Pyrodude Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 I am trying to figure out how to make a gumball wheel assembly for a Vendstar using a Northwestern gumball wheel. (I know, I know lipstick on a pig.....) I saw the earlier thread about someone modding a Vendstar candy wheel to dispense gumballs but thought there may be a cleaner method. Attached is a picture showing the NW gb wheel in the vendstar tray with the Vendstar gb wheel and brush housing sitting next to it. The NW gumball wheel has the same number of cogs as the Vendstar gb wheel and fits into the housing with a little coaxing. I am going to have to remove some material from the NW gb wheel to get it to freely spin. The individual cogs on the NW wheel are a tad fatter than the Vendstar but it looks like it will mesh OK with the Vendstar drive gear. I am unsure of what to do for the brush housing. The vendstar housing has 2 short springs that stick out to cover the drop-through hole. I can make a copy of the vendstar housing but wanted to know if just a solid piece of plastic would work as it would be easier to make. What if I made the housing to look like the white paper template in the picture? Instead of springs blocking the drop through hole I would just modify the housing shape so that it covered the hole. But, I recall reading about someone shearing gumballs in half with certain mechs so I wonder if this would happen. I could also just stretch 2 springs from side to side across the housing to cover the hole. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davis Caroline Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 My opinion only... The money spent to make a Vendstar vend gumballs is going to be more than the cost to buy the whole machine. (Can get Vendstars on CL for $25-$30.)... I'd go ahead and buy a used machines that already vends gumballs. In addition you're running the risk of misvends and problems and that can get you booted from a location. I wouldn't try to make a square peg fit a round hole. I know that's not what you are asking but its my two cents. Maybe someone else can answer more in the manner you are looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 I don't know- I've never tried it, but my advice it to put it together, load it full of some analog product, and test it a couple times to see how it works. In the end, I'm with Davis Caroline, you can buy the gumball canisters from eBay pretty cheap, and can get new machines for less than $50.00 on Craigslist. I'd say look for a proprietary solution before "frankenstein-ing" something together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 The Oak style just has 2 springs stretched across. That would be the easiest to make. I took some NW candy brushes and turned them into capsule and gumball brushes before. A Dremel and file are what I used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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