Al wrote:

I wanted a shaker table so I could try a better method of making the callus
tissue proliferation "peanut" more reliably, and from my reading I think
this will involve agitation. And for agitation you need a liquid media and
some form of roller/shaker movement. There is a guy in my local society who
has nothing better to do than go to his test tubes every few hours for weeks
or months and shake them up by hand and for him this works to sufficiently
agitate the sample. I'd get tired of that really quickly and when
confronted with this option the price of the roller drum/shaker tables from
New Brunswick Scientific Equipment's catalog looks like the more reasonable
option although they all take my breath away. I am glad these are not the
only choices...


If you are just doing a few tubes or flasks, there are models which
aren't much bigger than a piece of writing paper (the tops of them,
anyway). That might be a more reasonable option than the big chest
shakers. We had one (admittedly at least 30 years old) the size of a
big chest freezer. Of course it broke down a couple times a month...

You can make one. You just need an electric motor and a camshaft.
Come to think of it, a random orbit sander could be adapted to make a
shaker table pretty easily. Just turn it upside down, screw a platform
on it, and use the trigger lock to keep it turned on. I wonder how long
the motor would last... That might be my best idea this week, and I
have had a couple good ones, not that I ever remember to write them down
(good idea number 4 - write down good ideas).

Rob

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