Hi Dog
I've never seen one of those at all.
If you do find one post a link. I would love to take a peek.

Hi: Saw one on www.primaxgroup.com. I Googled "hand operated cement mixers". Look great for developing upper body strength :)

Thanks for that useful steer. Unfortunately that's in India :o( Further down the same google page generated by your search words I found the attached link, which is exactly what I'm looking for. Doesn't it look perfect for DIYers?

Here is a link that might be useful: Hand operated cement mixer

Beautiful! Now if you could just get it back from those Appropriate Technology people in the far east :)

Looked at price list from 2004 for that mixer -- they don't want too much for it!! Ouch... Does look like it's easy to use tho. How about the stainless steel food mixer shown below it :)

Mr General Electric spins my mixer for about 30 cents an hour. Now that's cheap labor.
And he's never late for work!:)

Dave, I'm with you -- Mr. We Bring Good Things to Life spinning my mixer sure cuts down on visits to the chiropractor and other purveyors of spinal alignment :)

I'm worried about noise more than anything else - I'll be doing my casting in my sister's tiny back garden, don't want to annoy her neighbours! Or attract their attention, come to that. Next thing would be complaints to planning authorities!

RD, I have to say your point is well taken. I also live and work in a small town neighborhood and noise is something we need to be concerned about too. I wish I lived in the country or had a shop where noise would not be an issue.

It's been done with other things but maybe over the winter one of us could design a bicyle attachment to a mixer. Then we wouldn't have to worry about upper back strain and we'd get some more exercise. Our leg muscles are the largest and strongest in our body too. It could even be in a recumbent style to make it easier. LOL

This could prove to be an interesting project.

There is a pic of what I think you are looking for at this link...Click here - hand-operated mixer pic

This link is for a BONE CEMENT mixer and is therefore very SMALL! But I thought the idea is good for making very small batches of tufa...Click here - Mini Mixer

And this link shows you how to MAKE your own hand-operated mixer!...Click here - instructions to build mixer

That was all I could find for you ... they do seem to be very hard to find! I couldn't find any sites that sell the hand-powered units. I used search words such as: hand-operated; hand-powered; manual; standard; armstrong

I also just did a search in the Images at Google for a 'cement mixer'. That was how I found the first two links. I just scanned through all the pics until something looked like it might fit the bill.

Hope you are a 'do-it-yourself' kinda guy and can build one for yourself. I think I might give it a try too. Seems like a good challenge!

Marly

A cement mixer is really the wrong tool for most of us.
They do a great job of runny course aggregate recipes but not so good at the dryer and finer recipes favored for tufa a crete casting.
A home made MORTAR mixer however would be the Holy Grail.
If anyone see's one of those I'd be very interested.

That Bone Cement mixer is a very interesting idea, isn't it? A slightly larger version would be very useful.

Afternoon!
Googled"small batch mortar mixers"and got a few interesting sites.Depending on your pocketbook,you can go IMERUSA,UNITEC or Man U Fab.All are the familiar drum styles.The last one,with the model KOL M-58(or 60),is a 5 gallon drum with a max recommended of 50 lbs!This sucker is small(the drum is only 12 inches)and looks real interesting to me.Of course,here in Canada,land of the 18 month government,the pricing might be too high.But,one can dream!
Cheers from a sunny here

Further to my previous memo:
I spoke to one of the Man U Fab owners about their product.the company's been around for about 45 years,but this couple have owned it for about 5 years.
She and I spoke at length about their equipment and we determined that the KOL M-60 with a 1/3 hp motor would be best.The US price is $363,plus shipping,about 70 bucks.
However...
Should we be able to place an order for 3 or more,she'll give a 20% discount!
So,is anyone in the Lower Mainland of BC interested?I'm probably getting one after our next show.Trying to handmix with a buggered rotator cuff is not fun anymore!!
Cheers from the Sunshine Coast

If you have a drill probably that will hold a 7/16 bit, home depot carries a tool that fits right into it for mixing cement. It is the best invention since peanut butter!!! It's the only thing I use now for mixing cement and the best Christmas present I ever got!!!!!

My neighbour,upon hearing of my need for a mixer,said"Take mine,I'm not using it!"So,I'll use his large volume beast,at least try it.
As to drill mixers-tried one,burned out the motor on the drill!I know you should use low torque drills for mixing,but...I'll stick with a drum.It suits me better,esp. if we go into any wholesale business(we're thinking that way) of yard art.
Thanks for the input though!
cheers from here

About 30 years ago, when I started work on our house, on which I am still working, I bought a 'Stroll-a-mix' concrete mixer from Harcostar, here in the UK. It consists of a plastic cement mixer drum with a rubber rim at its widest point; a central spindle that sticks out from the bottom with two smaller wheels and a long handle. You just load the material in, push it around for a couple of minutes and you've got perfectly mixed concrete, mortar, compost or cake. After 30 years of use and abuse, the disc, inside the drum, that holds the spindle in place, has finally rusted through and I need a new one. It was while looking for a supplier that I happened across this forum. I can tell you that Harcostar don't seem to be able to help. After 30 years it's not really surprising; but what is surprising is that nobody else seems to have picked up the idea, which is really a good one. A portable, versatile, eco-friendly and above all quiet concrete mixer that provides a means of healthy exercise too. If you know where I can get spare parts . . ., otherwise I'll have to make the bits myself.

RD --- Most of the "noise" on my little Imer mixer comes from the material tumbling in the drum. The motor itself is practically silent. And any plastic drum will be much quieter than metal (like mine). I run extremely dry mixtures in mine (15% w/c and less)and have made an adaptation to mine that makes a world of difference. I simply attached a vertical bar that has a couple of "rests" on it so that I can adjust the angle of the drum by raising the handle. For my driest mixes, I set it almost horizontal which keeps the mix tumbling instead of settling to the bottom and the mixing blades slicing & dicing effectively. Also, for low-water content mixes, an extended mixing time is highly recommended, so if you plan on a hand powered version, be prepared for a real workout.

For wetter mixes you may be able to get by with a large (at least 1/2") drill and a drywall mud mixer like the one in the link below. While they were never meant to mix concrete, I have used mine for a few small batches in a 5 gallon plastic bucket. Just don't expect it to shine at a job it was never meant to do.

All my best --- Tango

Here is a link that might be useful: Mud Mixing Paddle

I got one at Lowe's that is a plastic drum. You put in your mix and water and roll it around the yard. Mixes great. Easy to cleanup too being plastic. I think it was about $30, but I don't remember. I've had it for a couple years.

Cheribelle,
Could you tell me who the manufacturer is? That sounds like something I would be very interested in.

Thanks
Katie
http://www.rbath.com/Forums/

Take a look at Lee Valley's website and check the "Oddjob"mixer.There have been other posts about this approx. 5 gallon drum that you can practice your soccer footwork while rolling this little beastie back and forth on the floor.There are some who like it,but not for hypertufa,and there are those that say that it leaks,doesn't mix well enough,yack,yack,yack...
Try the website,I believe they ship into the U.S.
Cheers from here

Rick
Thanks for the info. I checked out that link. It looks like it would be just about as much work as doing it by hand. Hmm Oh Well.

I've got an odd job. I lucked out and picked up a new one at a thrift store for a couple of dollars.I have found it pretty good when I have used it. Cleans easily, I roll it around on the ground with my feet. I also have a large electric mixer I use quite a bit also. I used to do most of my mixing by hand, but now have arthritis in them and try to save them for more fun stuff like carving.
Cindy

I bought my last mixer online about a year ago from this company below. There are just so many available it is hard to know which one is best...

Here is a link that might be useful: Cement Mixers

Hi folks,

This is my first posting and hopefully not my last, i thought you might like to see what I use for mixing cement instead of by hand. see http://www.creter.co.uk/
These things are really good and very effective, they're fairly new out i think but seem to be getting more and more popular in the UK.

thanks DT

That is slick diydave! So simple but effective. I suppose a heavy duty tarp would do the same, but having those handles makes it much simpler.

I just found a link to the Odjob site this morning if
anyone is still interested.

http://nga-gardenshop.stores.yahoo.net/13-1015.html

It's 40 bucks and would probably work well.

Robb

The problem I had with the drum type mixer was that I could never tell when it was mixed properly. And when I took the lid off to check I found it hard to get it back on again as the mix was then in the thread. All quite messy and then there's the cleaning up afterwards.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Creter-Cement-Concrete-Mixer-boot-liner-sandpit_W0QQitemZ140068620830QQihZ004QQcategoryZ50903QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I bought my Creter off ebay for about £10 + postage ($20). I think the ad said that they would post to the U.S. too. Worth a try I say.

cheers

DT

try this link, looks good for small jobs......."concrete mixer"
vivian

http://www.improvementscatalog.com/Parent.asp?product=115360x&cm_ven=youramigo&cm_cat=june04&code=macs=MP6SPDR

Here's the one I went for:

For slightly bigger jobs

The cool thing about this one, VS the rool-on-the-floor bucket, is that you can mix your cement while attending to other tasks.

These guys are pretty great. I just received it yesterday. They ship via fedex and the box was a bit banged up (it's a 90 lb package), but other than a few dings, it worked great when I assembled it.

Another good thing is its price. It's cheaper than the cheapest drill + mixing bit combo at your local HD.

SCORE!

I've seen some of those, but don't know where to source them. You know you can get some cheap hand cement mixers through the site in my handle...but they're the electrical kind. Still cheap though.

Good luck

Here is a link that might be useful: portable cement mixer

Cement Mixer recipe

1 jigger Bailey's® Irish cream
1 jigger lime juice

Hold one shot of bailey's in your mouth, and take one shot of lime juice. Mix rapidly in mouth by shaking head vigorously, then consume.

lol

kathy the lurker, usually found at garden junk

ps I am concerned about the hand mixing and effects on my lungs.

Kathy,

I wear a carbon/particulate cartridged respirator until the mix is wetted. The soft rubber face mask fits and seals much more securely than the paper particulate masks and the carbon element is a must for silicone mold making.

Thanks I wrote that on my list! I really dislike the paper ones cuz my glasses fog up so its hard to want to wear them.
Thanks!
kathy

Regarding that hand operated concrete mixer, I found their specs entertaining:

http://www.newdawnengineering.com/website/brickandtile/mixer/

Specifications

Drum size ..................................140 Litres
Length .......................................1500 mm
Mix volume .................................65 Litres
Height ........................................1650 mm
Output ........................................3 Tons/hr
Width .........................................1250 mm
Labour required .........................1 Person
Mass ...........................................115 Kg
Ball bearings? ............................All
Fits into a 1200 bakkie? ..............Yes
Can be used by women? ............Yes
Can be turned by 2 people? .......If you like
Can I mix my drink in it? ............ Yes, if you like
Can I borrow it to my neighbour? ........ Yes
Can be used by 2 men and 1 woman? ........... Yes
Can be used by 2 women and 3 men? .......... Yes
Can my dog sleep in it? ........... Yes, why not
How much does it cost? ........ Yes

I admit I added a couple ;-)