Turning A36

[Scruffer]

I have a total of 10 gutters excluding the bay windows. Varying dimensions from twenty feet to six feet. Two bay windows in the front, One in the back. A total of 13 gutters for the bay windows For now, I am going to use gutter covers on my bay windows. Next year I'll visit doing the bay windows. Not sure about the patent idea. A lot of people have suggested it. I went through a lot of experimentation and material to get it where I was satisfied with the design. It's a really simple design. I've replaced all my exterior trim boards with pvc boards. In keeping with the same profile, I replaced the fascia boards with pvc boards. My rafter tails have a 2x6 sub fascia board so it was not an issue using pvc boards as fascia boards.
My machining part is slotting, countersinking on my mill & turning the aluminum shaft on my lathe. The pillow blocks are metric (bore is 25mm). The aluminum shaft is 1.00". So far, not to challenging. The sheet metal shop told me that galvanneal sheet metal is easier to powder coat and weld than galvanize sheet metal. They could only fabricate 10' lengths. They fabricated the ends for me also. I welded the ends and butt welded the gutters that were longer than 10' with a splice plate. They were right about welding galvanneal sheet metal as oppose to galvanize sheet metal. If you ever welded galvanize, it's a royal PIA . We've been getting a lot of rain so putting the gutters to the test. So far so good. I am rotating the gutters just 150 degrees which make them a lot easier to hose them out if need be. Don't have to stand underneath to do it. Ultimately time will tell how well they will perform. Thks

The gutters weigh 2 lbs per linear ft and water in these gutters weight 10 lbs per linear ft if completely full. So approximately 12 lbs per linear ft if they are filled completely. The longest gutter I have is 20 linear ft. So conceivable 240 total lbs. The pillow blocks are rated at 500 lbs and I have an angle support every 24 ". So if it was totally filled, approximately 22 lbs load on the blocks and supports. It's so easy to keep clean that if the gutter outlet gets clogged, that's on me. I can rotate all gutters , 10 (total of 150') in about 15 minutes. Longer of course if I decide to hose them out. I am an old guy and still don't have a problem climbing ladders but doing these from ground level really helps me. Sorry for the long post

 

[francist]

My gutter project.

Brilliant!!

 

[Scruffer]

This gutter is located on the side of my house.

 

[woodchucker]

I have a total of 10 gutters excluding the bay windows. Varying dimensions from twenty feet to six feet. Two bay windows in the front, One in the back. A total of 13 gutters for the bay windows For now, I am going to use gutter covers on my bay windows. Next year I'll visit doing the bay windows. Not sure about the patent idea. A lot of people have suggested it. I went through a lot of experimentation and material to get it where I was satisfied with the design. It's a really simple design. I've replaced all my exterior trim boards with pvc boards. In keeping with the same profile, I replaced the fascia boards with pvc boards. My rafter tails have a 2x6 sub fascia board so it was not an issue using pvc boards as fascia boards.
My machining part is slotting, countersinking on my mill & turning the aluminum shaft on my lathe. The pillow blocks are metric (bore is 25mm). The aluminum shaft is 1.00". So far, not to challenging. The sheet metal shop told me that galvanneal sheet metal is easier to powder coat and weld than galvanize sheet metal. They could only fabricate 10' lengths. They fabricated the ends for me also. I welded the ends and butt welded the gutters that were longer than 10' with a splice plate. They were right about welding galvanneal sheet metal as oppose to galvanize sheet metal. If you ever welded galvanize, it's a royal PIA . We've been getting a lot of rain so putting the gutters to the test. So far so good. I am rotating the gutters just 150 degrees which make them a lot easier to hose them out if need be. Don't have to stand underneath to do it. Ultimately time will tell how well they will perform. Thks

boy I would love to do something like that, but my rear is about 45 feet maybe more.. I also have a ranch, and my trees overhang the house, so even with guards, I am up on the roof many times a year. I had the type that flow over, but over time they stop working and in a heavy rain they do not work, most of the rain just flows over instead of following the curve. I have basic guards right now, and they are full of my pin oak's pollen strings. I've been up there twice, and need to do it again, and probably remove many covers and clean out underneath.

 

[Scruffer]

boy I would love to do something like that, but my rear is about 45 feet maybe more.. I also have a ranch, and my trees overhang the house, so even with guards, I am up on the roof many times a year. I had the type that flow over, but over time they stop working and in a heavy rain they do not work, most of the rain just flows over instead of following the curve. I have basic guards right now, and they are full of my pin oak's pollen strings. I've been up there twice, and need to do it again, and probably remove many covers and clean out underneath.

My longest gutter run is 42'. I could have just welded the gutters end to end to make this dimension. However, I am more comfortable with 21' runs. I have two gutters that are 20'-7" in length. I spaced the middle at 4". So there is a 4" gap between the gutters. I fabricated a diverter dam out of 20 gauge sheet metal that tucks underneath the underlayment of the shingles so when the rain flows, it diverts into the gutters. There's no interference with the gutters rotating and it works. 20' gutter length is a comfortable length to rotate the gutters. I've plug the gutter outlets and filled the gutter with water to see how much effort to rotate. Not a problem. More than 20' and I suspect there may be a twisting problem. I had to do the same thing on an inside corner. Allow for a gap. My roof pitch is 12:12. Shingle roof. The gutters are 5". They are not the ogee profile but stepped in the front. 1/2" steps. 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" x 5". I had to extend the drip edge so it overlapped into the gutter. The back of the gutters are spaced approximately 3/4" from the fascia board. And allowing for the slope, the downspout end can be about 1" below the edge of the shingle.

 

[woodchucker]

My longest gutter run is 42'. I could have just welded the gutters end to end to make this dimension. However, I am more comfortable with 21' runs. I have two gutters that are 20'-7" in length. I spaced the middle at 4". So there is a 4" gap between the gutters. I fabricated a diverter dam out of 20 gauge sheet metal that tucks underneath the underlayment of the shingles so when the rain flows, it diverts into the gutters. There's no interference with the gutters rotating and it works. 20' gutter length is a comfortable length to rotate the gutters. I've plug the gutter outlets and filled the gutter with water to see how much effort to rotate. Not a problem. More than 20' and I suspect there may be a twisting problem. I had to do the same thing on an inside corner. Allow for a gap. My roof pitch is 12:12. Shingle roof. The gutters are 5". They are not the ogee profile but stepped in the front. 1/2" steps. 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" x 5". I had to extend the drip edge so it overlapped into the gutter. The back of the gutters are spaced approximately 3/4" from the fascia board. And allowing for the slope, the downspout end can be about 1" below the edge of the shingle.

I'm curious how it will handle snow, Seems like the snow and ice will hold it in the down position. While we are getting less and less snow every year, there will be snow and occasionally a big snow.

 

[Scruffer]

I'm curious how it will handle snow, Seems like the snow and ice will hold it in the down position. While we are getting less and less snow every year, there will be snow and occasionally a big snow.

Good question and I don't know. I live in N.E. Oklahoma and we do get the occasional snow storms and ice storms. I had only one gutter section complete (10' 6") before last winter and we did get several snow storms. No ice storms. There was no issue with the gutter rotating downward. However, anything is possible when it comes to weather. Deciding on the pivot point was the most challenging part. I modeled several points and finalize a point. It's forward of center so when the gutter is in the home position, the weight of the gutter holds it in place. But not to the point where it takes a lot of force to rotate. I have a latch design to implement but I am holding off to see how the different weather conditions affect the gutters. The 18 gauge gutter with the struts in place make for a robust structure. I am not worried about rain, snow, ice compromising the gutter. Now a large tree limb is a different story. After a year of use and things appear to still be reliable, I am going to experiment motorizing the gutters. I intend to start with a worm gear motor. I would like a motor with a small footprint and still robust to handle all the torque condition possible. I have a gutter set up in my shop to experiment with so that will be my winter project. Work in progress and who knows? I am an electrician by trade and really like the mechanical side of things. Machining is becoming a lost art. I appreciate input by others because it helps. The manual machining side is new to me and it's a great way to spend my retirement. Lots to learn.

 

[woodchucker]

I am very impressed, and very interested.
I think you should patent this.
The bearings you used, will they hold up in the weather?

 

[Scruffer]

I am very impressed, and very interested.
I think you should patent this.
The bearings you used, will they hold up in the weather?

I think so. I first used steel pillow blocks. Then transitioned to tapped based pillow blocks for a smaller footprint. I was concerned with using regular steel bearing for outdoor use. So, I decided on plastic pillow blocks with the adjustable ball that's actually utilizes a sleeve bore. It's an IGUS brand (German made) that meets all the specs for outdoor use (lubricant free). Since the rotating shaft is just at hand speed, the sleeve design seems to be working just fine. The IGUS pillow block has design characteristics for high rpm as in normal use. The pillow block with the small footprint (25mm bore) only comes in metric sizes from this company. They have imperial sizes but the pillow blocks are the more normal types. All in all, I am really happy with these blocks. I was on various machinist forums and this brand of bearing blocks came highly recommended. Not for my application but for normal bearing block use. The price point was agreeable.

 

[Scruffer]

I think so. I first used steel pillow blocks. Then transitioned to tapped based pillow blocks for a smaller footprint. I was concerned with using regular steel bearing for outdoor use. So, I decided on plastic pillow blocks with the adjustable ball that's actually utilizes a sleeve bore. It's an IGUS brand (German made) that meets all the specs for outdoor use (lubricant free). Since the rotating shaft is just at hand speed, the sleeve design seems to be working just fine. The IGUS pillow block has design characteristics for high rpm as in normal use. The pillow block with the small footprint (25mm bore) only comes in metric sizes from this company. They have imperial sizes but the pillow blocks are the more normal types. All in all, I am really happy with these blocks. I was on various machinist forums and this brand of bearing blocks came highly recommended. Not for my application but for normal bearing block use. The price point was agreeable.

I probably misspoke about the bearing block. My block doesn't have an internal sleeve but just a bore size of 25mm machined into the ball. They do make a block with an internal sleeve fitted but it's a high dollar unit.