The $20 Motorcycle Rim Powder Coat Oven

[joe_bob1999]

Supplies:
12” X 12’ 24g sheet metal roll (roofing material, Home Depot $10)
Heat Gun (Harbor Freight $9)
Aluminum Foil (Dollar Store $1)
Scrap Wood (Free) to support the heat gun off the ground
2 small nuts and bolts (from the “junk drawer”, free)
Optional oven thermometer (Harbor Freight $5)

Cut your sheet metal around 76” long and roll into a 24” diameter cylinder.
Drill or cut a hole big enough for the nose of the heat gun to fit about a ½” off the bottom edge of the sheet metal. Drill two holes and bolt the cylinder together. Cut a piece of scrap sheet metal long enough to span the cylinder (I used my Harbor Freight bead roller to stiffen the sheet metal lid). On a concrete floor lay out enough aluminum foil so the cylinder will fit on top. Place the cylinder on the foil. Put inside your oven your rim or other object to bake. If you have the oven thermometer go ahead and pop that in also. On top of the cylinder place your lid. Use more aluminum foil to seal off the gaps on either side of the lid. Put some metal weights on the lid and foil to hold it in place. You want your rim or other object to be supported off the floor of the oven and out of the “blast” of the heat gun. I used some sheet metal tabs used to connected 2X4’s in home construction. These were bent in an L shape and mounted to the rim with nuts and bolts through a few spoke holes. Once everything is sealed up put the nose of the heat gun in the hole, start your timer and turn the heat on high. Baking time per rim is one hour, the inside temp will get to around 350°. I would suggest doing a dry run to verify the temp you will reach in one hour, adjust your time if needed.

NEVER NEVER NEVER let this thing out of your sight while it is running. Don’t have anything flammable near this, and make sure the cat is out of the garage (don’t ask).

[ashcroft01]

I have got to admit, that is clever!

The rim looks great as well!

[alini]

just what I was looking for. Thanks!!!!!
Andre, VT

[joe_bob1999]

Here is the before picture of the rim and the legs that I bolted to it. The key is to check for leaks when it is running (you'll feel warm air rising). I've also done rear brake drum hubs and a swing arm. You can make the oven egg shaped if you need a little more length.

[joe_bob1999]

All packed up and done for the day.

[precise]

That is a smart idea,,, You help me out on some other things too

[mb3000gt]

I considered doing something similar using a heat gun but figured it would just blow the powder off the part. Glad to see it worked.

[defed]

i wonder if a couple of batts of insulation, one to put under the cylinder, one to wrap around, and one to put on top, would help improve your efficiency. i bet it wouldn't hurt, and you could just roll it up with the rest of it.

[joe_bob1999]

I'm sure any insulation will help, but the key is the shiny surface of the sheet metal and foil...it really reflects the heat back in. With an infrared thermometer I could measure the surface temp while it was running. Except for where the heat gun was located the external temp would get to 110º to 140º. Actually the biggest issue I had was from contamination in the powder. I made the mistake spraying the first parts in the laundry room and the static charge the parts retain attracted a lot of lint and other stuff floating around the room. Now I use a plastic drop cloth to make a "clean" space to spray right next to where the oven is.

[krusty2111us]

I've always heard that the "shiny" side of any sheetmetal, or aluminum foil for that matter, has no effect on the heat retaining or reflecting qualities, it's just a by product of the manufacturing process. Maybe it's a wives tale, maybe not??