Wood Scrap Camping Washing Machine

This is an old project I made, before my instructable days. As such, I didn't take detailed pictures. However, it was a fun little project and worked relatively well. I gathered a bunch of scrap wood in my workshop, and arranged them into a holder that could spin a protein container. I tried to draw out the steps of the project. I hope it is reproducible this way. Good Luck.

Before I figured out the size of my cuts, I selected an empty container to use. A big one is preferable (large protein powerder containers work really well). The drawn diagram is one side of the wood that holds the container. It will be slightly shorter than the entire length of the container, i.e. as you can see from the drawing, the length of wood from the too lowest dowels to the dowels at the top is the length of the container from the very bottom to the top just under the cap when twisted on.

To create this I used only 1 by 2 inch pine scraps, and various sized dowels. The top (smaller) piece of wood is as wide as the top of the container if the dowels are slightly wedged under the container lip once the cap it on. The lower piece of wood in the drawing is longer because it wedges the container in at the widest length of the container.

As in the diagram, I used a dado blade on my table saw to cut throw 1/2 the width of each piece of wood where they connect. I pressed them together with glue, and clamped them until dry. I then drilled a 1/2 inch hole into the place where the wood is glue and glued in a 1/2 inch dowel (cut to be flush on both sides) into the hole.

I used this connection method to connect the wood at both the top and bottom.

I then drilled 1/4 inch holes for dowels that hold the container in place. Refer to the drawing for placement.

Lastly, I drilled another 1/2 inch hole halfway down the connecting piece of wood.

I repeated this process to make the other side.

Once both sides were completed, I cut 1/4 inch dowel to run from each side and connected them around the container (gluing each dowel in).

I took three pieces of 1 by 2 inch pine and glued them together (clamped along the wood). I made two of these, 6 inches wide at the widest.

While the other sections were drying, I took 6 one and a half foot sections of scrap 1 by 2 pine and made two equilateral triangles out of them. I connected the bottom boards with wood screws and glue as shown in the pictures. I then cut out the top section of each side of the triangles. I did not measure these cuts, I tried to visualize it so that they were even.

Place the triangle over the glued square from before and use it to draw the cut lines for the square. I then cut the excess off of the square, and then drilled a 1/2 inch hole into the center of what remained.

On one side of the apparatus, I just need to connect the body to the leg in a way that allowed it to turn freely. I Cut a section of 1/2 inch dowel to 2 and 3/4 inches and pushed it through the top of the foot, and the body.

The dowel should be flush on the inside (i.e. on the side where the container is). The dowel will stick out of the other side (out from the side with the foot) about an inch, maybe a little more.

Next I took a section of 1 inch dowel and drilled out a 1/2 inch hole through it lengthwise. I slid this piece over the end of the 1/2 inch dowel protruding from the side of the foot. I then drilled a 1/4 inch hole through the side of both dowels, and slipped in a 1 inch section of 1/4 inch dowel. this capped the end of the dowel, allowing it to turn in the wood of the foot, without slipping off the end.

On the other side (the other foot), I made a handle to turn the body. I took a 9 inch section of 1 by 2 inch pine, rounded the edges with a belt sander, and drilled a 1/2 inch hole at each end. For the end of this crank section that connected to the foot (the top in the drawing), I cut a 2 and 1/2 inch section of 1/2 inch dowel (note the size is wrong in the drawing-it is not 1 and 3/4 inches) and pushed it through the top of the handle, the top of the foot, and the side of the body. It should be flush to the inside of the body (where the container is), and outside the handle. Use a finishing nail through the side of the top of the handle to keep the dowel from spinning in the handle. Also put a finishing nail through the side of the body wood (where the container is) to keep if from spinning. Do not put a nail into the foot-the dowel should spin in the foot. Note: if the dowel is tight in the foot (or any place it should spin freely), sand out some of the hole to allow freer spinning.

For the actual handle to the crank, I cut a 7 inch section of 1/2 inch dowel. I pressed it into the bottom of the crank until flush with the back of the crank. I then pushed a finishing nail through to keep if from turning.

To make the grip to the handle, I took a 5 inch section of 1 inch dowel, and another 1 inch section of 1 inch dowel, and drilled a 1/2 inch hole through each. Note: it required a drill press to drill the longer section, and a steady hand. It may be easier to drill it out in smaller sections and glue them together.

Next I slid the 5 inch section of 1 inch down over the end of the 1/2 inch dowel sticking out from the crank. This should spin freely on the dowel. I pushed the 1 inch section of 1 inch dowel over the end of the 1/2 inch dowel. I then drilled a 1/4 inch hole through the side of this section, and plugged it with a 1 inch section of 1/4 inch dowel so that the end piece does not spin. This holds on the spinning part of the handle.

At this point, it is basically done. You may want to reinforce some areas with glue or finishing nails, but be sure these section as not supposed to spin.

Lastly, I cut two pieces of wood to run from the front and back of each foot to the other foot. I measured this after things were assembled to ensure proper fit. I glued these sections on, and screwed two wood screws into the ends as in the pictures.

To use the device, you add boiling water to the jug with a few pieces of clothing and some soap. Spin it for a few minutes then pour out the water. Add water to rinse a few times and spin it again.