitting glued and ready to push air. Notice the O ring. The o ring is vital to pushing air up through the powder coat. It creates an air tight seal to the filter and allows the air to reach the powder paint.

 

 

 

 

The filter is cut from a paper sandwich bag and placed over the o ring and threads of the PVC Union. This is what the powder coat will sit on while in use.

 

 

Now place the top piece of the union on top of the filter.

 

 

Your almost done now tighten the nut down on to seal the filter. All that is left is to run an airline from the pump to your check valve and your ready to paint!

 

 

As you can see from the cup with the black powder in it I do have a little to much air pressure but a small valve will fix that and will be added later. This setup does however work great like it is.

 

I apologize for this tutorial being so crude.But I do hope this helps some of the folks that have been on here trying to build one or looking for ideas. Like I said at the beginning this forum got me into tacklemaking and I was inspired by guys like BigM and his painting and Cadman and his jig heads so I figured I would finally pay it forward and post something useful on the boards here. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

 

Thank you for looking guys.

[basscatcher8]

Results:

 

I gotta go invest in a camera i swear LOL

 

 

 

 

[rgrusmc1371]

Looks and and hey, as long as it works like its suppose to who cares what the outside looks like. I will be going next week to make my own fluid bed bit I'm going to make a 3". I do have a question for you though, about the filter, is that necessary and if so does it set on the top or bottom, can't quite tell how that part is set up

Thanks in advance

[Munkin]

I looked into making my own years ago but for the  $40  price tag it wasn't worth it.  Mine isI bought off eBay like 10 years ago works great and is one of the best investmentsi have for  lure making. 

[smalljaw67]

I like what you did and it shows there is more than 1 way to make a fluid bed. Most I've saw had 2 pieces of PVC, the bottom has a cap glued on and a hole drilled for a petcock and then the airline attached to it. The other piece of PVC is smaller and fits snug into the bottom piece, this section is where you glue your filter whether it is a paper bag, Tyvek material or porous board. The reason it is done that way is that you can make multiple cups so you can change colors easily but I do like how you made yours which I believe may fluidize the powder a little better. I did the same as Allen, for the cost I figured I could buy one and I did and I still recommend the one I got. I purchased it from TJ's Tackle over 12 years ago and it works as well today as the day I got it, and the best part was it was only $50.

[mbury21]

been wanting to make one for a while now!  thanks for the info

[kcdinkerz]

Nicely done. I don't paint enough heads to even use the one I bought. Just dip in can lol. 

[Munkin]

On ‎4‎/‎25‎/‎2017 at 5:45 AM, smalljaw67 said:

I like what you did and it shows there is more than 1 way to make a fluid bed. Most I've saw had 2 pieces of PVC, the bottom has a cap glued on and a hole drilled for a petcock and then the airline attached to it. The other piece of PVC is smaller and fits snug into the bottom piece, this section is where you glue your filter whether it is a paper bag, Tyvek material or porous board. The reason it is done that way is that you can make multiple cups so you can change colors easily but I do like how you made yours which I believe may fluidize the powder a little better. I did the same as Allen, for the cost I figured I could buy one and I did and I still recommend the one I got. I purchased it from TJ's Tackle over 12 years ago and it works as well today as the day I got it, and the best part was it was only $50.

 

TJ's is who I bought mine from as well now that you mention the name.  

 

The only modification I have done is bevel the inside edge of the bed and outside edge of the cups.

 

Allen

[basscatcher8]

Sorry guys I didnt expect to see this old post back to the top again lol. I posted this back in 2013 and the setup is still working great pumping out jigs. The only change I made was I epoxied a 6" length of PVC to the center of one of the cups. I did this to concentrate the powder closer which would make a perfect depth to dip spinnerbaits and buzzbaits into.