Mini Ferris Wheel Is A Big Attraction

Mini Ferris Wheel Is A Big Attraction AG WORLD Ag World 19-6-20 "Everyone who sees it wants to buy it. I could've sold it a thousand times al-ready," says Denis Desjardins, Alcove, Quebec, about his home-built 12-ft. high ferris wheel for kids. The 4-seat wheel mounts on a steel pole that stands on a heavy steel platform covered by 3/4-in. thick plywood. A 1/2-hp electric motor mounts at the base of the pole and belt-drives a gearbox that's geared down at a 10:1 ratio. The gearbox is coupled by U-joint to the bottom of a 1-in. dia. shaft that runs up to the input shaft on a rear end out of a Datsun Z car that mounts on top of the pole. Four 1 1/ 4-in. dia. pipes fasten to the axle shaft that extends out of the rear end. Desjardins used kids' plastic patio chairs with the legs cut off for seats. An L-shaped steel plate bolts to the bottom of each seat and is welded to a short steel shaft mounted in a pillow block bearing at the end of each arm. The electric motor is wired to a lock-able box mounted on a stand at one corner of the steel platform. Desjardins uses a key in the box to start the ferns wheel. "My kids can't get enough of it," says Desjardins, who built the ferris wheel 7 years ago. "It's safe. The kids always wear seat belts and it has a low center of gravity. It's anchored so well that the wind doesn't even budge it, even with four big kids on it. "I welded spider gears onto the rear end to cut its speed in half and to always keep it turning in the same direction." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Denis Desjardins, Rt. 1, Alcove, Quebec, Canada JOX IAO (ph 819 459-2548).

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