That was my concern looking at the pics. Could I add another layer I wonder to hold the height?
3 Likes
The whole base would have to be enlarged, not just the height of the chamber.
The chamber is large enough to hold the peanut M&M. The concern would be if more than one would bind it up and not turn if it couldn’t push the excess candy out of the chamber.
The smaller “gumball” version might work better, as the larger peanut M&M would closer in size to that candy. But it would only drop one at a time.
5 Likes
Thanks for that info… and 1 at a time isn’t such a bad thing. lol
4 Likes
I had more trouble with the caramel M&Ms, which are a little bigger than the regular ones, to go through the gumball one without jamming. So I don’t think the peanut ones would work in it.
3 Likes
If they are bigger than the caramel one they might be fine. The issue is when they are not the right size to either fall in or get pushed out. Then they jam or get crushed.
I might try to make an adjustable hole size version, so you could adjust it for the size of your candy…
5 Likes
I can’t believe I missed this when it first came out! Such a great build. I might have to make some as Christmas gifts.
5 Likes
I have given several as gifts!
I think I might try to make the internal components from acrylic and have the external pieces out of wood. I like the look of the wood, but the acrylic has less friction for the gear mechanism and makes the turning smoother.
5 Likes
you could use crisco or motor oil. 
j/k. this is an amazing design. from a humid location standpoint, it would be good to know when the hole isn’t partially open, so the contents don’t start getting gummy. I wonder if there could be some tactile click / notch in the disk with a piece of wood to let you know you are in a fully closed situation.
4 Likes
Very interesting. I had not considered this; since we dehumidify our house this has never been an issue for me.
It is never fully closed, since the holes in the chamber are so close together. And the chamber isn’t fully solid either, but that was more to save on materials.
I could probably design a version that could fully close, but it would have to be larger and would require more turning to operate. It might have less issues with jamming if there were less chambers (less chances) to get stuck too.
Maybe I could design it to work with either size of mason jar lid also? You would simply adjust which rings you use.
These are some great ideas! I will be surprised if I can fit this version on only one sheet though…
5 Likes
Like the idea of acrylic workings to help for smoother turning. I’ll have to try that. It will be fun to see if you do more revisions.
3 Likes
I used some paraffin wax on the smooth parts that rubbed together and that made for easier and smoother turning.
6 Likes